The Spirit of Caw-Blade (Isperia the Inscrutable)

Phoenixlance
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Post by Phoenixlance » 1 year ago

There is nothing that appeals to me more in magic than playing Stoneforge Mystic. Caw-Blade era is my favorite time in Magic, and I have shoved Equipment packages in basically every deck I can. My judge promo Swords of X and Y have served me well in Constructed, and I wanted to build an homage to them in EDH.

I already have a Dragonlord Ojutai deck that is pretty well tuned and definitely at a higher power level, so I wanted this deck to be something that I could pull out at more casual tables while still scratching that control itch of mine. Enter Isperia the Inscrutable:


Wingblade

Commander:

Early Draw:

1 Opt
1 Peek

Board Wipes:

Approximate Total Cost:

In the spirit of trying to keep the deck at a lower power level, I've purposefully left out free countermagic like Force of Will as well as high salt cards on EDHrec. The exception to the latter is Consecrated Sphinx as it was a popular Caw-Blade finisher/mirror breaker back in the day.

The deck contains a lot of the hallmarks of Caw-Blade. Isperia does its best Squadron Hawk impression, keeping the hand full of additional threats we can deploy to the board. Scroll Rack and Jace, the Mind Sculptor allow us to take advantage of Isperia's shuffle effect to see more cards. We have a suite of tutors to find our blades, and Enlightened Tutor is probably one of the most important cards in the deck as it can not only find equipment but also Telepathy to make our Isperia searches more consistent.
Last edited by Phoenixlance 1 year ago, edited 2 times in total.
I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more card draw.

Decks:
Dragonlord Ojutai
Isperia the Inscrutable
Lurrus of the Dream-Den
Katilda, Dawnhart Prime
Beledros Witherbloom
Jenara, Asura of War
Niv-Mizzet Reborn

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Phoenixlance
Posts: 39
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by Phoenixlance » 1 year ago

Finally went to an LGS for the first time in forever to play some EDH. Brand new playgroup, hopefully this one lasts.

I made some changes to the deck before going, just to test out how lowering the curve would feel:

In addition to me, the pod contained Chainer, Dementia Master, Marneus Calgar, and Winota, Joiner of Forces that was really budget (as in, not even sleeved budget).

I opened with Wrath of God, Sol Ring, Resculpt, Irrigated Farmland, Open the Armory, and a couple of fetchlands. Slow hand, but some good interaction. Winota had a slow start where they didn't have a relevant play until their Turn 3 (Tibalt, Rakish Instigator). Marneus had Urza's Saga and Clown Car to start off quickly, with a Sol Ring and Skullclamp coming down soon after. Chainer began doing mono-black things including an early Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.

I used my Resculpt on a Platoon Dispenser Marneus played, as by this point I drew a Generous Gift and Unexpectedly Absent I was planning to use on Skullclamp, but Chainer put down an Altar of Dementia and tutored for Cabal Coffers which made me re-assess the board state. They played Massacre Wurm to clean up Winota and Marneus' boards, and even tried to massively drain the table with Gray Merchant of Asphodel but Winota's Tibalt was still there with one loyalty counter. I tutored for Sword of Feast and Famine, played Isperia, and began hammering Chainer in the air. I used Gift on the Coffers, and then countered their Caged Sun with Stubborn Denial thanks to my equipped general, but their Braids, Arisen Nightmare was beginning to draw them cards. Winota played an Assemble the Legion to start generating advantage there. Marneus shifted to the defensive as well, trying to dig for interaction. They used an Ertai Resurrected to stop a Necromancy play from Chainer.

I drew a Consecrated Sphinx off the top, and played it after an Isperia swing that tutored for a Subtlety. There was no immediate answer from Winota or Marneus so I wound up with 10ish in hand. However, Marneus really wanted Sphinx off the table so they could continue to draw and swung at me for lethal. This prompted me to block with Sphinx to survive, which died to a Vault of the Archangel activation. I used Subtlety on a Blood Artist from Chainer that was threatening to kill me (I was at 2 life after Marneus' attacks).

The draws from Sphinx weren't the most helpful either, mostly lands, rocks, and a Batterskull that was still being negated by Winota's Tibalt that somehow hadn't died yet. I used Wrath of God to clear the board, and followed it up with a Remorseful Cleric and equipped with Sword. But now Winota became a huge issue as their Assembled the Legion put in three soldiers that turned into Goldnight Commander and Angrath's Marauders off Winota triggers. Chainer found a Toxic Deluge to go with the Blood Artist they recast, and wiped the board. They killed me in the process, and I pointed my Remorseful Cleric at their graveyard that at this point was full of Chainer fodder. Winota wound up rebuilding quickly and running away with the game.

All in all, happy with out the deck performed. I felt underpowered compared to the rest of the table but I was still able to make relevant plays, and given the whole idea behind the deck was to have a lower-powered control deck I would say mission accomplished. I don't think there's much I want to add from ONE; Phyrexian Vindicator is the main one that caught my eye just as another efficient threat (and I opened the alternate art version too) so that might be worth considering in the future.
I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more card draw.

Decks:
Dragonlord Ojutai
Isperia the Inscrutable
Lurrus of the Dream-Den
Katilda, Dawnhart Prime
Beledros Witherbloom
Jenara, Asura of War
Niv-Mizzet Reborn

Avz
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Post by Avz » 1 year ago

Nice list! I like the theme of building an edh deck off a 60 card deck. I've been playing Isperia for awhile and it's interesting seeing where our lists overlap even with your theme. A lot of our flying utility is the same. Have you considered something like Duelist's Heritage? It can double trigger Isperia and all your swords. I think of it as a peek effect because even if you don't know their hand on the first hit, you will on the second! I know you have the sword theme going on but I can never pass up an Umezawa's Jitte in an equipment deck, it's just so flexible.

The main thing I found in my meta with Isperia was struggling to actually finish out the game. It never feels like I have the boardstate to really take over.

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PrimevalCommander
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Post by PrimevalCommander » 1 year ago

Was looking for 2 cards besides Stoneforge Mystic when I saw this was a Caw Blade hommage deck. Not Squadron Hawk because that is a useless include for EDH. JTMS is in, but you cut Wallet Slayer Angel. Can't be Caw Blade without the Wallet Slayer :P

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Hawk
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Post by Hawk » 1 year ago

I love the principle of the deck - taking a powerful deck of Standard's past and trying to make it a commander.

Looks like you already made a change I'd recommend which is - given that a sworded-out Isperia is a pretty swift clock on her own, and given that she tutors on hit, you probably only need 3 or 4 other "threats". I'd maybe cut one or two more of those to add even more utility flyers or some more disruption. I sorta dig Azorius Charm here or Memory Lapse here as disruption. For utility fliers you've got most of the good stuff but Nimble Obstructionist, Thieving Skydiver, Hushbringer, Siren Stormtamer, and Aven Mindcensor are the standouts.

Phoenixlance
Posts: 39
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by Phoenixlance » 1 year ago

Avz wrote:
1 year ago
Nice list! I like the theme of building an edh deck off a 60 card deck. I've been playing Isperia for awhile and it's interesting seeing where our lists overlap even with your theme. A lot of our flying utility is the same. Have you considered something like Duelist's Heritage? It can double trigger Isperia and all your swords. I think of it as a peek effect because even if you don't know their hand on the first hit, you will on the second! I know you have the sword theme going on but I can never pass up an Umezawa's Jitte in an equipment deck, it's just so flexible.

The main thing I found in my meta with Isperia was struggling to actually finish out the game. It never feels like I have the boardstate to really take over.
Thank you, pleasure to meet another Isperia player!

Duelist's Heritage is a good suggestion. Like you, I have wondered about my ability to close out games with this list. Heritage, while a non-bo with certain Swords in my arsenal, can certainly help accelerate the clock.

I actually had Umezawa's Jitte in early drafts of this, mainly as an homage to Legacy Stoneblade, but it wound up in the Maybeboard due to me wanting to jam in more Swords. It's possible that it might be better than something like, say, Sword of War and Peace due to flexibility and it also goes nicely with Heritage to potentially deal more damage. Probably worth keeping an eye on in future games.
PrimevalCommander wrote:
1 year ago
Was looking for 2 cards besides Stoneforge Mystic when I saw this was a Caw Blade hommage deck. Not Squadron Hawk because that is a useless include for EDH. JTMS is in, but you cut Wallet Slayer Angel. Can't be Caw Blade without the Wallet Slayer :P
I'm waiting until I get more familiar with my playgroup before I ask them to let me Rule 0 in some Squadron Hawks :P

Not going to lie I completely thought Baneslayer was in a different era of Standard compared to Caw-Blade, so it lacked the nostalgia shield from being placed on the cutting room floor. It also felt really lackluster in comparison to the other creatures in the threats category, sadly. Still my favorite angel art of all time.
Hawk wrote:
1 year ago
I love the principle of the deck - taking a powerful deck of Standard's past and trying to make it a commander.

Looks like you already made a change I'd recommend which is - given that a sworded-out Isperia is a pretty swift clock on her own, and given that she tutors on hit, you probably only need 3 or 4 other "threats". I'd maybe cut one or two more of those to add even more utility flyers or some more disruption. I sorta dig Azorius Charm here or Memory Lapse here as disruption. For utility fliers you've got most of the good stuff but Nimble Obstructionist, Thieving Skydiver, Hushbringer, Siren Stormtamer, and Aven Mindcensor are the standouts.
Emeria Angel and Ishai are definitely the "threats" I'm giving a side-eye to to see if they are better off as something else.

I am a sucker for modal spells, so Azorius Charm definitely catches my eye. I had forgotten that the lifelink ability wasn't a target, so it actually does work when Isperia is equipped. Being able to cycle to dig for a better answer isn't bad either. I would probably rate Memory Lapse higher than it though, as stack interaction was something I wished I had more of in that game.

My first-first draft of this list actually had Nimble Obstructionist, but I felt like 3 mana for a Stifle effect was a lot so it wound up getting swapped for Remorseful Cleric. I'm hesitant to consider Mindcensor solely because this is a new playgroup and I am not entirely sure how they feel about cards like that, although they were fine with me running Drannith Magistrate in another deck so perhaps I am overthinking it.

Hushbringer is definitely the utility creature that catches my eye the most, with Skydiver coming in second. I only have 5 creatures with effects on ETB, so it stands a good chance of being incredibly asymmetrical. Being able to stop value trains from popping off is very valuable. Skydiver is basically an additional ramp spell on a creature by way of stealing mana rocks, which is always useful when trying to recast a clunky 5mv general a few times.
I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more card draw.

Decks:
Dragonlord Ojutai
Isperia the Inscrutable
Lurrus of the Dream-Den
Katilda, Dawnhart Prime
Beledros Witherbloom
Jenara, Asura of War
Niv-Mizzet Reborn

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