"Birds know no borders! Why, then, should we?" - General Varchild
Toshi in his Prime(r)
By then a friend and I realized we both played MTG, when we were younger, so we got at it again. Coincidently the first group of MTG players we ran into were EDH players, a format we didn't even know existed. We played a few rounds with them and their decks and instantly fell in love with it. A few years later you found me here.
Said Odric, Master Tactician was one of my very first builds and notoriously slow. On top of that "I can choose how you block, so you're aren't, hurr durr" gets stale very fast, believe me. I was in search of an interesting replacement for a while, but back then technically unique options were rare.
During spoiler season of Dominaria, I was initially considering to build Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain, since I've been looking for an Eggs (Artifacts you loop over and over for certain effects) and Cheerios (Cards with mana cost) commander forever already.
Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy a proxied test version at all, as winning turns were lengthy and uninspiring.
One of my friends, who had the "pleasure" of sitting through the Jhoira playtests pointed out that Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle could be the more interesting build. Up until then, I hadn't realized it would be in the upcoming set.
Thankfully, that friend was right and it was mere days around the release that I had my initial list play-ready. To this day I love tweaking this abstrusity of a deck concept - and as a result, you found this thread.
Commander | Recursion Creature | Sac Outlet/Win Con | Cheerio |
---|---|---|---|
Essentially, you're running a set of creatures you like having on the board (e.g. Grand Abolisher), entering the board (e.g. Recruiter of the Guard) or as in the example above - Myr Retriever - dying for your needs.
Obviously, you would want most, if not all, creatures in your deck to have a maximum CMC of 3. Even better if they are legendary or artifact creatures.
To reanimate said creatures with our commander and ultimately abuse etb/die triggers, we require a sac outlet first, to have creatures go to the graveyard repeatedly.
For this example I chose Altar of Dementia, because it doubles as a win con and possible mill engine in case we aren't there just yet.
Now, the remaining piece has to be historic. In the vast majority of cases that'll mean artifact, but there are a few legendary cards like Samwise the Stouthearted or even sagas such as Urza's Saga that would work, too. These trigger the commander and reanimate a creature from your graveyard. Note that this is a cast trigger, so the targeted creature will return to the board before your spell resolves.
In our example above, we assembled a full combo. With all of them on the board, we start by sacrificing Memnite first - milling an opponent. Then we're sacrificing Myr Retriever next, which will trigger as it dies on top of milling as well. With its trigger, we can return Memnite to our hand. Now we can re-cast Memnite, which will trigger Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle and return Myr Retriever to the board.
Now we're back to square one and can start milling our opponents until their libraries are empty. Once they have to draw a card, they lose.
+ You're playing a strong mono white deck. How seldom can you say that!?
+ Unless you're playing in a set playgroup, opponents will underestimate you. Likely just once, but it's usually glorious to watch their reaction, when you go off.
+ This deck can change the way you're looking at our game. Like Zada, Hedron Grinder this commander changed the way I evaluate cards - especially spoilers.
+ You won't see many cards included anywhere else. If you're bored out of your mind by so called staples, this a fresh breeze.
- There are only few viable and expensive tutors you can run. You either splash the cash or will have to tweak the deck towards more draw instead.
- Mono color means a small card pool. There are only few different approaches to adapt.
- Results may vary. I actually love and embrace this aspect, but you gotta be realistic what you're getting yourself into.
- You really have to know what you're doing. Most lines of play are quirky, all with different tweaks to them. There's a (rewarding) learning curve, for sure.
As a proponent of unusual decks, i'm not too excited about any of them, especially since it could take a while sitting across the table, while they combo off. Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle is more straight forward, when things fall into place. Assemble and demonstrate a loop, then shuffle up if no one interacts with it.
If you're interested in Urza, Lord High Artificer nonetheless, check out @Theorics Primer.
On the Weenie side of things these three could spark your interest.
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death is known to be a modular dream come true. From STAX to Tribal lists and combos, you can build her just the way you want.
If you enjoy - somewhat - randomized lines of play, but don't necessarily feel entertained by degenerate ones like Urza, Lord High Artificer, you should check out the great Primer for Grenzo, Dungeon Warden by @snowfox54119!
I haven't faced a standalone Lurrus of the Dream-Den deck yet, but from what i've seen from Companion list there are intriguing possibilities. The fact that the included cards don't nevessarily have to be creatures make for a nice baby Muldrotha, the Gravetide impression.
Most commander triggers I planned on having were of artifact creatures. Ornithopter|AER was already in the deck, as were Patchwork Gnomes|ODY then.
It was just an unfocused mess. But it was fun and an entertaining mess!
Games used to take forever, as my board was unwilling to stay dead and my win cons were questionable at best
Altar of the Brood, Blasting Station and Grinding Station still were nowhere in sight, but the first free sac outlets found their way into the deck with Ashnod's Altar, Fanatical Devotion, Martyr's Cause and Spawning Pit. The former did create infinite mana at times, but overall it still took combat damage in any form to win the game for me.
But the one card I had an unhealthy, toxic relationship with was Charge Across the Araba!
The times I won with it were glorious and memorable, but jesus, you didn't want to run into a Fog effect with it.
Luckily, the way the card is worded you only have to return lands on resolve, otherwise counterspells would've drained my will to live.
There are days when I miss that version of the deck a bit - but I know my friends never do.
Not being able to play regularily anymore, my playgroup met on Discord to talk health of our meta, readjusting this and that, for whenever things would get closer to normal again.
One of the conclusions was, that we wanted to move on from the idea of universally working pods. There was just no way Edric, Spymaster of Trest and Yargle, Glutton of Urborg could coexist in the same pod and things could go well, even with extensive table politics.
Most us have beyond 10 decks, so playing in tier-limited pods from then on only came with the struggle of assigning our lists to them.
With the upper tiers getting more leeway inside their own pods, I decided to overhaul this deck to be able to take it up with what we consider 9/10 rated decks - with 10/10 being fully proxed no limit decks.
As a result of these decisions I streamlined the deck, included more combo win cons, cutthroat removal and excluded cards that cared about summoning sickness and combat.
Things have gone very well since then and I love the shape the deck is in right now.
$20 Lotus Petal - The Cheerios certainly make the deck go off. Unfortunately this costs as much as the rest combined...
$20 Sensei's Divining Top - I wouldn't call it an essential by any means. But it is a great support card nonetheless!
$20 Phyrexian Altar - When it comes to infinite output, infinite mana is certainly weaker than draw, damage or mill. So it's a bummer this costs this much. Still an integral piece though.
$15 Drannith Magistrate - A great hate piece. But they aren't necessary or anything.
$20 Grand Abolisher - The best combo protection available. I don't think it grants its price. I'd wait for a meaningful reprint instead.
$25 Recruiter of the Guard - It's absurd how much better the deck works once you get the tutors - especially the recurrable ones.
$30 Ranger-Captain of Eos - Even better than the one above, as it can soft lock opponents. Get it, if you can.
$15 Enlightened Tutor - The most mana efficient tutor, yet i would pick up the ones on a stick first.
$65 Ancient Tomb - An absolute beast, in a deck that isn't necessarily able to fetch it. If you're running Expedition Map you have one more reason to splash the cash.
$30 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - My deck only comes with 27 pips across 100 cards... Not a big priority at all.
$10 Strip Mine - There are countless budget alternatives! If your meta is land combo heavy this is the best one though.
With only 12 nonland adjustments, i would have no worries playing this in considerably potent pods.
In combination with the combo guide and my rundown of notable exclusions and alternatives, you will be able to get a thorough understanding of this commander's ins and outs.
Altar of Dementia, Altar of the Brood and Grinding Station result in Mill wins because your opponent(s) will lose once they attempt to draw from an empty library.
Blasting Station is more traditional, in that it can deal infinite damage. Keep in mind that "to target creature or player" has gotten errata'd in the past and reads as "any target" now, so it can deal damage to Planeswalkers as well, whenever necessary.
3/4 of the win cons doubling as sac outlets comes in very handy, 2/4 of them allowing to mill yourself does too in early stages of the game.
Altar of the Brood is the obvious outlier, since it doesn't double as anything and has a more convoluted way of going off. Which is no problem, with a CMC of 1 you can easily drop it once your window of opportunity has come. If you don't expect your opponents to have much graveyard tech themselves it's also fine to drop it on your first turn, just to start chewing away libraries.
For a comprehensive combo guide you can scroll down or click here.
Found these on a scrapyard.
Junk Diver, Myr Retriever, Salvager of Ruin, Scrap Trawler and Workshop Assistant are the top tier ones in said category, since they are compatible with all win cons, as well as getting them back from the graveyard, if necessary.
Salvager of Ruin is special in that it allows you to reuse your Strip Mine variants, Crystal Vein|C14 and Inventors' Fair among others.
Scrap Trawler is neat, when sweepers hit the board, since you are likely to stuff your hand with cheap artifacts.
On top of that it can make Airlift Chaplain, Ingenious Smith, Professor of Symbology and Raffine's Informant get through your whole deck easier than other sequences.
Leonin Squire, Samwise the Stouthearted, Treasure Hunter and Trusty Packbeast come with the downside of not being compatible with Grinding Station themselves, but are still very strong. With their trigger as an ETB instead of a die trigger, combo sequencing deviates a little. More on that, later in the combo guide.
Freebies. I love Freebies!
The noncreature ones might not come with a body, but allow you to draw cards, secure key artifacts or generate mana, literally for free.
Lotus Petal, Mishra's Bauble and Urza's Bauble should be some of your first buys for the deck, if you're looking to assemble it, since they enable all sorts of engines and infinite draws.
Welding Jar and Tormod's Crypt come with obvious advantages, while Dark Sphere and Delif's Cone only made the deck for their base functionality - casting and saccing for free.
Same for the zero drop creatures, as these are sac fodder and there to loop for free.
Memnite is the obvious champ of them, since he has basic power to mill with Altar of Dementia and a small enough booty for Skullclamp shenanigans.
For this alternate plan, you usually require two zero mana artifacts, which will take turns in getting bounced back to your hand.
Also, since they aren't artifact creatures, none of them work with Grinding Station themselves, unfortunately.
An upside of them is, that you can reset your Sol Ring or other fast mana.
Overall, I might've been tempted not to rely on Bounce as a strategy at all, but I would consider going down to fewer natural combo creatures an unnecessary risk to the decks' consistency.
Despite great redundancy, fetching the right piece at the right time is invaluable.
Ranger-Captain of Eos is the only card in the deck that allows you to assemble a soft lock.
Once he hits the board for the very first time, sac him instantly before his ETB trigger resolves.
Next, you fetch any artifact creature and reanimate him.
Finally, you wait for your upkeep, just to sac him instantly again - forcing desperate plays, since your opponents won't be able to cast noncreature spells outside of your upkeep.
Add Grand Abolisher to make said soft lock even better - worse, from an opponent's perspective.
Moonsilver Key is a very budget friendly alternative, which might not be able to fetch a lot, but with Ashnod's Altar, Lotus Petal and Phyrexian Altar it can pick up three of the most broken ones.
Also, here's you'd need your pattern recognition, since each of these combo pieces has different lines of play with different 0 drops and creatures.
Keep in mind, that i've only put together charts for the loops that require 0 mana, once your board and/or graveyard is set up. If your likely sac outlet is Ashnod's Altar, other options may occur. I'd love to point them out as well, but that would go beyond the constraints of a hobby write up.
The ones that utilize Lotus Petal, Mishra's Bauble and Urza's Bauble generate infinite mana and draw (on the next upkeep, so no risk of decking yourself) in these loops coincidentally.
Sac for Mill | Mill | Sac to return | Return & Cast | Reanimate | Resolve & Sac for Mill |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
For this sleek combo you sac Memnite to mill for one, then sac Salvager of Ruin to return Memnite to your hand.
Re-cast Memnite to reanimate Salvager of Ruin and start over, once Memnite has resolved.
2. Combo with 0 Drop Creatures and Recursion Creatures:
Sac for (no) Mill | Mill | Sac to return | Mill | Return & Cast | Reanimate | Resolve & Sac for Mill |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0/1 | 1/3 |
To go through with this one, sac a 0 drop with Altar of Dementia, then sac a recursion creature for mill.
Reanimate your recursion piece with your 0 drop and start over, when your 0 drop is back on the board.
3. Combo with noncreature Cheerios and Recursion Creatures:
Sac for Effect | Sac to return | Mill | Return & Cast | Reanimate | Resolve & Sac for Effect |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1/3 |
Once again, you're saccing your noncreature cheerio first, to go to the yard, then sac one of your recursion creatures for mill.
With the noncreature cheerio back in hand, you can reanimate your recursion piece and sac it once you resolved and sacced your noncreature cheerio again.
4. Combo with two 0 Drops and Bounce Creatures:
Cast 1st Copy | Sac for Mill | Mill | Cast 2nd Copy | Reanimate | Bounce 1st Copy | Resolve 2nd Copy | Sac for Mill |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 |
For the bounce sequence you require a 0 drop on board. You sacrifice your bounce creature to mill for 2 first.
A second 0 drop reanimates your bounce piece, which in return, bounces your first 0 drop. Once your second 0 drop has resolved, you are set for the loop again.
Sac for Effect | Sac for Damage | Damage | Taps | Return & Cast | Reanimate | Untaps | Resolve | Sac for Effect |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
This one requires you to sac a noncreature cheerio, then tap Blasting Station to sac one of your recursion creatures for 1 damage and your noncreature cheerio back to hand.
Your noncreature cheerio reanimates your recursion piece, which untaps Blasting Station on ETB. Once your noncreature cheerio resolves you're good to go.
2. Combo with 0 Drop Creatures and Salvager of Ruin:
Sac for Damage | Damage | Taps | Sac to return | Return & Cast | Reanimate | Untaps | Resolve | Sac for Damage |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
A creature-based combo starts by saccing a 0 drop for damage, which taps your Blasting Station. Next up, sac Salvager of Ruin to return your 0 drop to hand.
Use it to reanimate Salvager or Ruin, which untaps your Blasting Station. Resolving your 0 drop sets you up for the next cycle.
3. Combo with two noncreature Cheerios and alternate Recursion Creatures:
Sac 1st Copy for Effect | Sac for Damage | Damage | Taps | Cast 2nd Copy to reanimate | Reanimate | Untaps | Return 1st Copy | Resolve 2nd Copy | Sac 2nd Copy for Effect |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
With a creature of the alternate recursion package you start by saccing a noncreature cheerio, then the recursion creature to deal damage.
A second noncreature cheerio Reanimates your recursion piece, which untaps your Blasting Station and returns your first noncreature cheerio. Once the second one resolves, rinse and repeat.
4. Combo with two noncreature Cheerios and Bounce Creatures:
Cast 1st Copy | Sac for Damage | Damage | Taps | Cast 2nd Copy | Reanimate | Untaps | Bounce 1st Copy | Resolve 2nd Copy | Sac for Damage |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
The bounce route requires you to have a 0 drop on board once you sac your bounce creature. Continue by casting a second 0 drop, which reanimates your bounce creature.
On ETB your Blasting Station untaps and the creature bounces your first 0 drop to hand. As the second 0 drop resolves you're set for another loop.
Sac for Effect | Sac to return | Taps | Mill | Return & Cast | Reanimate | Untaps | Resolve | Sac for Effect |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 |
This loop requires you to sac a noncreature cheerio to itself. Then you're saccing a recursion creature to Grinding Station to mill for 3 and to get your noncreature cheerio back.
With the noncreature cheerio back in hand, you can now reanimate your recursion piece, which untaps your Grinding Station. Once the noncreature cheerio resolves you can go back to square one.
2. Combo with 0 Drops and Salvager of Ruin:
Sac for Mill | Taps | Mill | Sac to return | Return & Cast | Reanimate | Untaps | Resolve | Sac for Mill |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 |
With Salvager of Ruin you can sac any of your 0 drops to Grinding Station, to mill for 3. Then proceed by saccing Salvager of Ruin to get your 0 drop back in hand.
Cast it to return Salvager of Ruin and untap Grinding Station by doing so. That's basically it.
Sac for Effect | Sac to Return | Sac with | Return & Cast | Reanimate | Mill | Resolve | Mill | Sac for Effect |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 |
For this loop, you sac one of the noncreature cheerios for whatever effect, then you sac one of the recursion creatures to get the noncreature cheerio back in hand.
Next, you cast the noncreature cheerio again, to return the recursion creature to the board, which mills all your opponents for 1. Once the noncreature cheerio enters the battlefield it also mills all your opponents for one. Once the noncreature cheerio resolved, start over.
2. Combo with noncreature Cheerios and Salvager of Ruin:
Sac for Effect | Sac to Return | Return & Cast | Reanimate | Mill | Resolve | Mill | Sac for Effect |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 |
This time you sac one of the noncreature cheerios for its effect, then sac Salvager of Ruin to get the noncreature cheerio back in hand. Recast the noncreature cheerio, to return Salvager of Ruin and mill everyone for 1. Once the noncreature cheerio resolves you get another mill trigger. The loop is completed once the noncreature cheerio resolved.
3. Combo with 0 Drop Creatures, Recursion Creatures and a Sac Outlet:
Sac to graveyard | Sac with | Sac to return | Sac with | Return & Cast | Reanimate | Mill | Resolve | Mill | Sac to graveyard |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 |
To get the combo rolling, you start by saccing your 0 drop to your sac outlet, then sac a recursion creature to return the 0 drop to hand.
Then you recast your 0 drop, to return the recursion creature to the board. Both creatures mill your opponents for 1 each, as they enter the battlefield.
Once all of them are back on the board your first cycle is complete. Start saccing again.
4. Combo with 0 Drop Creatures, Salvager of Ruin and a Sac Outlet:
Sac to graveyard | Sac with | Sac to return | Return & Cast | Reanimate | Mill | Resolve | Mill | Sac to graveyard |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 |
For this one, you're saccing a 0 drop creature, then sac Salvager of Ruin to return it to your hand.
Once you got the 0 drop creature in hand, cast it to reanimate Salvager of Ruin. Whoops, it loops!
5. Combo with two 0 Drops, Bounce Creatures and a Sac Outlet:
Cast & Resolve 1st Copy | Mill | Sac to graveyard | Sac with | Cast 2nd Copy | Reanimate | Mill | Bounce 1st Copy | Resolve 2nd Copy | Mill | Sac to graveyard |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 1 |
For this one you're setting youself up with a bounce creature, a 0 drop on the board and another in hand.
You sac the bounce piece, then cast a second 0 drop to return the bounce creature to the board, which bounces your intitial 0 drop to hand.
Once it got returned to your hand and your second one resolved, you can start over, this time with the second copy getting bounced. You get the idea.
Especially in this sort of power pods, you'll have to identify (un)playable hands first.
For most decks you would expect to ramp early, not necessarily with this deck. The curve is low, combos might not require mana at all and redundancy is key, so one can only allot so many slots to ramp. In this case Lotus Petal, Sol Ring, Ancient Tomb and Crystal Vein will have to do.
As for future plans, Mana Crypt might find its way into the deck, if i can pick up a reasonably priced one, but as of now, the deck is where i want it to be.
What we're really looking for, at best, is a flexible hand. Two or better, three lands, some sort of cheerio or possible engine piece and no potentially dead cards. The way we're set up, we can progress from all sorts of hands, due to the amount of draw included.
The following five hands should give you a rough idea:
A God Hand
The Slow Roller
The Trap
Unless you consider yourself to be one of the faster decks at the table anyhow, take your free Mulligan instead.
The Unfolding One
The Ugly Duckling
When in question, cast sac outlets before your weenies, to be able to sacrifice them to avoid exile removal. Let your opponents work for their permanent solution. Exiling your graveyard or sac outlet might feel like a temporary win for them, but rest assured, rebuilding is fairly easy.
Be cautious about opponent's boards, but don't fire away your removal easily - especially Disenchant effects, as most silver bullets against you come in the form of artifacts and enchantments. Often times, letting Rest in Peace sit on the board for a while works wonders for you. Your opponents might think they got you under control and over-extend, tap out or concentrate their efforts on someone else, just until you remove their lucky charm the end step before your combo turn.
Generally speaking, once you hit four or five mana, you're already transitioning into what I consider the mid-game for this deck.
Grand Abolisher comes in huge to avoid counterspells nixing your commander. If your opponents analyze your deck tech correctly they will know, that counterspells only help against your commander itself, with countering anything else being futile, since you'll get your cast triggers anyway and don't mind stuff going to the graveyard either.
Once you were able to squeeze Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle past stack interaction, Benevolent Bodyguard, Boromir, Warden of the Tower, Selfless Spirit and (to an extent) Salvager of Ruin, Samwise the Stouthearted and Rescuer Chwinga can help you stay afloat.
If you're hitting Ranger-Captain of Eos, Recruiter of the Guard or Moonsilver Key at this point, use them pro-actively. Fetch missing pieces, or if you already have a combo in sight with your hand cards, try baiting your opponents.
Already have Memnite in hand? Tutor for Ornithopter and let them counter/exile it.
Reprieve or Clever Concealment in hand? Let them think you really need that tutored Benevolent Bodyguard or Selfless Spirit!
Be a lot more hestitant about using your Enlightened Tutor that way, though!
Most notably, you won't be able to re-use it and it's your best option of tutoring noncreature cards.
I've had games where I tutored for Sol Ring early, only to have plenty of mana and no way to finish off the game a few turns later.
While your instinct might be to move to your combo swiftly, give it a patient thought. How much mana are your opponents holding up? If your combo fails now, do you have any viable follow up plays or mana open for your own interaction?
The stars will never align perfectly, but consider your chances. Sometimes waiting a turn, just for everyone to think "ah, if they had been able, they would've" then proceeding to tap out can open up victory lane for you. The way the deck works and the amount of 0 drops that potentially set off a combo, you can likely cast your commander for a second, maybe even third, time on curve and attempt to combo. There's no need to think you're going to lose, only because your first attempt failed or Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle got removed once.
It's a matter of deck knowledge, experience with your opponents' commanders and threat assessment, so I can't give you definite overall advice.
While in some meta bluntly forcing the combo could be the perfect play, pulling counters and removal might be the optimal one in others.
Stalling out in this stage of the game can have three major reasons.
One would be, that you're still one or more pieces away from assembling a combo. In this case, try to squeeze as much card draw out of your Raffine's Informant variants, Mishra's Bauble type cantrips and cycling lands, just until you hit the needed piece or one of the tutors that can grab it for you.
A more severe situation would be that you're missing all four major win conditions. If they are "only" destroyed, you can draw or tutor one of the many cards that can get them back for you.
If they are exiled though, you're in bigger trouble. My build isn't necessarily tailored to win in non-combo ways. But, as a last resort option, you could try to lock the game with Ranger-Captain of Eos and Grand Abolisher. If you're saccing and reanimating the captain on all of your turns, your opponents won't be able to cast noncreature spells anymore and you might be able to win through chip damage of your weenies or even commander damage with your commander.
If you're running into ridiculous numbers of graveyard hate, you might consider running Pull from Eternity for a hail mary type effort to win the game after all.
But let's assume the timing is right and the window is there: Make sure you have an exact idea of how your loop works (see above) and know the steps when you could sac stuff in response to disruption to abort your line of play.
With the deck being somewhat odd and me being a socially oriented player, I try to be straight with my opponents. I usually cast the artifact that would start the combo and explain the upcoming loop once the cast trigger is on the stack. Something along the lines of "So, with the trigger from Lotus Petal on the stack, i'm targeting Myr Retriever to return it to the battlefield. Since Blasting Station is on the battlefield, I could loop for infinite damage and mana, unless you remove my graveyard, Blasting Station or Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle now."
Unless they have a counter play you can't interact with, you win. Yay!
All of these would've added great redundancy and utility to the deck. But sure enough Ranger of Eos at 3 mana would've wrecked too many things.
Jeweled Lotus, Lion's Eye Diamond and Mox Diamond would've been super disgusting, since the available self-sac is straight up our alley.
To sum up a few sentiments of mine: indestructibility doesn't cut it lots of times - same goes for "destroy", three mana and more is too much and Teferi's Protection should've never been printed.
While Esper Sentinel and Drannith Magistrate are certainly strong enough to run them anyhow and Ranger-Captain of Eos and Boromir, Warden of the Tower come with additional utility, others might require more build around.
+ 1 Nurturing Pixie - No surprises here, loop enablers go straight into the decks!
- 1 Ingenious Smith - I do love this card a lot, but it's not as reliable as other includes, unfortunately.
+ 1 Skittering Cicada - A 3rd instant speed combo enabler is a wonderful and welcome addition to the deck.
+ 1 28 Snow-Covered Plains|CSP - I've always been a fan of the Coldsnap Basics, so i went with them.
- 1 Skyclave Apparition - Arguably still the best spot removal on a stick, but i rarely used my reanimates on it. Will end up in said flicker deck as well.
- 1 Ancient Den - With no affinity payoffs and Inventors' Fair gone, this had to go.
- 1 Buried Ruin - It was a close call on this one, i've only used it in very dire situations though.
- 1 Darksteel Citadel - More sturdy than Ancient Den, yet nothing fancy.
- 1 Desert of the True - I'm still largely in favor of running all cycling lands in mono decks, though taplands are a pain in high-powered pods.
- 1 Drifting Meadow - See above
- 1 Geier Reach Sanitarium - I loved sneaking stuff into my graveyard with it every once in a while, but dang, it's been a long while...
- 1 High Market - One time sacs are just so much worse despite them enabling some nifty value plays.
- 1 Inventors' Fair - I love the artwork and a tutor on a land will never be bad, but this will find a home in a more fitting deck (Cosima, God of the Voyage // The Omenkeel).
- 1 Phyrexia's Core - I've used this even more seldomly than High Market - a shame.
- 1 Secluded Steppe - See above
- 1 Sequestered Stash - I still believe it's an underrated card! And an underused one in my build for sure.
- 1 The Mycosynth Gardens - Another well-deserved tool for Cosima, God of the Voyage // The Omenkeel, since i rarely required multiples of anything - on board at least.
- 1 16 Plains|GS1
+ 1 Samwise the Stouthearted - Oh Sam, the loveable combo companion you are...
+ 1 Clever Concealment - Playtesting this has proven it to be just as good as expected. Most times it comes at a mere for me.
+ 1 Excise the Imperfect - Though 3 mana isn't cheap in this realm of decks, getting rid of most things for good is awesome.
+ 1 Lost to Legend - This one is so underrated, i overlooked it for my own Set Review... Ridiculously good!
+ 1 Reprieve - No need to Remand myself how great this card is.
+ 1 The Mycosynth Gardens - No must have, but i love me some extra value.
- 1 Fiend Hunter - Removal options have become too strong in comparison for this to stick around.
- 1 Wall of Omens - As @indemidelo has pointed out, Airlift Chaplain, Professor of Symbology and Raffine's Informant outperform linear draw by a lot.
- 1 Generous Gift - My meta doesn't have many Land combo decks, so the upside of hitting lands doesn't outweigh the fact it doesn't exile or tuck.
- 1 Heliod's Intervention - Again, no exile or tuck, though it has been a neat lifeline at times.
- 1 Illumination - I will always cherish this card, but it has become too situational in comparison.
- 1 Plains
+ 1 Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter - Another Shimmer Myr type card is not what i would've expected to get printed anytime soon. Love it!
+ 1 Loran of the Third Path - An historic Reclamation Sage is more than i could've ever wished for, honestly.
- 1 Martyr's Cause - Aside from fringely blanking Walking Ballista combos, this was just mid
- 1 Spirited Companion - It did what it did, which was fine
+ 1 Illumination - Yet another return to the deck. Been facing Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy + Rocks too often lately, i guess...
+ 1 Phyrexian Altar - Finally got my hands on a copy! Obvious include is obvious.
+ 1 Extraction Specialist - With recent changes made it can reanimate 21/32 creatures. Love it.
+ 1 Raffine's Informant - Professor of Symbology has already been great and this card is even better!
+ 1 Rescuer Chwinga - Love the card, love the artwork.
+ 1 Spirited Companion - Despite the draw-on a-stick cuts this good boy is still pretty efficient.
- 1 Sejiri Shelter // Sejiri Glacier - Might be running Faith's Shield or Apostle's Blessing in the future instead.
- 1 Dawnbringer Cleric - Unfortunately its modes didn't help much. Looking at you, Heliod, Sun-Crowned...
- 1 Matter Reshaper - Of the 3 mana CA ones, i still like this one the most. Its just not for the upper echolons of EDH.
- 1 Priest of Ancient Lore - Didn't cut it anymore.
- 1 Scarecrone - I like a lot of things it does - none enough to stay.
- 1 Skyscanner - It was just okay in my book.
+ 1 Fateful Absence - While i did consider Angelic Ascension as a placeholder both of them are gonna stay, as i enjoyed having more redudant interaction.
- 1 Plains
+ 1 Fiend Hunter - Solid without sac outlets, crazy good with them.
+ 1 Ingenious Smith - While it could possibly wiff, it digs pretty deep.
+ 1 Moonsilver Key - Ashnod's Altar, Lotus Petal, Sol Ring, ... 2nd best tutor available, right after Enlightened Tutor.
+ 1 Scarecrone - Cheap-ish draw on an artifact body that sacs itself. What's not to like?
+ 1 Skyclave Apparition - The best removal on a stick available.
- 1 Chromatic Star - Very similar as above. Triggers even when disenchanted.
- 1 Conjurer's Bauble - Sad to see it go. Has been of great use.
- 1 Land Tax - More of a good stuff or mid-range card. Neither of which describes this deck.
- 1 Soul-Guide Lantern - A great graveyard nuke i rarely needed. An above average cantrip that will find a place somewhere else.
- 1 Spawning Pit - Free sac outlets are lovely, yet this one doesn't come with any other upsides.
On the other hand i realized that the deck is in such a great state that only fitting releases result in any significant changes. Luckily, as things stand there are plenty of those cards coming up.
+ 1 Drannith Magistrate - In combo metas this hoses so many things. Plus, no commanders on my opponents boards.
+ 1 Priest of Ancient Lore - More draw, more better.
+ 1 Professor of Symbology - Very interesting design that might fast charge the graveyard.
+ 1 Silence - Combo protection at the smallest price.
- 1 Illumination - This might come back one day, for now i had too few targets aside from mana rocks.
- 1 Mana Tithe - Unfortunately +1 is rather easy to pay and it was stuck in my hand way too often.
- 1 Restoration Specialist - As it doesn't combo easily and took a total of 3 mana to do anything, it just couldn't keep up with other things i do.
- 1 Salvage Scout - Similar to Restoration Specialist, this card is neat but a little too cute compared to other shenanigans.
+ 1 Leonin Squire - By including a lot more 0 drops lately this one has gotten very reasonable.
+ 1 Mentor of the Meek - Still a bit sceptic, for the level we're playing at, but if he gets to stick around he's just all out value.
+ 1 Restoration Specialist - Can recurr not only plenty of artifacts, but also two of my free sac outlets.
+ 1 Salvage Scout - Just another recursion piece. At an awesome rate.
+ 1 Sejiri Shelter // Sejiri Glacier - Protection that doubles as a land drop, if necessary. Solid.
+ 1Wall of Omens - Draw on a stick, again at a low rate.
- 1 Forsake the Worldly - I came to notice, that I run a tad too many interactions, that i'd draw into at unfortunate times. Despite having Cycling it's just not made for the upper echelons of EDH.
- 1 Gold Myr - The requirement to tap made it more a less a dead card, unless I was able to cast it on turn 2.
- 1 Militia Bugler - I can't recall why I priorized this over Wall of Omens, likely that it digged further. After transitioning to a combo deck Wall has become the better choice, for sure.
- 1 Mirror Entity - I just never swing for the win. By the time I achieve infinite mana, I usually win without worrying about summoning sickness et al.
- 1 Mother of Runes - Got directly replaced by Benevolent Bodyguard. Self-sac is a clear upside in this sort of deck.
- 1 Scrapyard Recombiner - It was a close one between this one and Mentor of the Meek. For now I went with cutting the last creature that requires tapping.
+ 1 Ranger-Captain of Eos - Great tutor and a possible lock, if combined with Shimmer Myr and a few artifacts.
+ 1 Recruiter of the Guard - Again, great utility.
+ 1 Abolish - Not necessarily a card for average pods, but a strong one for sure.
+ 1 Enlightened Tutor - The best card in the deck now.
+ 1 Heliod's Intervention - Removal that scales very well and is a solid lifeline in dire situations.
- 1 Perilous Myr - Takes too many moving parts to loop reasonably.
- 1 Wall of Omens
- 1 Grafted Wargear - Sorcery speed sac is too limiting.
- 1 Demonmail Hauberk - See above.
- 1 Dispatch - This card is only good early in the game with both artifact lands out or me dumping my hand just to enable it. Which is usually the last thing I want to do.
Sorry that there's no explanation for each of them. If you have specific questions for an alternate build, slam them into the thread
+ 1 Altar of the Brood
+ 1 Ashnod's Altar
+ 1 Blasting Station
+ 1 Dark Sphere
+ 1 Delif's Cone
+ 1 Lotus Petal
+ 1 Mishra's Bauble
+ 1 Sol Ring
+ 1 Tormod's Crypt
+ 1 Urza's Bauble
+ 1 Welding Jar
+ 1 Filigree Familiar
+ 1 Gold Myr
+ 1 Junk Diver
+ 1 Perilous Myr
+ 1 Salvager of Ruin
+ 1 Workshop Assistant
+ 1 Glint Hawk
+ 1 Matter Reshaper
+ 1 Mother of Runes
+ 1 Argivian Find
+ 1 Illumination
+ 1 Lapse of Certainty
+ 1 Mana Tithe
+ 1 Unexpectedly Absent
+ 1 Ancient Den
+ 1 Darksteel Citadel
+ 1 Desert of the True
+ 1 Drifting Meadow
+ 1 Homeward Path
+ 1 Secluded Steppe
- 1 Implement of Improvement
- 1 Lightning Greaves
- 1 Pearl Medallion
- 1 Phyrexian Furnace
- 1 Scrabbling Claws
- 1 Scroll of Avacyn
- 1 Smuggler's Copter
- 1 Sunbeam Spellbomb
- 1 Swiftfoot Boots
- 1 Deal Broker
- 1 Lesser Masticore
- 1 Aegis of the Gods
- 1 Bygone Bishop
- 1 Kami of False Hope
- 1 Mentor of the Meek
- 1 Restoration Specialist
- 1 Salvage Scout
- 1 True Believer
- 1 Charge Across the Araba
- 1 Rally the Ancestors
- 1 Dusk // Dawn
- 1 Return to the Ranks
- 1 Slaughter the Strong
- 1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
- 5 Plains
Claim Jumper - Since this doesn't limit itself to basics it should be real good in mid-powered metas. In top-notch builds Knight of the White Orchid is better.
Nurturing Pixie - Sweet, another bounce loop enabler!
Sterling Hound - Neat! Some redundancy to Professor of Symbology and Raffine's Informant.
Final Showdown - That's some real flexibility! Might have to try it.
Sanitation Automaton - It may not be Professor of Symbology or Raffine's Informant, but i am always happy to see surveil on a card.
Trouble in Pairs - This has been the talk of the town. Rightfully so for non-combo EDH, but 4 mana without an initial payoff is too slow for this build.
Mischievous Pup - Can enable Bounce Loops at instant speed. I shy away from 3 mana and up though.
Oltec Archaeologists - Maaaan, if only this were 3 mana.
Dusk Watch Reliquary - Sure enough, a deck like this can make use of the sacrifice. Not gonna include sorcery speed removal anymore, though.
Spring-Loaded Sawblades // Bladewheel Chariot - I wouldn't complain, if anyone were to run this.
Pit of Offerings - Oh look, baby Bojuka Bog!
Sarah Jane Smith - It is repeated draw and could possibly be abused with a sac outlet, but for me it's too situational.
The Night of the Doctor - I'm always hesitant putting my commander into my yard, for obvious reasons. On top of that there are plenty of more thorough 4-6 mana wraths to run instead.
Gallifrey Council Chamber - Surveil on an untapped land is quite nifty. Not good enough to warrant dropping a Snow-Covered Plains.
Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender - Hilarious card! And while the scry might get tedious it can be a great support engine.
Werefox Bodyguard - Very spicy removal on a stick! Could see play in a lot of (other) decks.
Collector's Vault - Honestly, a great card for midrange builds!
Hylda's Crown of Winter - Costs you a bunch of mana, draws you a bunch of cards (potentially).
Skittering Cicada - While it may not be Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter it is certainly on par with Shimmer Myr. I will pick this one up, for sure!
Ugin's Mastery - While most people will use this for Eldrazi tribal, i would rather give this a spin in artifact creature Storm. Something like Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut would be hilarious.
Errand-Rider of Gondor - Look! Another draw on a stick option. Bland.
Samwise the Stouthearted - We all know Sam is GOATed and luckily his card is too!
Westfold Rider - The sorcery clause most certainly hurts it, still a very strong addition.
Guardian of Ghirapur - I don't know if buff but less flexible Flickerwisp fits into this deck. Strong though!
Halo Hopper - Gorgeous artwork and most certainly workable in the right shell.
Phyrexian Censor - Would require a very specific Stax build. Brutal if built around.
Excise the Imperfect - Top notch removal! Sure, it can't hit lands, but Unexpectedly Absent can't either.
Surge of Salvation - I didn't expect Lazotep Plating in to happen. Clearly depends on the meta if Silence effects are viable.
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines - Obviously a strong card. I hate its existence with a passion.
Myr Kinsmith - Could fetch Shimmer Myr, Myr Retriever and Myr Moonvessel. Decent, mana value a little too high.
Soulless Jailer - Strong! You don't want to run this and more importantly, you don't want to face this.
Zenith Chronicler - Hilarious in some matchups, likely a dead card in most others.
Vanish into Eternity - Sure it exiles, i'm not convinced it's better than Unexpectedly Absent at all though.
The Mycosynth Gardens - Not sure how great this would be in this deck. You don't need multiple altars and most non-altars need to tap for whatever.
Preston, the Vanisher - Which is even more true for this fella. Still like it in a vacuum.
Canoptek Tomb Sentinel - Oh lord, i wish this would've been a viable reanimation target!
Space Marine Devastator - Would've been a huge miss, if they hadn't printed Loran of the Third Path shortly after.
Space Marine Scout - It may not be Knight of the White Orchid, but it's not nothing.
Charismatic Vanguard - Mirror Entity has less restrictions and more applications, but this exists, too.
Guardian of New Benalia - It's been a while that we've seen a free discard option - and this a very reasonable one!
Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter - Instant staple, as it adds redundancy to Shimmer Myr.
Loran, Disciple of History - Sigh, if only...
Loran of the Third Path - Darling, wake up! 's Reclamation Sage just dropped!
Myrel, Shield of Argive - So, instead of a Grand Abolisher reprint along the way, we got this. It's fine.
Recruitment Officer - Duskwatch Recruiter // Krallenhorde Howler has been a solid card for years, so this will be too, in the right deck.
Soul Partition - I haven't made up my mind about this one yet. Very flexible and mana efficient at the very least.
Deep Gnome Terramancer - Another strong utility creature for more versatile builds.
Extraction Specialist - Though i prefer recursion to hand i am just as tempted as i was with Vesperlark. Hits 15/30 of my non-zero drops.
Inspiring Overseer - The redundancy of these cards is getting absurd. Priest of Ancient Lore, Spirited Companion and this came out within 1 year! Will play it nonetheless.
Mage's Attendant - One for the control/stax heavy list. I wonder if looping is worth it when you could just combo instead.
Rafinne's Informant - A strictly better Professor of Symbology and that card is already great in this deck. Will find a slot for it.
Rumor Gatherer - Unfortunately can't combo. But a fine card.
Sky Crier - Interesting and risky with infinite mana. Would consider it if only i had an Phyrexian Altar...
Containment Construct - Very interesting, yet risky since it may block filling the yard.
Reito Sentinel - Tempting self-mill piece with the off chance to combo mill opponents in Scrap Trawler loops.
Selfless Samurai - We already have plenty of these. Doesn't make it bad though.
Spirited Companion - Gotta get me one of these. Obvious good boy and staple.
Network Terminal - Very interesting card for casually powered decks.
Farewell - Great card, but an obvious nonbo with a graveyard based deck like this one.
Roadside Reliquary - Wouldn't mind seeing this in builds.
Resistance Squad - If only i had more than 11 other humans in my deck, i'd certainly play this. Bummer.
Welcoming Vampire - You'd need some Rube Goldberg machine to make this better than Mentor of the Meek. Not unplayable though.
Wedding Invitation - 2 mana to draw isn't shabby. Plenty of alternatives though.
Cathar Commando - Qasali Pridemage/Outland Liberator // Frenzied Trapbreaker with flash? Staple!
Celestus Sanctifier - If only day/night would be easier to abuse. This would've been awesome.
Gavony Dawnguard - Unfortunately this one can be hardly abused. A second Militia Bugler would've been neat.
Intrepid Adversary - Non-combo variants can use this as a legit win condition.
Loyal Gryff - Flash, bounce, body. Solid overall value.
Sungold Sentinel - Yet another graveyard hate option. Good body and protection.
Moonsilver Key - Being able to tutor for Ashnod's Altar, Lotus Petal and all the mana rocks is just perfect! 10/10
The Celestus - That's a lot of hoops to jump through outside of dedicated decks...
Resplendent Marshal - While I like it technically, exiling creatures from my own yard and requiring creature types to match make it fringely playable at best. Humans and/or Constructs could be prime candidates, if one were to built around it.
Runeforge Champion + Rune of Sustenance - Slamming the Rune on the Champion to draw, then saccing him, just to revive him and slam the Rune on him again should be a fun CA engine. With enough Rune prints in the future maybe even a decent one.
Sigrid, God-Favored - Solid for mid-powered creature heavy lists. Sub-par for anything above that.
Starnheim Courser - Foundry Inspector with a better body but not as an artifact. Just as playable as its predecessor, my curve is already low enough not to run either.
Search for Glory - Geier Reach Sanitarium, Inventors' Fair and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx aren't enough to make it worthwhile for me, but it's strong when built around.
Elite Spellbinder - Very strong if you can abuse it. Good base stats on top.
Excavated Wall - Aggressively costed, could put in some work.
Pilgrim of the Ages - No reason to run this over Campus Guide, Pilgrim's Eye or Skittering Surveyor.
Professor of Symbology - I like this one a lot and will play-test it for sure.
Strict Proctor - Yet another hate option. Not limited to creatures, but i'd run Hushbringer over it.
Strixhaven Stadium - I hate cards that include "win/lose the game" usually. No different with this one.
Devastating Mastery - Has political potential, depends on your approach.
Introduction to Annihilation - Not great, but if you're absolutely set on running a Lesson package it's fine.
Reduce to Memory - Strong removal that's limited to sorcery speed unfortunately, yet understandably. Great for Lesson packages.
Esper Sentinel - Very interesting for hate builds at an absurdly low rate.
Sanctifier en-Vec - Where it's good, it's back-breakingly good. Nothing for my meta really.
Tormod's Cryptkeeper - I love the flavor of this one a lot and if it weren't for Remorseful Cleric this would've been the best creature in that slot. Summoning Sickness is a big downside.
/ Sol Talisman - Idk, i neither like it as a "fast" mana card nor overall.
Dawnbringer Cleric - Good toolbox for a common.
Guardian of Faith - Not a natural fit for my deck, but good for more creature-centric builds.
Ingenious Smith - an artifact Militia Bugler, *chef's kiss*
Keen-Eared Sentry - Better than Aegis of the Gods (no enchantment) and True Believer (shroud hinders self-mill), so good for what it is.
Loyal Warhound - Not quite Knight of the White Orchid, but a reasonable alternative/substitute.
Oswald Fiddlebender - Summoning Sickness and tutoring to board are somewhat akward here. But a very strong roleplayer.
Priest of Ancient Lore - No Skyscanner or Wall of Omens, but great fit for redundancy.
Mimic - Meh
Portable Hole - Insane CMC, great for competitive pods.
Potion of Healing - Yet another bland cantrip.
I also would like to thank all other Primer writers for their dedication and inspiring me to write my own one.
Most notably, i'd like to point out - in alphabetical order - the works of @Kelzam, @pokken, @Rumpy5897 and @snowfox54119. While all Primer constituents wrote incredible pieces, these writers gave me the most food for thought on how I imagined mine should look like.