Trostani's Production Line

User avatar
EonAon
Posts: 274
Joined: 3 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by EonAon » 3 years ago

Hello and welcome to my delightfully demented part of the internet. Today I will be talking about a pet project of mine I like to call Trostani's Production Line.

Trostani was the second deck I had made for multiplayer EDH/Commander. As my first deck being a group hate deck I wanted to not mirror that into a group hug deck, but I also didnt want to get into really technical game play either.

After that I found myself in a quandry. I was REALLY starting to get annoyed by having to almost carry another 100 count deckbox (just kidding it never got THAT bad) just for tokens and the riffle for the correct ones. So I decided to go into Token Consolidation. Which is a term I personally use for limiting the amount of token types I use.

This does not mean only running one type of token since thats both silly and dangerous to game blowouts, but in deciding to use the more solid tokens and token generation of better quality overall. Elspeth is a good example of this in that it creates three tokens a turn and while they are small they can get quite numerous.

Before I go on, the deck:
Decklist
Approximate Total Cost:

Visting EDHrec back in the day I was always curious as to why it suggested certain cards. I understand that EDHrec is a aggraget site and that card percentages are based upon the amount of decks that the card appears in that are submitted, but it still left me scratching my head.

Trostani's Summoner is one of those cards. Now do not get me wrong that a card that lays 10 power down on the field is a bad card. But its three diffrent creature types that are now added to the token pile. While you can always write down on paper the amount of tokens and such with the amount of +1 counters I play this becomes a huge memory issue. Lord help you if somebody lays a Coat of arms down.

But this got me to thinking was there anything that I could play that was not a once a turn effect, or a x spell that could create a decently hardy token. Thats when I remebered that Blade Splicer actually had a host of other cards in mirrodin that did simular effects. Apparently recently WOTC also remebered this in its Commander Legends as well since the deck received Ich-Tekik, Salvage Splicer.

You can rightly say now,"but arent those effect just a one off?" Thats true, but each splicers ability affects all golem tokens so first strike, vigilance, regeneration, +1, and trample are all on the table. Another fun fact is there are more ways that you can search out, find, or manipulate 1/1 creatures in white if you know where to look, which all splicer base stats are.

Onto snow, and what a winter it is. Snow cards were something that Tev or @Tevesh on Salvation started since into the north was a much more available and cheaper at the time than three visits or nature's lore. With the advent of a second snow dual land, a pretty decent snow man land, and search for glory it seemed like the time to just stay frosty.

There were other snow cards I debated on putting in like Ohran Frostfang but looking at it it was more a sit there and let the other cards do the hard work card. Just didnt appeal. I figured a lite dusting of snow would suit my deck better than a blizzard of changes. Hence the only other snow perm is On Thin Ice

Your probably wondering why in gods name am I playing one of the least helpful of the Ajani. Thats simple, he does everything I want in this deck as a planeswalker. Vigilance in a 1vs1 game is a bleh ability. Not bad but not great and if this was only for a 1v1 type dual I would change him out in a minute. Vigilance in multiplayer is actually alot better since I'm attacking and defending many more times. Gain 3 life is actually better in some ways than the congregate type +1 the other Ajani have since still multiplayer and you cant always count on creatures being in play when you need or want them to be. -2 ability is a aoe +1 to all creatures and planeswalkers which hitting Elspeths ult or Garruke a bit better.

Lastly the reason im not playing certain cards. Cathars' Crusade Panharmonicon Precursor Golem. Cathars crusade would seem like a auto include since I'm running many ETB effects. Biggest issue is that once its down you draw amazing table aggro since people know that unchecked you will start sealing the game. Which is why I play Dictate of Heliod since the flash ability is much more usefull if your creature army survived till your next turn.

Panharmonicon would be a great card for me to play, but a huge issue is that especially in trostani the 4cc spot is clogged with some amazing tech cards. I do not play angelic accord for some of the same reasons.

Last Precursor Golem. It seems like a thing I really should play in this deck. But I cannot protect it enough that one unkicked vandalblast wouldnt wreck me. Just too dangerous.
Last edited by EonAon 2 years ago, edited 1 time in total.

Tags:

User avatar
pokken
Posts: 6283
Joined: 4 years ago
Answers: 2
Pronoun: he / him

Post by pokken » 3 years ago

I like a lot of what's going on here! Kinda reminds me of Ghired, Conclave Exile a bit. Lots of advantages to being less aggro and having the big lifegain built in the zone does some things.

A few cards I would imagine would be pretty huge utility in the deck:

Chord of Calling - Token decks with so many payoff creatures just do great with this. It's cheap now too.

Harvest Season - with your large number of bodies and a commander who taps, I would expect this to be a game ending ramp spell most of the time. Particularly synergizes with Chord, incidentally.

Cryptolith Rite / Earthcraft - These two always grossly overperformed for me in token shells, although obviously earthcraft has had a kinda price explosion.

User avatar
EonAon
Posts: 274
Joined: 3 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by EonAon » 3 years ago

I think that if I was to add cards it would be Rite and Season. They would synergize well together and work well apart. I personally am not a fan of x spells even though I get that you can pay the green and the x by tapping your creatures, at instant speed no less. I admittedly might be more into this if I didn't already have 3 tutors in the deck.

I cannot believe that Search for Glory has not exploded in any white based edh/commander deck. I mean my deck alone has 13 targets over 4 permanent types not including the land base. I have a B/W knight deck that has 16 cards it can find over all 5 and its not even playing snow. Heck it can search up Growing Rites of Itlimoc a card I have been seriously thinking of throwing in here.

User avatar
pokken
Posts: 6283
Joined: 4 years ago
Answers: 2
Pronoun: he / him

Post by pokken » 3 years ago

3 Mana sorcery speed is just a lot for a tutor.

User avatar
RxPhantom
Fully Vaxxed, Baby!
Posts: 1513
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted
Location: Southern Maryland

Post by RxPhantom » 3 years ago

I've wish there were more splicers. It could be a pretty fun deck. Anyway, I agree with pokken on Harvest Season. I'd suggest a little more redundancy in the Heroic Intervention department. I'm not sure what kind of budget you're on, but Flawless Maneuver or Teferi's Protection would probably do a lot of work here. Of course Wrap in Vigor and Rootborn Defenses go for pennies and definitely get the job done.
Can you name all of the creature types with at least 20 cards? Try my Sporcle Quiz! Last Updated: 2/18/22 (Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty)

User avatar
EonAon
Posts: 274
Joined: 3 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by EonAon » 3 years ago

Wrap in vigor sounds nice, had rootborn in here till almost the last iteration but eerie interlude actually is a bit better with the splicers and etb effects you almost come out better when you phase shift trostani and splicers plus lifegain, admittedly teferi (I do have in another deck) does the job much better in saving my tokens but carries with it no etb trigger. That and I was starting to get too chunky in the 3cc spot. This kind of deck has so many things it wants in 3cc and 4cc its nuts.

Already I mainline 4 protections already in Selfless, Heroic, Eerie, and Avacyn, if I had to change eerie and dig out the teferi I would change that way. I also have the maneuver as well and I might add that but after a certain point too many utility spells.

User avatar
EonAon
Posts: 274
Joined: 3 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by EonAon » 2 years ago

Changelog Date 5/9/21
Show
Hide
-Kodama's Reach, -Eerie Interlude, -Aura Shards, -Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage, -Seasons Past, -Return of the Wildspeaker, -Phyrexian Rebirth, -Aetherflux Reservoir

+Austere Command +Blossoming Bogbeast +Healing Technique +Cryptolith Rite +Bow of Nylea +Heliod, Sun-Crowned +Arcane Signet +The Great Henge
So when I last posted I was figuring that I would only have to find space for two cards.........that didn't go to plan :) . With new sets come new cards and really while Strixhaven itself didnt bring a whole lot to the table, Strixhaven commander decks on the other hand left me spoiled for options. Honestly I've been waffling hard on what to update the deck with.
Sadly of the new cards only Blossoming Bog beast actually made it in since it worked independent and covered the most ground. The rest of the gain life get something because of it are truly more build around then add, though Alchemist and Garden are really pushing my buttons for things to add. Triplicate titan is everything I want but I dont know if 9 mana is possible. Admittedly in this deck its loads better than Phyrexian Triniform which was another card I had thought about throwing in here but remembered that it really wont DO anything except be a huge costly lump in this deck. With the three base keywords on Titan that then split into keyworded tokens... that is actually pretty great.

I totally wanted to add Bronze Guardian but I realized that at max even with itself I'm only running 14 artifacts which might work but even with populating my splicer golems it just wouldn't reach deep enough. Still thinking of just chucking him in cause ward and a double strike creature is sexy. If anyone can think of a non artifact card to pull I'm going to consider it hard.

Ezzraroot and Sproutback were considered but ultimately denied because of the cost to utility just isn't there for this deck. Ezzra is too lategame for the deck and Sproutback actually makes you cast it. Admittedly Sproutback lowers its own cost but 2 consecutive spells is hard for this decks curve especially if lands or ramp fail to surface.

Then there were old cards that I feel could become useful but may not be on theme which are still on the table so to speak. Of these cards I am really taking a look at Sunscorch Regent and Blade of Selves. I already put Heliod in the deck after I had a oh duh moment from my Liesa deck which also runs Regent for about the same reasons, I want to trigger a few things not on my turn. I did that in the past with Soul Warden and Essence Warden but they were always going to be iffy triggers since some decks are creature lite, everybody usually plays spells though.

For the rest of the changes some are functional changes and others are just refinements. Bow of Nylea was something I've been eyeing, alongside Ohran Frost Fang. I have been looking at Elder Gargoth and while he beats and triggers well I'm not sure I'm ever NOT going to draw a card to use the other two modes. I added nylea since it works on multiple levels that this deck wants for a reasonable cost alongside making small trades unfavorable to my opponents. Frostfang is a decent enough backup plan in that respect and can draw cards since on the top side of my deck I have a decent amount of trample of flying. Which might mean gargoth might be saying bye.

I have never really liked aetherflux reservoir. Good card in all but the only reason I was keeping it around was the consistent lifegain. I finally broke down and got The great henge and its probably going to fill that role better anyway.

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic

Return to “Decklists”