Bruna's Battle Cruiser

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 4 years ago

toctheyounger wrote:
4 years ago
Eye of Singularity has been the same for me. When running down a token deck it's clutch, but it's easy to mill when you don't need it. It's easy enough to get back with Shepherd, so there's that.

Abeyance does seem a real meta call. I wonder if you'd make just as much use from something like Unexpectedly Absent? I've had lots of luck dropping combo decks with it myself.

This game seems like a pretty good example of what this deck can do when it hits the curve nicely. Bruna has a lot of great control, I love it.
Eye of Singularity - Yea, its hard to judge the token hate card when not going against tokens. It will need more testing from me for sure.

Abeyance - I need to test it more. Lots of infinite combos involve looping doing a process several times so the question is if stalling that process until the start of the next player's turn stops the combo from being a thing. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. The upside I see though is this card can still draw a card and I can see some uses for it outside of stopping a combo. Even just casting it during an opponent's upkeep could be very annoying and it would still draw me a card. Its definitely not something that I have tested enough to really comment much on but I figured I would test it a little more. Its hard to judge a reactionary card as you proactively roll over your opponents.

I have been loving the equipment with cheaper creatures as well as the monarch cards. I still need more testing with running all of the monarch cards because I still really haven't seen a situation where I just draw all the monarch stuff and I seem to be fairly happy spinning that mechanic up.
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

Tags:

User avatar
toctheyounger
Posts: 3986
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Post by toctheyounger » 4 years ago

ISBPathfinder wrote:
4 years ago
Eye of Singularity - Yea, its hard to judge the token hate card when not going against tokens. It will need more testing from me for sure.
For what it's worth I find it hilarious to nerf the table's Sol Rings too. It's the one thing you know everyone is running. Bonus points if the one person at the table with a Sol Ring drops a Middle Earth reference.
ISBPathfinder wrote:
4 years ago
Abeyance - I need to test it more. Lots of infinite combos involve looping doing a process several times so the question is if stalling that process until the start of the next player's turn stops the combo from being a thing. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. The upside I see though is this card can still draw a card and I can see some uses for it outside of stopping a combo. Even just casting it during an opponent's upkeep could be very annoying and it would still draw me a card. Its definitely not something that I have tested enough to really comment much on but I figured I would test it a little more. Its hard to judge a reactionary card as you proactively roll over your opponents.
Yeah, it'll take a specific scenario to make sure this does what it needs to. I guess the question you answer is how often you find the scenarios cropping up, and if it's not often then you probably don't need it, and vice versa. Like I say, Absent has done just fine for me, although it is a high cost solution.
Malazan Decks of the Fallen
| Shadowthrone/Lazav | Raest/Yidris | T'iam / The Ur-Dragon |

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 3 years ago

Ok, so..... its tough to really get testing in these days with covid-19 about and all. I have been meaning to do some updates and some of these changes are very experimental so.... its possible they might not work out. I guess some of the big things to keep in mind is that historically speaking white sucks at drawing but of late this list has been having good draw for me. Often times when you are draw light you want to have a little higher curve with more impact per card if you assume you won't be chaining draw as nicely. But, lately I have been drawing really well and so it makes me want to consider lowering the curve a little.

DECK CHANGES:
  • AbeyanceAngel's Grace I want to try a few things in stopping some sudden wins from nowhere. Angel's Grace still has a number of things it doesn't stop but I kind of dig how many things it can stop. I often don't lose to over time strategies but rather things that get me out of nowhere. It still leaves some issues from the stance of things that can kill me the next turn first thing but hey, its something. I normally would avoid this style of card in mono white but the card draw has been really good of late.
  • Eye of SingularityRout I have been meaning to add one more wrath to the deck. The thing that sells me on Rout in particular is its ability to be kept as an instant speed wrath for when things go sideways later. The option to Rout at my opponents end of turn and then slam my commander rez into a boardstate is really good too as it puts me ahead on board. Being able to cast route for 5 mana though too still makes it online at a reasonable time though.
  • Sephara, Sky's BladeMangara, the Diplomat What has really been selling me on Sephara of late has mostly been just having a 7/7 lifelinking flyer. Its really only kind of a step up from Serra Ascendant when it comes to rezing it but its sort of way worse in casting. I need to test Mangara to see what exactly it is going to do for me.
  • Angelic SkirmisherSoul Warden trying to boost up my one drop package for tutors. I felt like cutting the curve in a big way even if it was possibly for less payoff the Warden still gives me a life buffer and lowers my curve which is cool I suppose.
  • Bastion ProtectorSpeaker of the Heavens I think I don't care as much about my commander dying in this deck so much as just making her into a 7/9. I think its probably time for me to cut Bastion Protector even with how much I like it. In general Bastion Protector works better with commanders that I care about sticking to the board a bit more but after a long time of playing this deck I don't really care if she dies and honestly I feel like I have enough options to pick from these days that I am going to cut it. Speaker is a bit questionable in that I need more life than starting but I think I want to test it out.
  • Bounty AgentDrannith Magistrate So, I never did get around to testing Bounty Agent in a meaningful way but I feel like this new human is doing all the things I wanted Bounty Agent to do but in a spooky death and taxes kind of way I totally dig.
  • Angel of CondemnationRanger of Eos I have been a big fan of Angel of Condemnation for a long time. With lowering my curve so much though I feel like having the early beater is losing a lot of power though and I really am not an ETB deck so while I really like the disruption it can cause, I needed to make more room for Ranger and his friends.
  • Wall of OmensVerge Rangers I got to looking at my list and realized that I like Wall of Omens a lot more when pushing a higher curve as an early blocker. When pushing a lower curve it feels like its just a two mana cantrip with little potential payoff beyond that. This swap gives me another human in the list and I think the long term value potential of Verge Rangers could be good. Plus its a cheap drop with good stats that could totally wear some equipment.
  • Soul TitheMazemind Tome when I brought Soul Tithe into my list I was trying too hard to make an enchantment package to justify adding Hall of Heliod's Generosity. I really haven't seen the Hall pay for itself in here. I still think that Soul Tithe is a completely reasonable card but I also don't think that its a card that needs to be in this decklist. Mazemind Tome reminds me a LOT of Endless Atlas even if it does kill itself after four uses I think that the return at that point is fine. I also think that the manaless scry option is kind of fine even if it does kill the tome sooner.
  • Solemn SimulacrumScrabbling Claws I have been meaning to push up my graveyard hate in here a little more for a while. I couldn't bring myself to run Relic of Progenitus being that it hits me too but I think Scrabbling is nice in that it can cantrip and give some small grave hate. With lowering the curve to where I am I feel like the need for Solemn maybe loses a little.
  • Blast ZonePlains trying to bring my colored mana count up a little at the cost of some very rarely used utility lands. As I lower the curve down it becomes more important to have colored mana. Multicasting spells with too much colorless mana can also be hard at times depending on what I am casting.
  • Hall of Heliod's GenerosityPlains trying to bring my colored mana count up a little at the cost of some very rarely used utility lands. As I lower the curve down it becomes more important to have colored mana. Multicasting spells with too much colorless mana can also be hard at times depending on what I am casting.
This is a LOT of changes to make at a time where I unfortunately do have some challenge in testing. I am going to see if I can't play some more over the internet but it is sometimes hard to get everyone together to play games.

EDIT: I might have to cut Ugin, the Spirit Dragon with the lowering of my curve. Its on my radar for now but I might not do anything right this second.

EDIT 2: The moats also get a bit worse with lowering the curve. Still taking a look at a bunch of things.
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 3 years ago

I got a digital game in last night. I still need a lot more testing but the game went really well right until the end where an opponent got a repeatable theft engine online which I had no immediate answers for. I almost locked the game up by using Avacyn, Angel of Hope + Protector of the Crown to protect me from mass fear rats.

I did manage a T1 Soul Warden which gave me a lot of extra life that game. I also used it with a Mask of Memory the first few turns to get some value. Obviously getting it T1 is going to be some of the best outcome so its far from any sort of conclusion but by the time the game ended I was up quite a bit of life from having it. The real test is to see how things go when I draw it in the mid or late game.

Really, the game came down to me not having an answer for Skullclamp when I needed it and then not having a wrath after that then not having an answer for my own avacyn once he started stealing stuffs. I need to do some more testing but I might consider another sweeper or artifact / enchantment removal. I might also go back and add Homeward Path even though I didn't think I needed it previously the game yesterday was annoying.
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 3 years ago

So, I keep making these crazy sweeping changes to my list. Lots of it is because I need to test a bunch of concepts. The card draw has been wayyyyyy up since I added monarch to this list so now some of my curve has been adjusting due to it. I did try to shift to use Speaker of the Heavens previously and while I still think its a SUPER cool card..... there isn't enough incentive to be lifegain based to really push for the lifegain tactics yet. I still like the few other effects I have like Archangel of Thune and Resplendent Angel but I think I still don't have enough incentive to gain life to run lifegain cards to support cards like Speaker of the Heavens. Given more time we might see more payoff incentives for human / angels that I feel differently but for now, I don't think we have enough.

I have seen a little more combo and non combat wincons in my meta of late so some of these changes are also me trying to adjust for stopping those concepts where and when I can.

DECK CHANGES:
  • Soul WardenGideon of the Trials essentially backstepping the Ranger of Eos / package that I just added. This gideon isn't a must kill on sight and what I like is how he stops some things like Lab Man wincons. I didn't want to go as far as to add tutors for planeswalkers but I want to see how he might work from the standpoint that he can work via non traditional wincons as well as some things like say Purpheros or a non hexproof voltron commander. What I really like about him is that a lot of combo decks don't do combat well and planeswalkers can be harder to remove than something like Platinum Angel is. I like that I can tutor him with Thalia's Lancers still but I am going to hold off on any sort of walker tutors until I get to see how he does.
  • Speaker of the HeavensMagus of the Balance again, backstepping my recent Ranger of Eos and package adds. I think this card is really cool.... but I don't think it addresses any issues that I have with this type of deck. I was having some luck with Magus of the Disk lately and just forcing opponents to have answers for it so I figured I would see how this guy goes. I don't really have confidence but I just want to do some testing and see where it goes.
  • Verge RangersCursed Totem I really wanted to do some testing with Verge Rangers since they were new. I wasn't really impressed is my take away. I would potentially want more shuffle effects and maybe some topdeck manipulation to really see if they would work but in a lot of cases they aren't relevant and if I have actual draw I don't really feel like they are good. I have been LOVING Linvala, Keeper of Silence of late. Its possible I could go with just a Pithing Needle effect but lets go deep for now and see if the totem is a problem. I do have a few creatures with activated abilities that it would be unfortunate for but I want to see how much of a pain in the ass it is for my opponents first. Maybe I scale back and maybe I don't.
  • Ranger of EosMagus of the Disk Cutting the ranger package. I was playing against one of @Tryno's decks a few weeks back and he did a magus of the Disk recursion setup and oh boy it was annoying. I tried it out recently in this list and I was really liking it. I was thinking about cutting Ugin for Disk since Ugin potentially catches a lot of my list and exiles them which is bad not to mention being an 8 drop which is spendy.
  • Mazemind TomeSuppression Field I still think that the Tome is alright but I was swimming in draw so deep that I was discarding a lot last I played this deck. I ended up discarding the Tome so.... I guess for now I want more disruption rather than more draw. I got to thinking about how many combos and activated abilities the field slows down or stops entirely. I can also still equip my equipment but its really tough for a lot of other people's decks to get through this effect so I wanted to try it out.
  • Ugin, the Spirit DragonGideon Jura Ugin exiles and as my curve got lower and my draw increased I think the value in an 8 drop sweeper that exiles in a recursion deck got a lot more questionable. I added Gideon of the Trials to the deck so adding more Gideon walkers did have some synergy. I also really like OG Gideon and think that his taunt effect can be very strong with some big vigilant angels. In some ways he can act like a wrath or open someone up for attacks from the table. I figured I would give him a try at least.
  • 1 PlainsHomeward Path I feel like I probably have had Homeward in the list in the past. At some point I hadn't used it in forever and Sanctum of Eternity helped against transform effects. I think I want to have both though right now.
  • Dust BowlFlagstones of Trokair In retrospect, I think that three strip mine effects is probably more than I need in this list. WAYYY back in the day I thought I was maybe going to be more voltron and while mazes can slow this list down, I still think it can send multiple threats in just fine to the point that it doesn't need three strip mines. Flagstones giving white mana is a plus not to mention it pairs with Lotus Field which is why I am adding it back in. Getting the option of a Wayfarer start into ramp is just so strong with this package. I also just added Magus of the Balance which is really good with this package as well.
  • 1 PlainsLotus Field I don't like having my basics be too low but I also think that this package is good. I did just cut a few utility lands for basics so going back down two basics isn't too concerning especially given I am cutting a colorless mana land for a white producing one.
So, I guess this change adds a lot more disruption to my list. Its possible that with the draw going well I need to put more priority on ramp which is something that is on my mind but I really wanted to get more testing in before I resort to that.
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 3 years ago

Just a super small change. I noticed after some of the last changes that Scrabbling Claws seemed to fit my list well for what I had been sort of needing which was just a touch more graveyard interaction with little overhead. I realized after that that I maybe didn't like Apostle of Purifying Light so much in comparison with just having another card like Scrabbling Claws. With adding Cursed Totem to the list as well I felt like there was some precedent to cut Apostle given that addition as well.

DECK CHANGE:
  • Apostle of Purifying LightPhyrexian Furnace I realized with Scrabbling Claws that I really liked the very small space it takes up and the fact that it can cantrip off when not needed. Its true that it doesn't hit as hard as something like Relic of Progenitus but it also doesn't backfire on me and it gives me a touch more graveyard interaction. I think that Phyrexian Furnace is VERY similar to scrabbling with some pros and cons to each but ultimately it doesn't have as much dead draws as Apostle of Purifying Light and while I can do more work with the Apostle its at the cost of a card slot devoted to grave hate and it costs for every card I remove where as with these cheap artifacts if I get them out early I can possibly just ride them on the graveyard decks to make their lives harder. With the addition of Cursed Totem in my list there is also a reason to possibly try to get that effect off of a creature as well.
As of right now, I really do need a LOT more testing with this list. I am not sure where I stand with Suppression Field or Cursed Totem yet and the Gideon package is still mostly untested as well thus far. I need more testing for sure, its just hard to get people together for online games and I still am mostly unwilling to play with random people on the internet.
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 3 years ago

I have been moving a lot of the list around trying to interact more with activated abilities and combo as a whole. With some of these changes I have noticed that I still kind of don't love Swords to Plowshares in this list. It can be nice as a tempo stall against commander centric decks and on rare occasion it can interact with a combo but it feels like a lot of the combos are hit or miss on being creature oriented.

I guess what I am saying is that Sword to Plowshares sort of came in as a potential combo interaction but I have been not that impressed with it of late. Lots of other new additions have been outshining it and I just want to turn it into something else.

DECK CHANGE:
  • Swords to PlowsharesAngel of Condemnation I really have always liked Angel of Condemnation and while it does have some issues with some of my recent additions I still think its ability is reasonable disurption and it gives me a body in the air for cheap that can carry equipment which I like. The disruption it brings can make fast proactive decks very uncomfortable. I really couldn't come up with something that seemed more appropriate to bring back in so I liked the idea of bringing my threat density back up a bit. I have on several occasions controlled the board from the back of Condemnation and I am willing to Bruna rez her so I like bringing her back in.
I know that my own dislike for the narrow interaction of killing only creatures is strange but I have had a very hard time making creature only disruption work for me in mono white. It tends to be something I care for more when in multicolored decks with better draw access. Its true that I have been drawing better in this list of late but I still haven't been impressed with Swords to Plowshares on average when I draw it in this list.

I need to get more testing in but covid has made it hard so far. Hopefully I can get some testing in sometime soon.
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 3 years ago

Ok, just for fun I felt like putting together a watchlist. There are some things upcoming that I plan to do some testing with and I was curious where I was likely to consider cutting from for said testing. This is in my opinion some of the more questionable cards in my list that could be considered for cutting.
  • Magus of the Balance - In short, its 100% untested. I have not yet drawn or played this card and so it is currently in the list from the standpoint that I had some positive testing with Magus of the Disk a while back and it made me want to test this guy as well. It is on my list because I still don't know where I stand on it.
  • Ranger-Captain of Eos - I only have two targets for it and while 4 mana Serra Ascendant isn't that bad, I kind of feel like this was a bit of a filler add. Playing a Weathered Wayfarer out on turn 4 isn't amazing enough that I feel like I would tutor for to play it. The sacrifice ability of ranger has come in useful (very rarely) but as a whole I would say that as we get better creatures, my incentive to continue to play Ranger as a filler 4 mana Serra Ascendant really kind of falls off.
  • Angel of Condemnation - I have had some REALLY nice games with this angel in the past. The thing is, I feel like my card draw is a lot better since adding the monarch cards to my deck. Condemnation isn't something that I neccessarily have a lot of proactive plays for in this deck itself so much as being a control mana sink. With better draw, I don't always feel like I have the mana to keep this up. The cost to activate it isn't super cheap and if I am not keeping that mana up more reliably its not great.
  • Magus of the Moat / Magus of the Tabernacle / Moat - My sweeper count has been up a bit of late and with more sweepers I have found that these effects are a little harder to get great value from. These effects while SUPER cool can also be all or nothing effects. I can't tell you how many times Moat has saved me so its more likely that if I would cut one it would be magus of the tabernacle. Having a higher wrath count though can sort of cut into how effective these are. I have been considering if I want all of these in and its possible I might cut one or more of them in the future. MOAT is so cool though its probably not going anywhere just because I own one and its SWEEET.
  • Umezawa's Jitte - similarly to the magus / moat issue, I think with increased sweepers jitte gets a little worse. Jitte is almost never the equipment I am tutoring for and its expected life span tends to be sort of short lived for me.
  • Tome of Legends - my draw has been really good of late and I think Tome of Legends is my worst draw effect in list right now.
  • Mind Stone - originally I put it in because it was sort of safe ramp. I have been thinking if I want something a bit riskier or if I even really want ramp. This deck has so many cards to screw with opponents and slow them down I kind of like the slow and steady low ramp plan. Lots of my sweepers can screw with artifacts / enchantments so its possible that even considering something like Darksteel Ingot could be a thing. My current thoughts tend to be more so towards cutting this random cheap stone for non ramp or leaving it alone as a cheap investment. I just think that with a lot of ramp, you sort of want more consistency in numbers which I don't really have so even just slipping a cheap wrath or removal effect in could be a thing over having a single so so mana ramp stone.
  • Temple of the False God - I have been considering some other land options. Temple is fine I mostly haven't had issues with drawing it early without sufficient lands but I also don't think I really need it in here.
  • Throne of the High City - I really don't want to sac a land to spin up monarch. I think I am happier having Palace Sentinels which doesn't eat up my land to activate monarch and its also cheaper to do even if I can't do it at instant speed.
Things on my radar right now to try out:
  • Keeper of the Accord - it doesn't release until November but its high on my test list right now. The token portion of it seems kind of just ok but the ramp seems really cool. It will be sort of dependent on what my opponents play for type of deck as to how this pans out but I also think that I could at least test Lotus Vale and Scorched Ruins with it.
  • Lotus Vale / Scorched Ruins - I think there are a number of interesting effects in white that takes advantage of having less lands than opponents. As more of them come out, I am REALLY interested to do some testing with them. Its true that someone could Strip Mine these out from under us but I want to put some testing in and see.
  • Brought Back - With the idea of possibly adding Lotus Vale and Scorched Ruins to the list, the appeal of ramping off of sacrificing some lands seems very interesting. More importantly though, I think this effect is very reasonable as far as mana kept up to be able to cast it and bringing back any two permanents at instant speed for two mana seems strong enough that I would like to test it. It does make me think about fetchlands but I think for now I will probably pass on that.
  • Land Tax / Cartographer's Hawk / Verge Rangers / Manascape Refractor - I think all of these cards would also benefit in some way from adding Lotus Vale and Scorched Ruins to my list. I have in the past played the rangers and Land Tax and I had issues with having more lands than my opponents too often. I think it could be worth circling back and testing them again with Lotus Vale and Scorched Ruins in list though.
  • Angel of Destiny - I initially really didn't like this card but after giving it some consideration, its on my maybe test list. In the past I have run Baneslayer Angel in this list and while this angel sort of stops my clock, it gives me a big lifegain boost and it threatens to kill players. I have moved to a thought process with this list that I like to make every card in the deck a must answer threat in some way or another if possible. This effect could be strong against a deck that doesn't use combat damage to kill but still zeroes out hp through non infinties. Against a control deck their lack of damage pressure would force them to potentially need to kill this angel to not die. I think its reasonably costed and the double strike adds some value to some of the equipment in my list as well. It also has some positive interactions with Archangel of Thune and Angel of Condemnation on the lifegain front. I am far from sold on it in here, but I could possibly see me testing it assuming its not expensive post launch.
I have already ordered and received Lotus Vale and Scorched Ruins. I think I am going to have a priority in testing them soon but the question is at what point do they seem reasonable so I will be shifting some other things as well to include them in the list moving forward. I am not sure if that will be after Keeper of the Accord comes out or not but I do fully intend to shift things a bit for some testing with them.
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 3 years ago

So, I have done a little testing with some new concepts without changing my list here in part because some of the things I was testing I wasn't really sure where I stood on them.
  • Brought Back - It was a bit of an odd situation but I ended up playing a three player game against a Dimir and Jeskai deck. I ended up seeinig graveyard hate, a %$#% of counterspells, and exile / shuffle removal. I sat on this card like....... the whole game and it wen't very poorly. Keep in mind though that it was a bit of an odd setup as to what I was playing against but oh man...... I sat on it for forever without being able to use it.
  • Lotus Vale / Scorched Ruins - I put these cards in for some testing. I don't actually mind sacrificing lands all that much but I did notice that it made it a lot harder to activate Emeria. I don't feel like I have come to a consensus on these but I feel like its more likely now that including these cards might be somewhat along the lines of abandoning Emeria as a real plan. I think as of right now I might shift my focus on these over to my Heliod deck for now as I tend to value mana generation a lot more in that list.
  • Land Tax - Ohhhhhhh man this card continues to under perform for me. I just don't reliably enough see green ramp decks in my meta. I saw this card again and it did actually trigger for me once or twice. It was relivant once as I drew it instead of a land and missed a land but then I proceeded to have 5+ lands in hand at all times the rest of that game without really using it again. I could have culled lands from my deck I guess, I just continue to be disappointed by what it does for me.

Then I guess there are the newer additions I can talk about some:
  • Drannith Magistrate - It has been kind of insane when I draw it early. Somehow I really haven't seen it mid game much but the slow down on opponents starting has been great.
  • Magus of the Balance - Little bastard is hiding from me. I still haven't seen him yet.
  • Angel of Condemnation - I keep finding it right after deploying Cursed Totem. I put it in as a filler card but I think I have a setup to swap it out. When I am not hindering the hell out of it I still don't use this much.
  • Mangara, the Diplomat - It is still somewhat new but honestly, yea its been fairly decent. It usually draws me a few cards off of the opponent 2+ casting effect and really, I think I am ok with its performance so far.
  • Magus of the Disk - It has been good for me so far.
  • Cursed Totem - I keep drawing this card and ohhhhhhh boy its been strong. It does screw with some of my own creatures which sucks but really the disruption it has given me has been HUGE.
  • Suppression Field - I like that I can still equip through it and I can still activate my creatures. It still makes activate abilities hard for my opponents and disrupts some infinites which is good. I haven't drawn it as much as I have Cursed Totem but I think I am still pleased with it.
  • Angel's Grace - So, this card can and could be good, but I just keep getting it at the wrong time or seeing situations where whatever is going to kill me can just kill me immediately afterwards. I seem to draw it against the fair decks and then its nowhere to be found vs the combo decks.
  • Gideon of the Trials - Same issue as Angel's Grace. Its not a very good card vs the fair decks and I also need to dispatch it ahead of time.
  • Gideon Jura - Surprisingly, the mass taunt into my boardstate has been kind of crazy so far. I have a lot of vigilance and its sort of like multi removal for my opponents in several cases. I think I am going to keep running it and see where it goes for me.
DECK CHANGES:
  • Angel of CondemnationAngel of Destiny I have been having some issues with disabling activated abilities and Angel of Condemnation. I brought it back in as sort of a place holder to figure out where I was going next more so than anything else. I want to see how Angel of Destiny performs for me from the stand point that its a wincon and I also run some effects that care about gaining life.
  • Angel's GraceRule of Law I have been having a tough time making Angel's Grace work for me. It requires my opponent to be winning via specific ways and against the fair decks it has been sort of hit or miss for me. People have been running some card draw heavy strategies of late and I want to see if I can't throw some wrenches at them with limiting casts in a turn. I think it could also potentially help vs combo too.
  • Gideon of the TrialsDevout Witness It has been tough having Gideon at the right time and not having the rest of the table beat up on him. I seem to find him against the fair decks and he suuuuuuuuuuuucks so much against fair strategies. I don't know how I feel about Devout Witness but it lets me keep some control up by just having a few mana and cards in hand which could help. I find that I sometimes don't want to sweep noncreatures due to my equipment.
I need to test a lot of things yet it feels lol. I have been bringing in some more anti combo tactics of late and they kind of have been working. I had a real slogfest of a game this weekend where I eventually won after what seemed to be 2-3 hours of gameplay. I think that the Rule of Law effects might be something I look into depending on how testing go. Deafening Silence might be fun assuming I can find some space for testing but it would seem more like an anti cantrip effect than an anti combo one as it would depend a lot on what combo they are doing.
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

User avatar
toctheyounger
Posts: 3986
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Post by toctheyounger » 3 years ago

ISBPathfinder wrote:
3 years ago
I think that the Rule of Law effects might be something I look into depending on how testing go. Deafening Silence might be fun assuming I can find some space for testing but it would seem more like an anti cantrip effect than an anti combo one as it would depend a lot on what combo they are doing.
For what its worth, I ran Eidolon of Rhetoric for some time and it was really nice. It's one of those cards you don't always just play out though, you sort of keep it in hand for if/when you need it. That being said, with a decent reanimation loop you can play around it just fine.
Malazan Decks of the Fallen
| Shadowthrone/Lazav | Raest/Yidris | T'iam / The Ur-Dragon |

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 3 years ago

toctheyounger wrote:
3 years ago
ISBPathfinder wrote:
3 years ago
I think that the Rule of Law effects might be something I look into depending on how testing go. Deafening Silence might be fun assuming I can find some space for testing but it would seem more like an anti cantrip effect than an anti combo one as it would depend a lot on what combo they are doing.
For what its worth, I ran Eidolon of Rhetoric for some time and it was really nice. It's one of those cards you don't always just play out though, you sort of keep it in hand for if/when you need it. That being said, with a decent reanimation loop you can play around it just fine.
The only thing that makes me a little hesitant on these effects is all of the draw I have been getting of late between monarch and the equipment in list. Its not the end of the world to only cast one thing a turn but I feel it punishes some of the cantrip decks as well as the combo decks as many of them rely on multicasting spells.

If there was an angel or human with this effect I think I would go for that but with off tribe creatures I think I would rather have the effect on a noncreature. The fact that Eidolon of Rhetoric dies to creature removal AND disenchants really makes me avoid it a bit. I guess Archon of Emeria is probably an improvement but I am still not sure that I would rather have it on a body.
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

User avatar
toctheyounger
Posts: 3986
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Post by toctheyounger » 3 years ago

ISBPathfinder wrote:
3 years ago
toctheyounger wrote:
3 years ago
ISBPathfinder wrote:
3 years ago
I think that the Rule of Law effects might be something I look into depending on how testing go. Deafening Silence might be fun assuming I can find some space for testing but it would seem more like an anti cantrip effect than an anti combo one as it would depend a lot on what combo they are doing.
For what its worth, I ran Eidolon of Rhetoric for some time and it was really nice. It's one of those cards you don't always just play out though, you sort of keep it in hand for if/when you need it. That being said, with a decent reanimation loop you can play around it just fine.
The only thing that makes me a little hesitant on these effects is all of the draw I have been getting of late between monarch and the equipment in list. Its not the end of the world to only cast one thing a turn but I feel it punishes some of the cantrip decks as well as the combo decks as many of them rely on multicasting spells.

If there was an angel or human with this effect I think I would go for that but with off tribe creatures I think I would rather have the effect on a noncreature. The fact that Eidolon of Rhetoric dies to creature removal AND disenchants really makes me avoid it a bit. I guess Archon of Emeria is probably an improvement but I am still not sure that I would rather have it on a body.
Totally get it. The body is problematic, and it does become a target. I love the effect, personally, I think even if we're playing out from behind it it still favours us - most of my draw and ramp can play well enough from behind this, so long as its sequenced properly, ie. play out your equipments, monarch enablers first. That being said, people will dedicate their lives to destroying these effects, so I wouldn't expect them to last anyway - just make the best of them while they're in play. Deafening Silence has done nicely for me too previously, so there's that. My personal ideal would be an on-tribe creature that has this sort of ability, but an enchantment is fine.
Malazan Decks of the Fallen
| Shadowthrone/Lazav | Raest/Yidris | T'iam / The Ur-Dragon |

User avatar
Sinis
Posts: 2034
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted
Location: Toronto, Canada

Post by Sinis » 3 years ago

ISBPathfinder wrote:
3 years ago
Brought Back - It was a bit of an odd situation but I ended up playing a three player game against a Dimir and Jeskai deck. I ended up seeinig graveyard hate, a %$#% of counterspells, and exile / shuffle removal. I sat on this card like....... the whole game and it wen't very poorly. Keep in mind though that it was a bit of an odd setup as to what I was playing against but oh man...... I sat on it for forever without being able to use it.
Lotus Vale / Scorched Ruins - I put these cards in for some testing. I don't actually mind sacrificing lands all that much but I did notice that it made it a lot harder to activate Emeria. I don't feel like I have come to a consensus on these but I feel like its more likely now that including these cards might be somewhat along the lines of abandoning Emeria as a real plan. I think as of right now I might shift my focus on these over to my Heliod deck for now as I tend to value mana generation a lot more in that list.
Just Brought Back the lands you sac, bro :crazy:

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 3 years ago

Sinis wrote:
3 years ago
ISBPathfinder wrote:
3 years ago
Brought Back - It was a bit of an odd situation but I ended up playing a three player game against a Dimir and Jeskai deck. I ended up seeinig graveyard hate, a %$#% of counterspells, and exile / shuffle removal. I sat on this card like....... the whole game and it wen't very poorly. Keep in mind though that it was a bit of an odd setup as to what I was playing against but oh man...... I sat on it for forever without being able to use it.
Lotus Vale / Scorched Ruins - I put these cards in for some testing. I don't actually mind sacrificing lands all that much but I did notice that it made it a lot harder to activate Emeria. I don't feel like I have come to a consensus on these but I feel like its more likely now that including these cards might be somewhat along the lines of abandoning Emeria as a real plan. I think as of right now I might shift my focus on these over to my Heliod deck for now as I tend to value mana generation a lot more in that list.
Just Brought Back the lands you sac, bro :crazy:
I didn't find any of those lands. It was a weird game for sure. It ended up going like 3 hours and eventually I won because I think my opponents both no longer had wincons in their decks lol.
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

User avatar
Sinis
Posts: 2034
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted
Location: Toronto, Canada

Post by Sinis » 3 years ago

ISBPathfinder wrote:
3 years ago
I didn't find any of those lands. It was a weird game for sure. It ended up going like 3 hours and eventually I won because I think my opponents both no longer had wincons in their decks lol.
So, if opponents run so much graveyard hate pieces that they run out of wincons, you could say that threatening to leverage Brought Back won you the game. ;)

I actually wonder if Scorched Ruins is the bridge too far, simply because it's hard to leverage on turn 3 or on turn 4.

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 3 years ago

@Sinis I think the Scorched Ruins issue is kind of minor. Its sort of along the lines of what if you get Temple of the False Gods in an opening hand and brick on more lands. Its rare that the difference in Temple having been some other land is the difference in what would have saved you. You still don't have sufficient lands and the difference in having one more mana in that situation rarely comes up as what would save you when your deck decides that ten cards deep you can't draw lands.

For now, I am going to continue some of my testinig with them in my Heliod deck (which I have been terrible about updating) where I care a bit more about mana throughout than I do in this list. I also don't value Emeria as much in Heliod so I think that its a better trade off gambit to attempt there. I think I was actually able to make them work fine here its just that having them in the list was sort of at the cost of emeria (land) was never going to work. The other option to make Emeria still work is to cull back on utility lands but I think its probably stronger in most cases to run utility lands and emeria than it is the sac lands. Its really only in situations where you find Emeria land to be weak that I would really try it out as of right now.

DECK CHANGES:
  • Umezawa's JitteBlackblade Reforged I think that Jitte can be strong. My issue is more that I think it has a weak initial impact and its only strong if its left alone. It threatens the whole board and it does take over the board if its left alone. The problem I have is that it feels like it usually isn't left to do that. Blackblade being able to hit hard opens up some of the life linkers to gain us some big life or lower someone's hp total quickly. Toc has had some luck with it and its been sort of sidelined for me for some time but it seems reasonable and closing power is something we kind of lack. Opening the equipment tutotrs up to a closer could give me a lot more closing power in the mid to late game where as before I just had ramp and draw as my equipment options for later on.
  • Mind StoneArchon of Emeria So........... I hate to cut ramp but my problem is we are lowering our curve a bit more over time and lots of my four drops tend to be a little responsive. I considered if I wanted to try some land ramp or move to a larger stone like Thran Dynamo or Worn Powerstone but I sort of felt like I didn't really want them in here with a number of the wraths I run. It feels a bit better to just hate on my opponents, slow them down, and trudge on them and so here I am bringing in another hatebear. What I like about bringing Archon of Emeria in here is that a three drop flyer actually carries equipment quite well. There have been a lot of decks lately in my meta that have been focusing on spam casting spells so lets go ahead and hate on that. I haven't gotten to test Rule of Law yet but I want a little more consistency in the mix just so I can really experience the effects as sometimes a single card just never gets drawn.
I have also been mulling over pushing up Disenchant effects as well as the idea of maybe having enough enchantments to entertain the idea of Hall of Heliod's Generosity again. Seal of Cleansing really isn't a half bad effect vs combo decks and looping it to keep them in line is something I don't mind at all. I also think that Soul Tithe is criminally underplayed as a card. I got accused of playing white stax the other day lol (he was right).
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

User avatar
Sinis
Posts: 2034
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted
Location: Toronto, Canada

Post by Sinis » 3 years ago

ISBPathfinder wrote:
3 years ago
I think the Scorched Ruins issue is kind of minor. Its sort of along the lines of what if you get Temple of the False Gods in an opening hand and brick on more lands. Its rare that the difference in Temple having been some other land is the difference in what would have saved you. You still don't have sufficient lands and the difference in having one more mana in that situation rarely comes up as what would save you when your deck decides that ten cards deep you can't draw lands.
Maybe. I was thinking of giving this land schema a real go, and doubling down with Planar Birth and Surveyor's Scope, Boreas Charger, etc. I'm not finding many ways to profitably sac lands, though, it'd feel better when discarding lands from land tax. Maybe Planar Birth's threshold for effectiveness is like, two or three lands. Enough from a Lotus Vale analogue; I mean, I've played Brought Back for that much, so this can't be that awful.

I might also run Expedition Map to find one of these Lotus Vale analogues in order to enable these other cards.

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 3 years ago

Sinis wrote:
3 years ago
ISBPathfinder wrote:
3 years ago
I think the Scorched Ruins issue is kind of minor. Its sort of along the lines of what if you get Temple of the False Gods in an opening hand and brick on more lands. Its rare that the difference in Temple having been some other land is the difference in what would have saved you. You still don't have sufficient lands and the difference in having one more mana in that situation rarely comes up as what would save you when your deck decides that ten cards deep you can't draw lands.
Maybe. I was thinking of giving this land schema a real go, and doubling down with Planar Birth and Surveyor's Scope, Boreas Charger, etc. I'm not finding many ways to profitably sac lands, though, it'd feel better when discarding lands from land tax. Maybe Planar Birth's threshold for effectiveness is like, two or three lands. Enough from a Lotus Vale analogue; I mean, I've played Brought Back for that much, so this can't be that awful.

I might also run Expedition Map to find one of these Lotus Vale analogues in order to enable these other cards.
I think there is also a question to be asked as to how hard we want to try to ramp. This type of ramp is super different but I also think that we don't have a need for mana beyond a point. We don't have much for mana sinks and our card draw is only so good. Its part of why I was considering shifting some of this concept to my Heliod deck because that deck does have a need for any and all ramp it can get its hands on. I think some of this concept plays better to a deck with activated abilities that tend to be mana hungry.

I do think it is very interesting and I do want to delve deeper into it, I just am not sure that Bruna really needs to work in this kind of way. I am not against testing to see if it works, I just don't know that when it does that we really needed to jump through the level of hoops it requires.
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

User avatar
Sinis
Posts: 2034
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted
Location: Toronto, Canada

Post by Sinis » 3 years ago

ISBPathfinder wrote:
3 years ago
I think some of this concept plays better to a deck with activated abilities that tend to be mana hungry.
Yeah, that's probably it. I usually find myself spending most/all of my mana every turn on Bruna, but I can't tell you that it's consistent. Last game I played with it, my board got dismantled 3 or 4 turns in a row before I disrupted that player and put him down, but even when it was a stalemate, I was dumping mana into other effects.

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 3 years ago

Bruna Commander Legends Set Review
  • Akroma, Vision of Ixidor I am a HUGE fan of original Akroma, Angel of Wrath. Seeing another Akroma in mono white makes me happy. That said, I think she is better at the helm in most cases but there are a few types of decks that I can see her fitting into the 99 for. She does bring Bruna up to a 3 turn clock by giving her +2/+2 but paying 7 mana to +2/+2 our commander is far from impressive. She is going to work better when she is the focus of the deck in most cases or when put into the deck of Odric, Lunarch Marshal. I don't think I can see myself justifying her in this list.
  • Akroma's WillIts an odd spell being that it seems to be sort of a combination of an offensive effect as well as a defensive one. You can use it as an alpha strike to hit someone with flying double strikers or you can react with it giving indestructible as well as shrug off targeted removal with protection. I think its probably stronger in decks that fear being swept as well as possibly in decks that play more of a draw go keeping mana up. Its interesting but I think that four mana is ultimately sort of a steep requirement for a defensive effect. I think its better in decks where the offensive attack option being reasonable is going to make the most sense.
  • Archon of Coronation starting the monarch effect and beyond that giving us an attacker / defender who preserves our HP and allows us to threaten to retake monarch is nice. Its worth noting that it forces opponents whose gameplan is to overrun us to remove it / take monarch from us before they can overrun us. Its a little bit of a swarm defense as well which is nice. If they can't keep monarch from us then attacking with a big swarm of creatures just continuously gets essentially fogged by this creature. It is unfortunate that it isn't an angel or human but I think it still easily makes my list.
  • Armored Skyhunter we aren't equipment / aura built enough for this and its not a human / angel.
  • Court of Grace This is easily an upgrade over Palace Sentinels. Even though its not an on tribe creature it just does a lot more for us and forces opponents to potentially remove an enchantment on top of starting up monarch.
  • Keeper of the Accord I think this card has potential but I did some testing with Lotus Vale and Scorched Ruins and in the end I think they conflicted a bit heavily with Emeria, the Sky Ruin for me to really endorse it in my own list but I think that its possible that there may become a tipping point of effects that have positive synergy with these type of lands at some point that it might become good. I also thought that possibly a mono white deck that gets less value from Emeria, the Sky Ruin or more importance on ramp might go for this.
  • Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel I was tempted by this card for a bit until I realized that in most cases Angel of Condemnation does better with flicker tactics. Where he is intended to shine is as the commander and the ability to partner him into any color combination you want. His power is primarily in flickering a number of creatures in a turn rather than flickering one or two things since he can only return targets once a turn rotation normally speaking. I have played Angel of Condemnation before and in a lot of cases the power I got from it came from the option to flicker opponents creatures as disruption. We don't really rely on ETB / Leaves Play value much here.
  • Promise of Tomorrow it feels so strange for this card to be mono white. It really wants to be a card run in a multicolored deck due to white's low availability of sacrifice options. It doesn't fit here, you would really want to be able to freely sacrifice creatures for wherever it does fit.
  • Radiant, Serra Archangel It is cool to see more Serra themed angels. Its sad to me that given the steep cost and mediocre stats on this that we couldn't have tagged vigilance on it. Its nice to see some Serra throw back references, but this one might be more underwhelming than Serra Angel to me.
  • Seraphic Greatsword Ohhhhhhhhhh man I am soooo disappointed in this equipment. This card totally should not have been a white mythic at what it does currently. The only thing I can think of is maybe they did that for the limited experience but its totally not mythic level. Beyond that, its so %$#% that they would tag the highest life total onto its requirements in a mono white deck. I think white is the least likely to achieve that given how white is the color of robust vigilant creatures and lifegain. Hell, it would have been infinitely better if they had inverted it and required you to have the highest life total to get the angel as it would have made it a better card. I am still completely pissed at how bad they made this card. I REALLY hope I never open a pack with one of these in it.
  • Slash the Ranks I can't really come up with a "run this card in deck x" situation. You would probably think to run it in a walkers deck but its awkward leaving opponents commanders alive. It probably makes it so that you would want it in a deck where a planeswalker isn't your commander but you run a lot of walkers. I think its going to be a very narrowly run wrath that I wouldn't expect to see in many places.
  • Soul of Eternity this feels a lot like Serra Avatar. Its not much used and the few places that will use it are probably decks that do things that care about a creatures size like Fling, Greater Good, Brion Stoutarm.
  • Triumphant Reckoning its terribly expensive and the things it interacts with are far from the focus of this deck.
  • Horizon Stone I think mana not emptying is a trap of a mechanic.
  • Jeweled Lotus Ohhhhhh the controversy. Its a good card, in the right deck. It doesn't fit this deck given we are a responsive deck that likely can't use tempo tactics well.
  • Phyrexian Triniform Its probably useful in some sort of discard / recursion based deck. Not here though.
  • Staunch Throneguard cool to see colorless monarch. If not for the cards we are already getting this set I might have actually entertained the idea of this card previously to inflate monarch count.
  • War Room its probably a small advantage over Bonders' Enclave even though it costs you life you can activate it without any board presence. Its possible you could run both of them as well. I think they are useful lands and they allow some cool interaction like Comeuppance or Cast Out while also having draw be an option. I don't run either card right now mostly because I think paying 4 to draw a card is steep as well as my card draw feeling fairly good of late due to the monarch cards.
DECK CHANGES:
  • Tome of LegendsArchon of Coronation Tome of Legends is.... ok but it hardly blows me away. If I play it early on curve it won't really restock counters and while the cost / draw is fairly good I find it a bit limiting in that its a bit out of my control early in the game. Archon of Coronation adds another monarch effect to the deck which as of right now I am ok with but interestingly enough it also helps with token defense in that they have to take monarch from me or kill Archon of Coronation before they can damage me. Lots of the token decks that I tend to worry about often have more proactive gameplans so the archon might be very useful against them.
  • Palace SentinelsCourt of Grace the only downsides of this trade off is that the enchantment doesn't immediately give me a blocker as well as not being a human in the case it would get countered. Court of Grace seems like it will out perform Palace Sentinels in almost every other way.
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

User avatar
ChaosNomad
Posts: 9
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by ChaosNomad » 3 years ago

ISBPathfinder wrote:
3 years ago
Sinis wrote:
3 years ago
ISBPathfinder wrote:
3 years ago
I think the Scorched Ruins issue is kind of minor. Its sort of along the lines of what if you get Temple of the False Gods in an opening hand and brick on more lands. Its rare that the difference in Temple having been some other land is the difference in what would have saved you. You still don't have sufficient lands and the difference in having one more mana in that situation rarely comes up as what would save you when your deck decides that ten cards deep you can't draw lands.
Maybe. I was thinking of giving this land schema a real go, and doubling down with Planar Birth and Surveyor's Scope, Boreas Charger, etc. I'm not finding many ways to profitably sac lands, though, it'd feel better when discarding lands from land tax. Maybe Planar Birth's threshold for effectiveness is like, two or three lands. Enough from a Lotus Vale analogue; I mean, I've played Brought Back for that much, so this can't be that awful.

I might also run Expedition Map to find one of these Lotus Vale analogues in order to enable these other cards.
I think there is also a question to be asked as to how hard we want to try to ramp. This type of ramp is super different but I also think that we don't have a need for mana beyond a point. We don't have much for mana sinks and our card draw is only so good. Its part of why I was considering shifting some of this concept to my Heliod deck because that deck does have a need for any and all ramp it can get its hands on. I think some of this concept plays better to a deck with activated abilities that tend to be mana hungry.

I do think it is very interesting and I do want to delve deeper into it, I just am not sure that Bruna really needs to work in this kind of way. I am not against testing to see if it works, I just don't know that when it does that we really needed to jump through the level of hoops it requires.
I actually put together a list using the ramp style suggested, and it definitely ramps decently quickly. It's also incredibly fun to see some of the crazy ramp lines that you can get. It really starts to lean the deck towards a self-mill/reanimator strategy, as you should be running things like Sevinne's Reclamation & Crucible of Worlds to get the maximum amount of value out of the strategy. Also as a side note, Surveyor's Scope is still trash from my testing.

Finally this is unrelated to my prior point, but while looking at varying controlling elements possible for the deck I found this forgotten gem Crackdown, and was wondering if you had possibly gotten any tests with it in as an asymmetrical stax piece by chance?

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 3 years ago

ChaosNomad wrote:
3 years ago
I actually put together a list using the ramp style suggested, and it definitely ramps decently quickly. It's also incredibly fun to see some of the crazy ramp lines that you can get. It really starts to lean the deck towards a self-mill/reanimator strategy, as you should be running things like Sevinne's Reclamation & Crucible of Worlds to get the maximum amount of value out of the strategy. Also as a side note, Surveyor's Scope is still trash from my testing.

Finally this is unrelated to my prior point, but while looking at varying controlling elements possible for the deck I found this forgotten gem Crackdown, and was wondering if you had possibly gotten any tests with it in as an asymmetrical stax piece by chance?
Good to hear. I did a little testing myself with it but it seemed like a situation where I was too often sacrificing the ability for Emeria, the Sky Ruin to go active to run it. Are you still running Emeria and is it working for you? The other reason I sort of went back on it was that I feel like Bruna is a bit of a responsive commander rather than a commander I am trying to ramp out. Moving to a more proactive milling concept seems like a good call if you are trying to push the ramp concept. Its possible that some other cards like Geier Reach Sanitarium or Conqueror's Galleon for a hand filter effect might also be useful as well.

Crackdown / Meekstone - I tend to see these effects as more useful as anti voltron concepts. There aren't a ton of mid sized creatures in the 3-6 power range that give me much of an issue with Bruna. Its possible they could help vs eldrazi but even taking that first hit from an eldrazi annihilate is something I tend to prefer not to take in the first place. I tend to see a lot more that either goes super wide with an overrun or hits me for non combat damage like aristocrats or some weird psudo or actual combo deck. I would say in general it would be a question of a meta call. I think these cards do great at shutting down voltron but its a strategy I don't see much anymore for me to really henge against it. Bruna being a 5/7 with vigilance often keeps a lot of creatures away that these effects would normally suppress. Not taking that first hit from a big swarm of Craterhoof Behemoth tokens is more important to me than keeping them tapped down. I happen to die a lot more to things that in one turn blow me up than I do to hits over time with this deck though. I have never really been able to make these effects work in this format but if you see a lot of voltron I could possibly see it working. But then again, if you see a lot of voltron I would probably rather have Righteous Aura.
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 3 years ago

Kaldheim Review:
  • Glorious Protector I think this is more of an ETB / Flash tool than a tribal concept. It could possibly save a board in a wrath but Bruna already gives us good recovery tools. I have a Livio deck for instance and I think it fits that sort of deck a lot better.
  • Righteous Valkyrie I am almost tempted to try it just given that its a cheap three drop flyer that can carry equipment. Without trying to force lifegain a lot harder though or having it as more of a core concept though I don't think I would. I could see it fitting a Gisela, the Broken Blade or Lyra Dawnbringer deck or perhaps a bruna list pushing harder on lifegain. As we continue to see more lifegain payoffs I continue to be tempted to try to shift heavier towards that concept. I think we still need a few more good and viable cards for me to make that shift but we keep getting closer.
  • Search for Glory This is a good effect. I really like Thalia's Lancers and most decks don't really value the body to this effect all that much. I will probably try to run it in addition to the lancers but I could see a lot of decks that considered lancers to just run this new spell instead.
  • Valkyrie Harbinger This seems incredibly powerful. It can trigger itself. Its both offense and defense in one and its something that is going to pressure opponents to deal with it. It will be a bit slow to action but I have started favoring the value over time angel and humans a bit more in this list personally. It will suck when you cast it and someone just immediately drops that swords to plowshares on it but I still think I am going to run it.
  • Cosmos Elixir Its interesting as it is actually quite similar to Endless Atlas but it shaves off the every turn cost. We do protect our life total fairly well with this deck but I think the reason it probably falls behind Endless Atlas for me is that we don't really get to control it and we aren't a dedicated lifegain deck. If we focused more on lifegain, I think it probably would be stronger for this list but as of right now I really don't want to see the trigger to gain two life ever in this format. Monarch is going to be a lot more consistent for us because even if we can't defend our life total we can potentially retake it and even if our life total has dropped we still trigger that sweet draw.
  • Pyre of Heroes most of my creatures aren't focused on upfront value and instead give me value over time. Due to that, I don't think I really see enough reason to run it here. I could use it as a means to fill my grave for bruna but I just don't think there is enough value in that for this deck.
  • Tyrite Sanctum I think that the utility of this land is alright. Power shifting bruna up one makes her able to kill titans in combat. Going up a second power puts her at a three turn clock. Anything beyond that is not that likely other than if you hit someone before getting her to seven just to make sure that three turn clock happens. I think its fine, I just don't see myself replacing a utility land in my own list with it. I think its a good budget option for someone putting this list together as they probably won't have a refined utility land list.
DECK CHANGES:
  • Angel of DestinyValkyrie Harbinger so, I unfortunately have not been able to test much of any of the new stuff. I have played this deck a few times but I really haven't managed to draw or test any of the new cards much of at all. I think that Angel of Destiny is a bit of an all or nothing card though in that if it isn't killing someone or threatening to do so I am not going to care much for it. I think that Angel of Destiny is probably more pressure against a combo like deck but in more of a slug fight I think I would rather have this new card.
  • Ranger-Captain of EosSearch for Glory I have been on the fence for some time now with ranger. I still think that its decent on curve but as the game goes later I am not nearly as happy only having two targets for him and sometimes I have drawn one or more of those targets already. Late game wayfarer just isn't really that interesting. I was more interested in wayfarer too when I was going a little heavier on trying out some of the bounce and sac based lands. I think that of these two effects the ranger is probably stronger upfront but Search is much stronger in a mid or late game sort of event. I prefer to play for cards that don't fall off as much as time goes on with a deck like this.
Like I said though, I really unfortunately haven't found enough time to test this deck lately and I feel bad playing this deck more than once a night as it has a lot of death and taxes kind of effects that can really bog things down. I really can't recall having seen the new monarch cards at all and I haven't seen Angel of Destiny even though I am swapping it out that is more along the lines that I just couldn't bring myself to cut other expensive drops as they have proven themselves in my mind where as this one has not. From that perspective I guess its possible that at some point Angel of Destiny might come back if I can find someplace to try it out.

Of the new stuff, I have seen some of the only one cast per turn effects. The results have been mixed so far in that it really depends on what my opponents decks are but there are plenty of combo like decks as well as a TON of cantrip heavy decks in my meta so I know they can do some serious work. I have avoided casting them a few times when I am out drawing my opponents but I still think I need to continue to test them for now.

I have barely seen Magus of the Balance at all yet and the few times I have tend to be very late into the game. I still want to see a game where I draw it sooner than the last turn or two because I feel like I still just haven't seen enough of this card to really have a stance on it. Offhand I kind of doubt that it is going to be positive but he continues to hang on until I can actually test him. Since bumping up the Cursed Totem effects I think it has put more pressure on the likelihood that he doesn't stay in my list as well.
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

KungfuHero
Posts: 14
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by KungfuHero » 3 years ago

I too am a fan of hatebears with Bruna. Thoughts on Thalia, Heretic Cathar and Angelic Arbiter for this deck?

User avatar
ISBPathfinder
Bebopin
Posts: 2154
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: SD, USA

Post by ISBPathfinder » 3 years ago

KungfuHero wrote:
3 years ago
I too am a fan of hatebears with Bruna. Thoughts on Thalia, Heretic Cathar and Angelic Arbiter for this deck?
Thalia, Heretic Cathar - I think that she is fantastic on curve. My issue is more that I feel like her effect is something with a deminishing return. The later in the game you might draw her the worse her taxation is going to be. On Turn 3 or before I think that she is incredible but when you start looking at like turns 7+ I think that she has a big fall off in impact. She still hates on haste but I think that is an effect that is going to give and take based on opponents decks somewhat heavily. Whenever you have cards that are strong upfront but weak later there is a question of how fast games are going to be. For instance a lot of fast combo decks run a lot of tempo mana and cheap answers because its important to do things quickly but in a deck like this where my expectation is to win well past turn 10 in most cases it does matter to have cards generally gain in value drawing them later.

Angelic Arbiter - Its tricky to get behind expensive hatebears. This one is still good against an overrun into an attack sort of thing but you need to deploy it beforehand. I think in some ways it has the same flaws as something like Platinum Angel in that its like, it needs to be in play and stick there. There are things that the Arbiter would stop that Platinum wouldn't and vice versa the same. I don't run these mostly because they are expensive, not that hard to remove, and situational in if they help or not. Lots of the bears I do run tend to be a good bit cheaper to cast which lets me get them online sooner. I guess its worth asking what it stops and question if you have issues against that or not. Lately when I die it tends to be either to some sort of big overrun of creatures, some continuous draining effect, or some psudo combo. She might help against some of the overrunning effects depending on the deck but a lot of the rest of that wouldn't help me as much against.

General Update - Not a lot to report but a lot of the activated ability hate effects have been working out for me. I have also not been impressed with Magus of the Balance in part due to the inclusion of the activated ability hate but even outside of that I just haven't been impressed. The one spell / turn thing has been a bit tricky even for me but I think I need to test it a bit more. Thus far I have been able to push forward and win through it but its been hard given that the monarch stuff has been working out so well for me. Sadly I have been making so many new decks and testing so rarely that I have a LOT of backlogged testing I need to get through with my decks.
Last edited by ISBPathfinder 3 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
[EDH] Vadrok List (Suicide Chads) | Evelyn List (Vamp Mill) | Sanwell List | Danitha List | Indominus List | Ratadrabik List

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic

Return to “Decklists”