[Primer WIP] Trynn & Silvar Rebel Yell - a Multiplayer Conscious Deck

[3drinks]

This whole not taking the shot when you have it thing is a lot harder than it reasonably should be to do.

edit: so I filled in a portion of the deck with what I'd play. Am I on the right track?

[materpillar]

Yep, this seems a good mix. Strong but innocuous enough not to draw ire.

In terms of suggestions, the one neat landfall trigger I've seen in red that looks cool to me in a quasi-political way is Geode Rager. You could almost run a bidding war for who this targets as it resolves. Who wants to keep their stuff from swinging/life total high, and how much will they give you for you not to target them? Grenzo, Havoc Raiser is a nice low to the ground way to keep folk away from you too, and might even net you the odd mana rock/extra land thing. Retreat to Valakut is similar to Geode Rager too, could do some work.

These seem like decent ideas.

This whole not taking the shot when you have it thing is a lot harder than it reasonably should be to do.

Maybe run some stuff like Geode Rager, Agitator Ant, Bloodthirsty Blade, and Disrupt Decorum. Cards that are only good if your opponents have stuff alive. That way you're incentivized to not murder everything or you just end up with dead cards in your hand.

edit: so I filled in a portion of the deck with what I'd play. Am I on the right track?

It seems like a decent starting point. I think you should probably cut Vampiric Tutor and Grim Tutor personally. I immensely dislike unconditional tutors, so take this advice as the biased advice it is. That being said I'm somewhat worried that you'll figure out your most efficient wincon (whatever that turns out to be) and will exclusively search that out making your deck play in a noticeably more repetitive way. I'd recommend Goblin Engineer instead which still helps you scratch that tutor itch, but is a lot more on theme (and it finds Crucible of Worlds which I feel like you were going to tutor for a lot).

In other news Candelabra of Tawnos and Thawing Glaciers is super cute, I'm a fan.

I really really think you should run Goblin Gaveleer. Just imagine, Goblin Gaveleer with wielding his deadly 5 rocks backed by Obosh, the Preypiercer! He swings in! Your opponent slaps a thick boy in front of him to block. Bam, Falthis, Shadowcat Familiar throws a rock at the blocker to kill it before damage. Goblin Gaveleer chunks your opponent for 22. Adorable.

Golem-Skin Gauntlets might be worth a test for similar reasons? It gives you the ability to voltron people out. It might be way too weak though. Depends on the powerlevel that you find yourself at. Bludgeon Brawl is also a card I've wanted to run for a while and might be worth a consideration. It might also just be kinda bad though. It just feels so thematically on point.

I also have a huge soft spot in my heart for Curse of Bloodletting. That card always overperforms for me.

[3drinks]

Geode Rager is doing what I want anyway, and it triggers off the same stuff. Six is a bit much for a 4/4, but I think it's a pick.

Unfortunately I can't play engineer for the same reason I can't play Slobad. Obosh' companion clause forbids it. Golem gauntlets I suspect might be just a bit too casual, but Cranial Plating works well.

I'm concerned the gaveleer is a bit flimsy but wow that's a lot of damage potential in a one drop. It's worth a shot I'd think. Does that make Tainted Strike become viable too?

Hmm. This looks like a good place for Myr Enforcer and Kuldotha Rebirth. Kuldotha Phoenix too 🤔

[materpillar]

Geode Rager is doing what I want anyway, and it triggers off the same stuff. Six is a bit much for a 4/4, but I think it's a pick.

Unfortunately I can't play engineer for the same reason I can't play Slobad. Obosh' companion clause forbids it. Golem gauntlets I suspect might be just a bit too casual, but Cranial Plating works well.

Herp derp, I keep kind of remembering Obosh and then forgetting him. That makes half the cards I recommended unplayable.

I'm concerned the gaveleer is a bit flimsy but wow that's a lot of damage potential in a one drop. It's worth a shot I'd think. Does that make Tainted Strike become viable too?

I'd recommend steering clear of Tainted Strike. I think it's a really neat card with lots of political uses but some people get really really salty about infect. It's infect and an OHKO kinda out of no where so it results in feels bad. Unless you've specifically seen people in your playgroup cast it I'd probably steer clear. That's one of those cards that can put a bullseye on you if people know its in your deck because they have to constantly play around it.

You probably want some redundancy for Falthis, Shadowcat Familiar like Basilisk Collar, Retreat to Hagra, Nighthawk Scavenger/Vampire Nighthawk so that they can't just kill him and make your rocks way worse.

[3drinks]

Geode Rager is doing what I want anyway, and it triggers off the same stuff. Six is a bit much for a 4/4, but I think it's a pick.

Unfortunately I can't play engineer for the same reason I can't play Slobad. Obosh' companion clause forbids it. Golem gauntlets I suspect might be just a bit too casual, but Cranial Plating works well.

Herp derp, I keep kind of remembering Obosh and then forgetting him. That makes half the cards I recommended unplayable.

That's okay, I put those into the deck list and then quickly re-edited when I realized I couldn't play those lol. Even in my reply I tried to mention cranial plating 🙄😂

[3drinks]

I get a vibe that Storm Cauldron would be terrific to keep powering out rocks but then I'm getting the impression that no table wants to see this...

[materpillar]

I get a vibe that Storm Cauldron would be terrific to keep powering out rocks but then I'm getting the impression that no table wants to see this...

In addition simic decks with Exploration and friends will also just bury you.

[toctheyounger]

Man I completely forgot about the Obosh, the Preypiercer restriction. Half of the stuff I recommended doesn't fit, which is a bit of a bummer.

Uh, it could be seriously janky and/or gross, but would Endless Whispers be good here? Full disclosure I couldn't resist the pull of Blim, Comedic Genius so I have a weird jank build coming once my cards arrive and a lot of what I've recommended here will be included. Endless Whispers too, and I have a feeling it's going to get bonkers and end games, whether it backfires on me sometimes or not. Here though, it might just be nice. You pop creatures, your opponents trade creatures to alpha strike against one another, get rid of threats as needed or just balance the board or whatever. It's definitely a weird one, but it has political leanings if you squint hard enough.

edit: goddamnit, nevermind I though it cost 2b. lol, miss me with companions, they're painful to build around.

[FenrirRex]

so I filled in a portion of the deck with what I'd play. Am I on the right track?

I have a question and some suggestions with this in mind:

What exactly are you trying to do with the deck? Like, what's your goal or endgame? At the moment, the deck is a decent pile of goodstuff with a smattering of potential plans and subthemes. Goodstuff is fine, but narrowing your focus down seems good since atm it's part tokens, part reanimator, part value, part sacrifice, and doesn't have a clear direction to me.

As a suggestion, given your preference of playstyle, I would strongly consider some value mana sinks. My favorite mana sinks are all black, but also all even (Greed, Erebos, God of the Dead, Geth, Lord of the Vault, Nezumi Graverobber // Nighteyes the Desecrator), and the more I look at what people are recommending and what you want to play, the less I'm into the Obosh, the Preypiercer companion.

Since you have some concern with optimization, stopping yourself from "taking the shot" when it's available, having mana sinks on board gives you something to do on your opponent's end step to stop yourself from throwing rocks that don't politically benefit you.

[3drinks]

I guess.....I don't really know what I want to do, other than chuck rocks at passing creatures. The deathtouch theme (adding Kelsien, among others) is appealing but as pointed out not at all political.

Seems like I want to race - hence that companion. Which 1) I have mono-r and Kaalia that both can race more efficiently anyway, at least easier than a couple of grey ogres.

Now I don't know where I'm going or what even is the point anymore. I'm falling back into my usual play patterns of play what's good and what wins I think. :/

[FenrirRex]

I guess.....I don't really know what I want to do, other than chuck rocks at passing creatures. The deathtouch theme (adding Kelsien, among others) is appealing but as pointed out not at all political.

Seems like I want to race - hence that companion. Which 1) I have mono-r and Kaalia that both can race more efficiently anyway, at least easier than a couple of grey ogres.

Now I don't know where I'm going or what even is the point anymore. I'm falling back into my usual play patterns of play what's good and what wins I think. :/

Well, definitely take some time to think about what you want out of the deck. Pick something that these commanders, specifically, can do (make a lot of artifacts, have lots of equipment, have deathtouch, have menace) and consider more specifically building around them, and less picking out goodstuff.

Mind you, I don't consider goodstuff to be a bad thing by any stretch, but at a certain point the good cards start to overshadow the fun part of chucking rocks at things- you'll run the risk of getting to the point of just playing what's best, and not even bother equipping even deathtouch rocks.

Similarly, deathtouch can be political, and is in fact the most political keyword available on a creature. It points your opponents towards other targets by threatening to trade up into anything they throw at you, with the rocks specifically it gives you a way to threaten to kill things (but, again, doesn't require you to pull the trigger unless you need to), and it lets you present a threat that is rarely game-winning, but always game affecting. Deathtouch on your things is spectacular and great to build around, just not giving global deathtouch to the entire field via Death Pits of Rath. Redundancy on your own cards via things like Basilisk Collar or Archetype of Finality can go the distance.

Edit: Also immediate recommendation of Ogre Slumlord, the image of rats throwing rocks is amazing.

[materpillar]

I guess.....I don't really know what I want to do, other than chuck rocks at passing creatures. The deathtouch theme (adding Kelsien, among others) is appealing but as pointed out not at all political.

Seems like I want to race - hence that companion. Which 1) I have mono-r and Kaalia that both can race more efficiently anyway, at least easier than a couple of grey ogres.

Now I don't know where I'm going or what even is the point anymore. I'm falling back into my usual play patterns of play what's good and what wins I think. :/

I wouldn't worry about the deck being clucky right now. I still view this deck as very much a WIP, so it kind of just being a giant pile of random stuff is fine. Whenever I build decks I usually throw together a pile of 100 or so non-lands and then make several waves of cuts focusing on streamlining the deck towards particular synergies. I feel like we're currently in the "build up a large pile of non-sense" part of the deck building and not yet to the focusing in on what we want out of the deck.

Other considerations I thought up: Hunted Dragon is really on theme. It's a big hasty beater for Obosh, the Preypiercer. It makes tokens for an opponent which is usually only upside if you learn how to politic correctly. Also, if the knights turn on you then you just kill them with rocks.

I really recommend Curse of Bloodletting. It is exceptionally good at getting whoever is the most threatening person at the table dead fast.

As mediocre as it is, this is looking like it might be a Phyrexian Arena deck.

I think you should really be running Chaos Warp for sure as its one of the best red removal spells while also not falling into your play pattern of firing it off for value.

Gift of Doom might be a good way to protect Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith since he seems very important to this deck.

If your deck has enough cheap creatures Curse of Opulence might also be worth a shot as ramp/artifact sacrifice fodder.

Mirage Mirror synergizes with basically everything ever.

Definitely going to need to shave some 5-drops eventually though. Eh, problem for later.

[edit]: Do you have any random BR magic cards that have really cool flavor or art that you've wanted to put in a deck that you just haven't because the card isn't that great?

[3drinks]

Disciple of the Vault. There's what we've all been missing. #NailedIt

I keep thinking about doing artifact things, which...isn't terribly original for my play style though typically my artifact shenanigans involve u because Master Transmuter is a helluva card. Anyway all the good artifact payoffs - Slobad, free sacs a la Atog/Megatog, these are all even. I too think Obosh is limiting the power of Toggo's engine too. He needs to go but the main reason I wanted these partners was to also use the companion.

Bonus: I can now use Guardian Beast to make my rocks indestructible and unable to be stolen. I lol'd. Oh hey and now I also get marionette master.

[toctheyounger]

Tbh I'm not even sure this is an optimal suggestion, but I really want you to add Armory Automaton just so that you have a rock throwing machine in the list.

[FenrirRex]

Disciple of the Vault. There's what we've all been missing. #NailedIt

I keep thinking about doing artifact things, which...isn't terribly original for my play style though typically my artifact shenanigans involve u because Master Transmuter is a helluva card. Anyway all the good artifact payoffs - Slobad, free sacs a la Atog/Megatog, these are all even. I too think Obosh is limiting the power of Toggo's engine too. He needs to go but the main reason I wanted these partners was to also use the companion.

Bonus: I can now use Guardian Beast to make my rocks indestructible and unable to be stolen. I lol'd. Oh hey and now I also get marionette master.

Sick, this gives me a clearer direction for recommendations- removing the Obosh limit seems solid to me. First then, those mana sinks- Geth, Lord of the Vault gets you some serious mileage and Erebos, God of the Dead nets you cards while still letting you do the "mean" thing of shutting down lifegain. Golden.

I would entirely ditch the reanimator subtheme excepting the artifact recursion options (Daretti, Scrap Savant et al), and I would probably go ahead and nix the ant and the impetus cards- they're cute, but you don't need to actually neuter your power level too much if you can manage to pull the focus in on what can be done with your commanders.

So, what can you do? Throw rocks. What happens when you throw rocks? Things die. Revel in Riches, Ogre Slumord, Hunted Dragon (by giving you easy targets), and friends all lean you into a death matters theme that you can grow further with Deathbringer Thoctar (who also loves to have deathtouch), Grave Betrayal, and assorted other cards.

Similarly, while durdling and getting your rocks off is a better value play, you can also consider giving yourself at least a handful of voltron options that synergize with menace. Literally any power and toughness boosts to get your gobbo and his cat into the red zone, equipment that grants deathtouch, and equipment that gives you pings (Thornbite Staff giving you a machine gun being notable) all line up nicely and still give you artifact fodder if you need it. Also Sword of the Animist for landfall.

[3drinks]

Tbh I'm not even sure this is an optimal suggestion, but I really want you to add Armory Automaton just so that you have a rock throwing machine in the list.

I'd do this if rocks didn't require me to tap to sacrifice them.

[3drinks]

Disciple of the Vault. There's what we've all been missing. #NailedIt

I keep thinking about doing artifact things, which...isn't terribly original for my play style though typically my artifact shenanigans involve u because Master Transmuter is a helluva card. Anyway all the good artifact payoffs - Slobad, free sacs a la Atog/Megatog, these are all even. I too think Obosh is limiting the power of Toggo's engine too. He needs to go but the main reason I wanted these partners was to also use the companion.

Bonus: I can now use Guardian Beast to make my rocks indestructible and unable to be stolen. I lol'd. Oh hey and now I also get marionette master.

Sick, this gives me a clearer direction for recommendations- removing the Obosh limit seems solid to me. First then, those mana sinks- Geth, Lord of the Vault gets you some serious mileage and Erebos, God of the Dead nets you cards while still letting you do the "mean" thing of shutting down lifegain. Golden.

I would entirely ditch the reanimator subtheme excepting the artifact recursion options (Daretti, Scrap Savant et al), and I would probably go ahead and nix the ant and the impetus cards- they're cute, but you don't need to actually neuter your power level too much if you can manage to pull the focus in on what can be done with your commanders.

So, what can you do? Throw rocks. What happens when you throw rocks? Things die. Revel in Riches, Ogre Slumord, Hunted Dragon (by giving you easy targets), and friends all lean you into a death matters theme that you can grow further with Deathbringer Thoctar (who also loves to have deathtouch), Grave Betrayal, and assorted other cards.

Similarly, while durdling and getting your rocks off is a better value play, you can also consider giving yourself at least a handful of voltron options that synergize with menace. Literally any power and toughness boosts to get your gobbo and his cat into the red zone, equipment that grants deathtouch, and equipment that gives you pings (Thornbite Staff giving you a machine gun being notable) all line up nicely and still give you artifact fodder if you need it. Also Sword of the Animist for landfall.

Hey! It only took me four years, but I finally found a home for sword of the animist 😂😂. In something more than "good stuff".

[materpillar]

Disciple of the Vault. There's what we've all been missing. #NailedIt

I keep thinking about doing artifact things, which...isn't terribly original for my play style though typically my artifact shenanigans involve u because Master Transmuter is a helluva card. Anyway all the good artifact payoffs - Slobad, free sacs a la Atog/Megatog, these are all even. I too think Obosh is limiting the power of Toggo's engine too. He needs to go but the main reason I wanted these partners was to also use the companion.

Bonus: I can now use Guardian Beast to make my rocks indestructible and unable to be stolen. I lol'd. Oh hey and now I also get marionette master.

I liked Obosh, the Preypiercer as a companion, I don't agree with cutting him for more options. I don't think you're going to have nearly as many rocks as you expect for Atog.

[3drinks]

I can still pick it up. It's not like he's a pricey card...he could be the right call after all.

[3drinks]

Hard to imagine we've all been missing Gadrak, the Crown-Scourge. This is like his actual deck!

[materpillar]

Hard to imagine we've all been missing Gadrak, the Crown-Scourge. This is like his actual deck!

I thought about him, I don't think that you want him. I mean, he'll be good here. He's very much in line with the deck he just encourages playpatterns that you said you want to get away from (killing everything all the time). If you're trying to politic you probably don't want to be killing stuff on your turn very often.

[3drinks]

Hard to imagine we've all been missing Gadrak, the Crown-Scourge. This is like his actual deck!

I thought about him, I don't think that you want him. I mean, he'll be good here. He's very much in line with the deck he just encourages playpatterns that you said you want to get away from (killing everything all the time). If you're trying to politic you probably don't want to be killing stuff on your turn very often.

I like just having a cheap and evasive threat I can run out that will sometimes make me some mana. Churning rocks makes his can't attack clause fairly trivial to meet, and still I can't imagine him being more high profile than, say, the tokens deck with a Grim Haruspex.

I'd consider him more like a "if you do this, I will do that, and this is what I'll get" card.

[materpillar]

Hard to imagine we've all been missing Gadrak, the Crown-Scourge. This is like his actual deck!

I thought about him, I don't think that you want him. I mean, he'll be good here. He's very much in line with the deck he just encourages playpatterns that you said you want to get away from (killing everything all the time). If you're trying to politic you probably don't want to be killing stuff on your turn very often.

I like just having a cheap and evasive threat I can run out that will sometimes make me some mana. Churning rocks makes his can't attack clause fairly trivial to meet, and still I can't imagine him being more high profile than, say, the tokens deck with a Grim Haruspex.

I'd consider him more like a "if you do this, I will do that, and this is what I'll get" card.

Ah, if you view him as more of a beatstick that makes sense. I didn't realize the rocks helped him attack.

[3drinks]

Wow, there's actually a pretty decent Raffinity shell here if you squint a bit. Arcbound Ravager, Cranial Plating, Shrapnel Blast.....all require giving up Obosh though.

[3drinks]

The more I think on it, the more I think Death Pits of Rath|tmp should be featured as it is the strongest thing to do in a deathtouch deck. It's a terrific payoff and I'm playing ethically dishonest by omitting a key part of the strat (playing sawft ball when I can hit a home run). Players would feel that I'm taking it easy and pulling my punches back.

Rather, it shouldn't be something I'm aiming to do every game, so much as it should be something I can do that demands to respected more. "If you do this, I will do that, and you won't stick any creatures again." And I can back that bluff up. I can even use Withering Wisps in conjunction, and this morphs into a backup pestilence deck with Brash Taunter and Repercussion.