Kaalia Stax & Aggro

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benjameenbear
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Post by benjameenbear » 2 years ago

@Dumoko
I think that Serra's Emissary is a pretty awesome card myself. I think you picked up its utility in naming creature immediately, which is what I would probably name myself most of the time just to make sure that Kaalia's Horde can get through for damage. However, @3drinks makes a great point that naming Instant would be more powerful for a cEDH setting since most removal spells are instant speed.

It's sadly not a Stax piece that PREVENTS opponents from casting a specific type of spell (too bad!) but I think it's a solid protection piece with some solid benefits like you mentioned.

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3drinks
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Post by 3drinks » 2 years ago

I'm more concerned about the new Humility, Dress Down. It's just the one turn, but that's all you need to disrupt Kaalia for a moment and set us back so far in one turn. And it even replaces itself!

I am very afraid of where this is going.
benjameenbear wrote:
2 years ago
@Dumoko
I think that Serra's Emissary is a pretty awesome card myself. I think you picked up its utility in naming creature immediately, which is what I would probably name myself most of the time just to make sure that Kaalia's Horde can get through for damage. However, @3drinks makes a great point that naming Instant would be more powerful for a cEDH setting since most removal spells are instant speed.

It's sadly not a Stax piece that PREVENTS opponents from casting a specific type of spell (too bad!) but I think it's a solid protection piece with some solid benefits like you mentioned.
I'm fairly certain we just play Avacyn, Angel of Hope instead, since it's doing what we want (we don't care if Kaalia is blocked, if she's indestructible).

Modern
R{R/W} 87guide Burn
Commander
WRKellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
RTorbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
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Post by benjameenbear » 2 years ago

I think Serra's Emissary giving you protection from creatures is very powerful. You don't have to worry about crack-backs, your creatures are protected from combat damage, ETB abilities, or activated abilities, and it's a hefty body to shorten the clock. Avacyn, Angel of Hope doesn't do that quite the same way.

Totally agreed about Dress Down. Like Hullbreacher, this should have DEFINITELY been a White card. It's an enchantment, it does a totally w ability and it has flash. I... am at a loss to explain WOTC R&D department right now.

Well, Modern Horizons is fully spoiled! Time for a set review:

Modern Horizons 2 Set Review
  • Serra's Emissary - a VERY powerful Kaalia target. Giving yourself & your creatures protection from other creatures makes this card VERY worthwhile imo. You can also choose instants to protect yourself from Brain Freeze and most types of removal that gets played in cEDH. Very solid card that I'll be acquiring!
  • Esper Sentinel - they finally did it! It's not quite as powerful as Rhystic Study, but we'll take it! It doesn't scale terribly well in the late game because it's contingent on the Sentinel's power, but it's still a decent card that's been sorely needed.
  • Glorious Enforcer - a pretty solid budget Kaalia target that gains life and can gain life quickly to pad your advantage. I dig it.
  • Solitude - a nice ETB creature, but we don't really abuse ETB abilities in this deck.
  • Timeless Dragon - a good mana-fixing dragon with a decent body. Not the flashiest Kaalia target, but I imagine that it does its job well for when you need it.
  • Archfiend of Sorrows - putting a one-sided Infest on a Kaalia target is pretty good. It's not quite as good as Demon of Dark Schemes (since you can potentially rez other creatures), but it's a good target anyways.
  • Damn - really cool design that overloads into Damnation. If you're looking for a decent budget replacement for a Wrath effect, I'd pick up a copy.
  • Dauthi Voidwalker - this is a GREAT card. Grab a copy, because having a Leyline of the Void on a body that allows you to cast a thing for free is VERY good. An excellent addition to the Kaalia Hate-bear suite, I definitely recommend getting one.
  • Profane Tutor - it's a solid budget tutor effect that is potentially cast at the right turn. I like it and I could justify its inclusion in a decklist.
  • Obsidian Charmaw - a cool Kaalia target, I wish it targeted a land EACH opponent controls. It doesn't. So, I'll pass on it.
  • Piru, the Volatile - a sweet Kaalia target! Sadly, its wrath effect only occurs on death and it doesn't do anything else besides be a cool, fat, life-linking Dragon. I'll grab a copy because it's really cool, but that's it.
  • Priest of Fell Rites - a nice Reanimate effect on a cheap body.
  • Void Mirror - VERY cool hate-piece that shuts off Breach combos pretty definitively. I'm planning on grabbing a copy for this Stax list to shut off one of the most powerful combo lines in cEDH right now.
  • Karmic Guide - a nice reprint! Should drive the price down a bit more, which is always nice!
  • Cursed Totem - an excellent and very necessary reprint, it doesn't affect Kaalia nearly as much as it does other lists. Grab one while the supply is high!

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Post by Dumoko » 2 years ago

@benjameenbear
The time has come.
You helped me a lot in shaping my own Kaalia, I used your primer a lot.
I'm super grateful to you for being so open to helping others and providing your opinions and advice, even if sometimes I disagreed with those.

You didn't ask for it, but I feel like showing you the Kaalia that I've built and which I consider almost perfect for me and the meta I'm playing in.
Voila!

If you have the interest and time to read into the disclaimer, your feedback will be invaluable :) Though I can understand that delving into somebody's else meta and personality is sometimes just a waste of time :D

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Post by benjameenbear » 2 years ago

@Dumoko
It's never a waste of time to read about your meta and your personality, my friend. Never feel that you are less-than for asking for feedback about your list! That's what these forums are for!

I'll take a look at your list and post directly on your thread, sound good?

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Post by benjameenbear » 2 years ago

After having had a chance to play some cEDH recently, I'll be updating the Stax package shortly. Rule of Law effects have been absolutely back-breaking for the current cEDH meta, where Dockside, Breach, and Ad Naus run the show. I'll also be critically looking at the removal suite as well as I recently got beat down by a T2 Pako with a pilot who had the literal god-hand for Pako... and still lost (not before killing me though, annoying).

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Post by benjameenbear » 2 years ago

Another Set Review that should have been awesome (it is freaking dungeons and DRAGONS, after all) that sadly... wasn't.

Forgotten Realms Set Review
  • Radiant Solar - I guess if you want to use one of the Dungeons, this is probably the best bet for Kaalia.
  • Thorough Investigation - I'm not sure if this card is good or not. Kaalia turns a lot of creatures sideways, but it is a Flameblast Syndrome type of card. I don't think it's going to make the cut, but I could see it being a decent source of draw (albeit expensive) and a cool way to trigger dungeons repeatedly.
  • Chaos Dragon - a 3CMC (cough, MANA VALUE) dragon is pretty good, but not for EDH. Pass. Cool art though!
  • Vengeful Ancestor - a pretty weak ETB ability makes this card a casual card for sure. Not going to make the cut for the main decklist, sadly.
  • Hurl Through Hell - TOTAL flavor win for Kaalia. It's a super expensive (mana value-wise) removal effect, but I'm probably going to get a copy for my wife since she likes these kind of cards for her decks. VERY cool design space, too.
  • Icingdeath, Frost Tyrant - sigh. Cool name. Cool art. LAME ability. Pass.
  • Nadaar, Selfless Paladin - another way to trigger Dungeons. Meh. Pass.
  • Paladin Class - a much-weaker Grand Abolisher is still pretty welcome. I'd pick up a copy just to add to the Stax suite I have for Kaalia.
  • Ebondeath, Dracolich - damn, another GREAT name. WAY cool art. Just a Vanilla dragon though with NO abilities that matter to this deck's core strategy. Sigh.
  • Power Word Kill - this is a pretty cool flavor win card for Kaalia, since she consorts with Demons. I'm picking up a copy simply because of the flavor.
  • Dragon's Fire - if you have a heavy Dragon theme, this would be an EXCELLENT card. Probably better for more casual playgroups.
  • Inferno of the Star Mounts - you know, I'm just going to go and cry in a corner. All of the legendary mono-color dragons look SO damn cool. They just don't help Kaalia in any way.
  • Old Gnawbone - FINALLY, a good Dragon that does a RIDICULOUSLY powerful ability that can - wait, what? You say it's not in Mardu colors? *rereads the card* EFF MY LIFE...
  • Tiamat - ...just. I mean, are we SURE that color identity is a core pillar of this format? Like, super-sure?! Sigh...

So yeah. That's it. Only a couple of cards worth picking up.

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Post by benjameenbear » 2 years ago

Another set, another spoiler! Thankfully, this one's pretty good.

Innistrad 3.0 Set Review
  • Enduring Angel // Angelic Enforcer - a good card that's DEFINITELY worth testing out. Player Hexproof is a great way to stop Brain Freeze wins that are commonly played in cEDH right now and the fact that you can freely pay life into abilities makes this card a very interesting inclusion. Ad Naus, Razaketh, Vilis, Whisperer, this Angel opens up quite a number of powerful lines that are worth exploring.
  • Fateful Absence - a decent removal option if Path or Swords is too narrow for your meta, it's got a higher CMC than I'd like. Still good, though and I wouldn't fault anyone for running a copy.
  • Vanquish the Horde - even in cEDH, there's usually a good density of creatures on a given battlefield. This should always be a greatly reduced Wrath effect, so it's worth mentioning even though I don't think I'll be running it.
  • Graveyard Trespasser // Graveyard Glutton - I actually think this is a pretty decent hate-bear that attacks an axis that has become incredibly prevalent in cEDH as of late, so I'll be picking up a copy since it's repeatable 'yard hate on a good-rate body. It's Ward cost also makes it unlikely that it will be removed, allowing consistency in its ability to exile cards from the 'yard.
  • Infernal Grasp - a total flavor win for Kaalia and it'll probably be good in Standard. Just not efficient enough for this list.
  • Jerren, Corrupted Bishop // Ormendahl, the Corrupter - while not spectacular in Kaalia, because we have no real way to control our life total, it's still worth mentioning because the art is absolutely PHENOMENAL. It'll be going into my Yawgmoth list for sure, but not synergistic enough with Kaalia. Very cool card though!
  • Lord of the Forsaken - this card synergizes AMAZINGLY with everyone's favorite Underworld Breach, so I definitely recommend picking up a copy of this card! I haven't sat down with all the potential this card has but I can immediately tell you it'll be powerful.
  • Liesa, Forgotten Archangel - poor Liesa, all alone and forgotten in the previous two Innistrad sets. While not massively powerful, she makes removal WAY less effective against this deck and has a decent hate-bear effect that could be relevant depending on your meta.
That's pretty much it imo.

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Post by benjameenbear » 2 years ago

Crimson Vow Set Review!

Crimson Vow Set Review
  • Thalia, Guardian of Thraben - a welcome reprint for the Stax suite, I kinda like the new art a little better. I'll pick up another copy of it so I expand my personal Stax suite.
  • Dreadfeast Demon - it's an interesting Demon with a chilling plotline implied, but it's not good for this deck at all. Pass.
  • Path of Peril - another interesting board wipe that should hit a pretty significant number of cEDH relevant cards that can be scaled up in the game as needed. Not bad, not good, probably won't get a copy.
  • Manaform Hellkite - nope, we don't do one-time tokens in this deck. Pass.
And that's it. Another disappointing set for Kaalia, but I'm hoping with Kamigawa coming up that they'll do different versions of the Kamigawa dragon cycle. Yosei and Kokusho are pretty good as is, but I'd really like to see updated versions of them.

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Post by 3drinks » 2 years ago

I think you're quick to brush off that demon, it could turn your board into a bunch of 6/6s and that'll finish someone off quick.

I like the dragon on defense more than offense since we have lots of removal so we can make a dude to block for us when we cast something else. It kinda wombo combos with the new demon too.

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Post by benjameenbear » 2 years ago

3drinks wrote:
2 years ago
I think you're quick to brush off that demon, it could turn your board into a bunch of 6/6s and that'll finish someone off quick.

I like the dragon on defense more than offense since we have lots of removal so we can make a dude to block for us when we cast something else. It kinda wombo combos with the new demon too.
Most of the creatures that are in the deck are chosen because they either have powerful static or attack triggers that substantially hinder my opponents. I actively DON'T want to sacrifice those creatures and lose those effects to simply create a board of Demon tokens that don't do anything but attack. If this deck had a more powerful Token theme, the Demon would be phenomenal in transforming your board of creatures into a powerful board state that can finish the opponent. But that's not what this deck aims to do.

I can see the Dragon being able to create flying blockers as pretty powerful, but this deck doesn't really have a ton of Instants or Sorceries to really maximize the Dragon's effect.

If wombo combo is about getting exponentially more Demons from the higher-caliber A/D/D's that Kaalia is known for, I guess that can be a thing. I'd much rather take a Balefire Dragon over a Demon that's just a 6/6 Flyer.

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Post by 3drinks » 2 years ago

That demon is also a decent sac outlet for spent etb bodies, like say runescarred or despair angel. Or even eating Kaalia after you don't have a need (say you don't have a target or just can't get a good attack). Idk man, I just don't think it's such a slam dunk veto.

Certainly it's more powerful in the other Kaalia, where she wants to die to be recast.

Modern
R{R/W} 87guide Burn
Commander
WRKellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
RTorbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
WBRAlesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
WBRKaalia HQ

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Post by benjameenbear » 2 years ago

Another set review is coming out, and I'm intrigued to see if there's any Demons or Dragons that'll make the list. The new Dragon cycle certainly looks promising, but I'll wait until the full set is spoiled before I do a complete set review.

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Post by RowanKeltizar » 2 years ago

The new dragon cycle was MADE for my Zenith Seeker version of this list. I can abuse the heck out of those death triggers. Out of the three, Junji, the Midnight Sky is really pushed and will most likely win games almost all by himself in my meta. Little by little, I'm trimming down my mana curve.

A few games ago I got a total of 6 triggers from Rune-Scarred Demon. Don't ask me how I didn't win lol. I took out 2 players but my life total got too low and then I lost to my own Kothophed, Soul Hoarder trigger >.< I need more sac outlets.

Also, side note: Why no Mythos of Snapdax ? This is Tragic Arrogance for one less mana. It's been great for me as an answer to all sorts of problems but primarily artifacts and enchantments.
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Post by benjameenbear » 1 year ago

Well, I'm QUITE behind with my set reviews for this list. It's a bit harder than I thought to maintain a Primer, especially since I'm playing so infrequently.

But, no time like the present to start!

Dungeons & Dragons Set Review
  • Ancient Gold Dragon - this is a really cool Army-in-a-can effect that can create a HUGE disincentive for any trackbacks against you. It also has a huge amount of toughness, so it probably blocks and kills most anything else. Cool addition that gets around Flameblast Syndrome.
  • Archivist of Oghma - yeah. Auto-include. That is all.
  • Ancient Brass Dragon - I mean, it is a Dragon themed set. This guy can reanimate either all the things or none of the things, with an average case value of being able to reanimate 2-3 things everytime it connects. Very solid inclusion for the deck, but now we're competing for deck space.
  • Ancient Copper Dragon - this is one of the most ridiculous mana abilities WOTC has allowed. If you can find a copy of this card, jam it in and glory in the huge amount of mana you can generate on average. It also helps with the MLD effects you can play in the list in these colors.

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Post by benjameenbear » 1 year ago

RowanKeltizar wrote:
2 years ago
The new dragon cycle was MADE for my Zenith Seeker version of this list. I can abuse the heck out of those death triggers. Out of the three, Junji, the Midnight Sky is really pushed and will most likely win games almost all by himself in my meta. Little by little, I'm trimming down my mana curve.

A few games ago I got a total of 6 triggers from Rune-Scarred Demon. Don't ask me how I didn't win lol. I took out 2 players but my life total got too low and then I lost to my own Kothophed, Soul Hoarder trigger >.< I need more sac outlets.

Also, side note: Why no Mythos of Snapdax ? This is Tragic Arrogance for one less mana. It's been great for me as an answer to all sorts of problems but primarily artifacts and enchantments.
Oops, VERY belated response to this. Mythos of Snapdax is an excellent card, but this list aims to be more aggressive or one-sided with its board wipes. I think this is a great inclusion for more casual lists with slower tables. But this list aims to compete at big boy tables and stax all the things. Therefore, I don't want to be actively killing my own Stax pieces usually; I'd rather my opponents spend their resources doing that so I can preserve Kaalia's trigger.

Ok, another few set reviews:

Kamigawa 2.0 Review
  • Blade of the Oni - it's cool to be able to turn Kaalia into a Demon for flavor purposes, but this deck doesn't care about it at all.
  • Junji, the Midnight Sky - a pretty solid card, it sadly suffers from Flameblast syndrome. It doesn't do anything when it deals combat damage or ETB, so it doesn't make the list.
  • Atsushi, the Blazing Sky - same rationale as above, doesn't make the list (which is a shame! This card would have been awesome if its abilities were ETB!)
  • Ao, the Dawn Sky - a very powerful card in its own right, I think this Dragon actually makes mono-White cEDH viable alongside Teshar. Very good card when built around... which isn't this deck. Sigh. VERY cool dragon though!
  • Hidetsugu Consumes All // Vessel of the All-Consuming - with the amount of 1 mana value cards that exist at cEDH tables, I think this card has a TON of potential. Its backside can also run over quite a few things and become a legitimate win condition in a Stax-ed out table. I like it and think it's worth picking up a copy!
New Capenna Review
  • Sanctuary Warden - I guess it's ok if you're looking for lower power Kaalia targets. But when I compare this with other A/D/D's available, it's lackluster. Pass.
  • Structural Assault - depending on the board state, this could be an interesting wrath effect. But it's entirely too expensive for what this deck is doing. Still cool enough to mention though.
  • Corpse Explosion - an interesting Wrath effect that allows us to leverage dead bombs in our 'yard to clear the board. But more often than not, our A/D/D's usually stay on the battlefield because they're so bulky. Probably not needed for this list.
  • Fatal Grudge - too bad this card didn't have a kicker. Being able to sacrifice a bunch of our own lands to draw cards while forcing a similar Armageddon-type of effect on our opponents would have been SWEET. Oh well...
Dominaria 2.0
  • Serra Paragon - an EXCELLENT recursion piece for most of our Stax pieces, I think this card is AMAZING for this deck. I know it's a touch expensive, but the floor for the card is being able to reuse fetchlands for more land drops and the ceiling is to make our Stax pieces nigh-invincible. Solid card that does a whole lot for building resiliency in the deck. Grab a copy and smile as your opponents realize your Stax pieces never die...
  • Temporary Lockdown - this is another interesting mass removal effect. I think I really like this since it's CMC is low enough to be consistent and it hits that coveted 2 CMC and under spot. I'm grabbing a copy for this list to try it out to see how it performs. Bonus points for NOT hitting a majority of our own Stax pieces and missing our Commander!
  • Cut Down - solid removal spell that hits pretty much everything we care about in cEDH. Solid card with an amazing CMC.
  • Bladewing, Deathless Tyrant - pretty cool card, but doesn't directly help out our core game plan. SUPER cool art though!
  • Orca, Siege Demon - doesn't do enough, sadly. Flameblast Syndrome kills this card.
EDIT: I also realize the OP list is quite outdated. I'm gonna correct that soon!

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Post by benjameenbear » 1 year ago

Well, normally I hate the non-MTG IP labels, but there's a card that was released that's absolutely AMAZING for Kaalia:

Bloodthirster

With the right setup, this card has the potential to kill an entire table in one turn. Either way, it's a pseudo Aggravated Assault stapled to an A/D/D creature that Kaalia can cheat into play. It's broken.

I'm still evaluating the decklist to see what changes should be made, but this card will absolutely be finding a spot on the list, non-MTG IP or not. It's just too damn good.

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Post by Dunadain » 1 year ago

Bloodthirster only untapps itself. Unless you have a lot of ways to give kalia vigilance?
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Post by benjameenbear » 1 year ago

Dunadain wrote:
1 year ago
Bloodthirster only untapps itself. Unless you have a lot of ways to give kalia vigilance?
Oh. Em. GEE. I guess I need to RTFC. Good catch @Dunadain! I thought it untapped ALL creatures you control and then another combat step.

Ok, it's still a cool card but not NEARLY as powerful as I thought it was. Pro tip: read the card before you make a decision on whether to include it, benjameenbear...

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Post by benjameenbear » 1 year ago

So, here's a list of the best Stax cards that I'm seeing on YouTube and in other cEDH lists:
After looking at the card pool here, I think I'm going to lean in on attacking the Storm-based lines more specifically. This means the Stax package will change a bit. I'll also be looking at the overall Kaalia targets to make sure I've got the best selection that also allows room for card draw and mana development as well as some stack interaction (hopefully).

I'm also a bit skeptical that Leonin Relic-Warder combo line is a bit suspect. I'll be evaluating that and seeing if I need to cut it for a more compact combo or add in more room for Stax and card draw sources.

I also need to update the OP to include Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer as a mana source. Good card is good and it's been in for a while but I haven't updated the list.
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Post by Dumoko » 1 year ago

benjameenbear wrote:
1 year ago
Well, normally I hate the non-MTG IP labels, but there's a card that was released that's absolutely AMAZING for Kaalia:

Bloodthirster

With the right setup, this card has the potential to kill an entire table in one turn. Either way, it's a pseudo Aggravated Assault stapled to an A/D/D creature that Kaalia can cheat into play. It's broken.

I'm still evaluating the decklist to see what changes should be made, but this card will absolutely be finding a spot on the list, non-MTG IP or not. It's just too damn good.
Also, if Kaalia cheated it, it needs an additional source of Haste, otherwise, you will not be able to tap it to attack other players in the same turn :D
I also lived through your emotions of losing my mind about the card, so I definitely feel you :D

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Post by benjameenbear » 1 year ago

Yeah, it was a bit of a letdown. I suppose it's still super powerful if the rest of your team somehow got Vigilance, but that's a bit too much work for what the deck wants to do relative to Bloodthirster.

Still tweaking the list and trying to find the right balance of mana vs. Stax vs. card advantage for the list. It's a lot trickier than I thought, at least based on the hand mulligan simulator on Nexus. I'm hoping to find a balance for it soon!

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Post by benjameenbear » 1 year ago

Oh man, it's been a LONG time since I updated this Primer! Bad benjameenbear, bad...

Ok, so first things first. I gotta do a bunch of set reviews. Then, I'll talk through the key Stax pieces I've decided to lean into for this list and the updates I made to the OP after testing out the tentative list above.

EDIT 1: Updated the OP with the new cards and the new OP list. Apparently I haven't updated the Primer officially in all of 2022, so yeah...

EDIT 2: Ok, time for a couple of set reviews. Sorry I haven't been better about keeping track of this, faithful readers...


The Brothers' War
  • Calamity's Wake - wow. Talk about a way to shut off Underworld Breach. This is an excellent Silence effect that also happens to remove one of the key resources Breach decks are using to win. This is a GREAT card and I highly recommend getting a copy of it if you're playing cEDH.
  • Myrel, Shield of Argive - this is an upgraded Grand Abolisher effect that can also win the game. It's definitely worth testing out to see how it plays, but I'm worried the CMC will compete with Kaalia.
  • Urza's Sylex - it's not Cataclysm, but it's ok? It's very cool that they made a card for the Sylex, and this card is pretty cool at equalizing the battlefield if you're behind. It's worth considering for your list as a combination of Stax and removal!
  • Steel Seraph - sadly, it suffers from Flameblast Syndrome, so it's not going to make the list. Cool card though!
  • Misery's Shadow - this is an interesting Stax piece to consider. It all depends on how prevalent graveyard or recursion is in your playgroup, but I'd be remiss not to at least mention this!
  • Painful Quandary - this is a card that has seriously impressed me in the few games I've played against it. That 5 life tax per spell is no joke and it's a fast way to punish cEDH players who are already very liberal with their life totals. It's CMC pushes it out of consideration IMO, but it's still a decent card for cEDH if you can get to a point where you can cast it!
  • Tyrant of Kher Ridges - cool Dragon with some sweet art, but it's definitely no Scourge of Kher Ridges in dealing mass quantities of damage to the board.
  • Phyrexian Dragon Engine + Mishra, Claimed by Gix - this is a REALLY sweet meld card that can overwhelm your opponents really fast if left out of control. It applies HUGE board pressure with a fast clock and there is a Dragon creature type included in one of the pieces. So it's at least worth mentioning as a possible include, even if it's not a focal point for the deck.

Phyrexia: All Will Be One
  • Archfiend of the Dross - since games with this deck often extend past 4 turns, this Demon is definitely a risky proposition. But, it applies quite a bit of pressure in the mid/late-game stages when your Stax layering has been built. Being able to punish creature loss with additional life loss can help speed up the clock. But overall, I'd say this card doesn't do enough to warrant a spot in the 99.
  • Capricious Hellraiser - this is actually a pretty decent ETB effect. Being able to recur a removal piece or tutor is nothing to scoff at. It can even clone an enchantment or artifact or planeswalker, so don't discount its trigger at all. I think it's worth testing out at the very least to see how useful it is!
  • Vindictive Flamestoker - this is going to be a Standard and Modern staple, mark my words. It's not a terrible card in cEDH either, but I don't think it's quite good enough to get a spot in the 99.
  • Kethek, Crucible Goliath - given the CMC of the A/D/D's in this deck, this could actually be a very interesting pseudo-Pod effect for this list. Every creature in the list is either a Stax piece or an A/D/D piece, so being able to recycle spent ETB creatures and put another one into play for free seems pretty good. There's ways to abuse this card for sure, but we're not focusing on that in favor of a core Stax and A/D/D gameplan.

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benjameenbear
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Post by benjameenbear » 1 week ago

Well, it's been a hot minute since I've updated this Primer. Gotta say, the end of the Phyrexia arc absolutely killed my interest in the game for a minute, and all of my Primers reflect this lethargy.

But, this list is still viable and worth maintaining! So I'm overdue in updating it and will do so here.

Wilds of Eldraine Set Review
Honestly, not a lot going on for this deck with this set. Only 2 cards stood out to me...
  • Stroke of Midnight - decent utility removal. I'd consider getting it for the list since it can hit almost everything you want it to hit.
  • Beseech the Mirror - this is a solid tutor spell that can sacrifice a Treasure token or mana rock to put a Stax piece directly into play. I think it's quite good and worth finding a slot for.
Lost Caverns of Ixalan Set Review
  • Get Lost - a solid utility removal piece that can get rid of a Breach or problem Commander. I think this is a good utility card to have since the Map tokens are fairly useless.
  • Bloodletter of Aclazotz - not quite as good as the other damage amplifier Demon (Archfiend of Despair) , this is still a solid pick that can help kill your opponents even faster. A nice budget replacement for the Archfiend.
  • Bringer of the Last Gift - such a cool card, but it has that annoying cast trigger qualifier. A very cool card that can turn the game around, it suffers from Flameblast Syndrome.
  • Cavern of Souls - a nice reprint to help make sure all the Humans can resolve without countermagic. Good pickup.

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