Pia Nalaar, Consul of Revival

Post by **WizardMN** » 10 months ago

So, this deck came about thanks to a brief interaction in the Off-Topic thread with @TheAmericanSpirit. I mentioned my inability to come up with a Boros deck that I actually liked playing or one that seemed interesting and he pointed me towards Pia Nalaar, Consul of Revivial.

What struck me about the Commander is that it is focused in a way that still allows some creativity. Or, it seems that way on the surface. For example, my list below and the list American Spirit pointed me towards as a baseline have some overlap, but they are different enough in the way they play that it doesn't feel like I am stuck with scrambling for the only 60 cards that will work.

However, because the list wants to make use of Pia Nalaar to a large extent, the card choices are somewhat limited. I started off with a small equipment subtheme in the deck because I wanted Skullclamp and Sword of Forge and Frontier but adding more than a few dilutes the deck to such a degree that is never felt like Pia was triggering.

I still have good options with the list so I still enjoy some freedom in the list, but not as much as it might seem on the surface. After playing a few games with it though, I think I am fine with where the list sits. Here is the list I have now:

Approximate Total Cost:

First, there are two notable exclusions from this list: Passionate Archaeologist and Commander Liara Portyr. Both are missing because they do no exist in Magic Online. Or, well, the latter doesn't. Technically the former does and I saw one player playing it in one of the games I played. But no sellers sell it so I am not sure how they got the card in their collection. And MTGO doesn't say it is not implemented (it does say Liara is not implemented) so maybe that just means it will be added into Treasure Chests eventually.

Anyway, because I cannot get them online, I chose to leave them out for now. I think I care more about Liara as she works with the deck pretty well.

The list I have though is running pretty good. Impact Tremors and Reckless Fireweaver can deal some good damage with the tokens being created fairly often and Goblin Bombardment is another way to utilize the tokens in a non-combat setting as it acts as removal in a pinch if I need it.

Speaking of removal, I did try to keep it light in this deck. I have 4 board wipes, Chaos Warp, Path to Exile, and Swords to Plowshares as my removal options. So far, this has been enough. I am sort of going back and forth on Farewell vs Austere Command since the latter can keep my stuff alive if I need it. I chose to go with Farewell because I feel I can rebuild reasonably well and if I want to destroy stuff, I think I more often want to get rid of all the stuff.

I am still trying to figure out the ramp. Keeper of the Accord has been decent and Stoic Farmer can at least get me a land in hand at worst. The Restoration of Eiganjo // Architect of Restoration is another that ensures a land drop while also either ramping or getting out something like Impact Tremors for free which is relevant.

I do have Mox Tantalite and Sol Talisman since they work well with Pia but I chose to cap the "null" suspend cards to those two for a few reasons. Lotus Bloom is one that might be nice but I don't like one shot mana effects and I have no way of looping it. And Wheel of Fate isn't really needed since I seem to be able to get the cards I need with everything else. Another big reason I didn't want to go too heavy on these though is that they are dead "draws" with the impulse drawing effects. I can't cast them in most cases (some let me cast without paying the mana cost which works) and I can't suspend them so they are just removing options for me to get cards I can actually cast.

Maybe there is an argument to keep them but I don't think so. I also didn't go too heavy on Rebound or Cascade since there aren't a lot of good options for cards with these effects. But, I am certainly open to hearing about anything I missed. Of course, that goes for any card that might make sense in the deck.

Lastly, there are a few value cards in the list that aren't here because of any synergies. I just like them. The two Koths are nice to have, Sword of Hearth and Home is ramp primarily, And a few other utility cards like Wear // Tear and Boros Charm. I have debated on including Sun Titan and Emeria, the Sky Ruin though mana cost and coming into play tapped (respectively) are the main issues. But maybe some day.

Change Log

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7/16/2023

CUTS

1 Idol of Oblivion

1 Stoic Farmer

ADDS

1 Glimpse of Tomorrow

1 Lotus Bloom

Approximate Total Cost:

7/20/2023

CUTS

1 Goblin Bombardment

1 Reckless Fireweaver

1 Keeper of the Accord

1 Etali, Primal Storm

1 Plargg and Nassari

ADDS

1 Sun Titan

1 Sevinne's Reclamation

1 Mizzix's Mastery

1 Invoke Calamity

1 Reconstruct History

Approximate Total Cost:

8/4/2023

CUTS

2 Plains

1 Impact Tremors

1 Faithless Salvaging

ADDS

1 Sword of Once and Future

1 Sword of Fire and Ice

1 Mishra's Research Desk

1 Anointed Procession

Approximate Total Cost:

9/21/2023

CUTS

1 Anointed Procession

1 Glimpse of Tomorrow

ADDS

1 Mondrak, Glory Dominus

1 Court of Ardenvale

Approximate Total Cost:

TheAmericanSpirit · Post by **TheAmericanSpirit** » 10 months ago

I do really like Lotus Bloom here, if only for the powerful burst in development. I also highly recommend Glimpse of Tomorrow, which has been insane in my testing if there are >8 permanents to shuffle in. Greater Gargadon is also a personal favorite as a way to blank removal or just trade in thopters for a big goon.

I dunno, I find half the fun of the deck is solving the puzzle of what to cast and on what schedule. A couple fizzles and whiffs here and there make the high rolls all the more spectacular imo!

Glad you took it for a spin though, this list will be an excellent reference as I upgrade the deck with some pricier option!

Post by **WizardMN** » 10 months ago

If I find room for it later, I can possibly slot Lotus Bloom back in to see what happens. I still think I have had too many situations with Mox Tantalite and Sol Talisman being stuck in exile that Bloom might be similar. But I am willing to give it more of a chance.

Glimpse of Tomorrow seems like fun though my main reason for leaving it out was because it removes Pia which seems potentially disadvantageous. Plus, there aren't many ways to cast it right away so it is telegraphed (though that is less of an issue since it only hits our stuff). Of course, if I have a decent amount of tokens, it can really do a lot so perhaps I should give it a chance too. If only to see the craziness that occurs.

Greater Gargadon was one I looked at because I too like the card quite a bit. I didn't feel he quite fit here but I can see where trading in 3 more tokens (or however many are needed) to get a hasty 9/7 might be worthwhile.

Post by **WizardMN** » 10 months ago

I made the following changes and tried out another game:

7/16/2023

CUTS

1 Idol of Oblivion

1 Stoic Farmer

ADDS

1 Glimpse of Tomorrow

1 Lotus Bloom

Approximate Total Cost:

I chose to make these changes based on the conversation above and cutting Idol was mainly because there is a lot of impulse draw so I am hoping that is enough to keep me going. Stoic Farmer is because I couldn't think of anything else. It might make more sense to cut Keeper of the Accord as Stoic Farmer is a little more consistent and works with the commander better but I went this way for now.

I tried out a game online against Kogla, the Titan Ape, Kozilek, the Great Distortion, and Gargos, Vicious Watcher.

Start of Summary

I started off with some decent cards in Farewell (which was important early on), Reckless Fireweaver, and Rob the Archives. I got Pia down on turn 2 but the rest of the table ramped pretty hard. Kogla did cast a Veteran Explorer which I blocked with Pia which ramped everyone but I felt it was worth it. I cast Duergar Hedge-Mage early on to blow up Kozilek's Forsaken Monument to slow them down a bit though they still had Geode Golem on the field to cheat out their commander. I did have to cast Farewell shortly after this though as Kozilek was getting out of control after casting an Ugin, the Spirit Dragon.

From here though, Kozilek and Gargos were going at one another leaving the rest of us alone. This meant they both got low on life and Kozilek cast Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger to get rid of a few things and then swung at Gargos a couple times. I just bided my time from here trying to let them do what they wanted to. Gargos died and then I swung at Kozilek when I could to bring them down to 1 eventually. This came after they stole my turn with Emrakul, the Promised End which, other than killing my commander and putting her in the graveyard, wasn't too devastating for me. I am honestly surprised they didn't go after Kogla but I suppose since I had fliers, and they were at 3 life at the time, this was the only way for them to stay alive.

Kogla ended up killing them on their turn anyway but just enough since they could trample in for a single point of damage.

From here, Kogla and I battled it out but Kogla and Eternal Witness looped a couple times where I couldn't do much and I had to waste a couple removal spells in Hour of Revelation and Path to Exile to actually get rid of their commander. They then dropped in Shaman of Forgotten Ways which I couldn't draw into anything to remove and I scooped since they could kill me with that.

End of Summary

The game went on pretty well but I ran out of steam towards the end. I have enough impulse draw that I was still drawing live to a few things, but it just wasn't enough this game. I do think the deck might want either some reanimation in Sevinne's Reclamation, Sun Titan or Karmic Guide which would ensure I could get my commander back. Though this situation should be pretty rare.

I also might want some spells to get back my Instants and Sorceries. TheAmericanSpirit's list had Reconstruct History I think and I didn't realize it was for everything except creatures so this is likely a good option to rebuild after a wipe. I also like Invoke Calamity or Finale of Promise as options to get a couple spells back when I need them. I could even go Mizzix's Mastery which plays very nicely with Pia.

I am not sure what I want to cut to make room for these things. Possibly another land to be honest as I still feel I am still potentially flooding out in the late game. I just don't want to go too low and affect the early game too much. Etali, Primal Storm hasn't been the greatest since I can't seem to use him to keep things going. 6 mana is a lot to drop him in and then wait a turn. Plargg and Nassari are the same way where it takes a turn to work. At least with Plargg it is at Upkeep so I can plan the turn out a bit better but they may be too slow or create weird sequencing issues to not be as worth it.

Maybe cutting Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer is right since it is 5 mana? But it is super powerful and can really help to close out a game. I think I like him over Skyhunter Strike Force as the latter can only pump up to +3/+3 at most and isn't as good later on. Granted, it does boost toughness which can be relevant. I am not sure I want to cut either one since they both help end games, but I think the Skyhunter might be the right call.

The other options to go down might be Reckless Fireweaver, Impact Tremors, and/or Goblin Bombardment. These are low damage, though repeatable, and don't do a lot to get me back into games. They clearly aren't "win-more" or anything, but might not be quite enough.

The main thing is not wanting to go down on permanents too much as I am trying Glimpse of Tomorrow which doesn't work as with cutting permanents.

I think I am going to try a couple things with some recursion of either creatures or instants/sorceries to see what can happen.

Post by **WizardMN** » 10 months ago

I have decided to try out these following changes:

7/20/2023

CUTS

1 Goblin Bombardment

1 Reckless Fireweaver

1 Keeper of the Accord

1 Etali, Primal Storm

1 Plargg and Nassari

ADDS

1 Sun Titan

1 Sevinne's Reclamation

1 Mizzix's Mastery

1 Invoke Calamity

1 Reconstruct History

Approximate Total Cost:

I left Impact Tremors in but I don't think this effect is quite worth it here. I would rather focus on doing more to generate more or bigger tokens than dealing a single point of damage per token.

Keeper and Etali are more based on mana costs and Etali especially is one that has been very frustrating while playing due to trying to cast a 6 mana card off some of the exile effects. Of course, adding in Sun Titan means the issue still remains but at least Sun Titan has an effect "now" versus in a turn.

Plargg fits into that as well and I honestly just couldn't come up with another cut. Which means Plargg may make a comeback at some point.

Sun Titan, Reclamation, and Reconstruct History give a bit of recursion that I think the deck needs. Reconstruct History especially seems pretty good here. Invoke Calamity is in the same vein and I like the idea of being able to cast something like Farewell on an opponent's turn. Mastery seems powerful and works well with Pia so I figured I would give it a shot

Post by **WizardMN** » 10 months ago

I have been grinding a few games with this deck with the changes above and have been having good and bad games. I played 2 or 3 yesterday where I ended up losing all of them to different combos. One was basically on turn 5 which, while not the fastest, was too fast for me to do much with. Because they won via combo, the game summary isn't worth typing up: they tutored and comboed and won. That's about it.

However, I have had a few games where I have won. One was basically a non game: I didn't do anything but ended up winning because the opponent killed everyone else and I happened to draw a haymaker at the right time. I did just complete a game that I feel is worth talking about even though two players scooped quite early. This was against Syr Konrad, the Grim, Jenson Carthalion, Druid Exile, and Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca.

Start of Summary

I started the game by Suspending Sol Talisman and then casting Pia. Turn 3 I didn't do as much as I would have liked but turn 4 was Sevinne's Reclamation to get a land and then turn 5 was Koth of the Hammer into Flashbacked Reclamation to get two lands (both times I got Fabled Passage and I was lucky to have been milled by Kumena to get a Plains).

Jenson was doing a little and eventually cast a big Niv-Mizzet, Supreme whereas Kumena got their commander down. Syr Konrad was actually in a tough position with Temple of the False God being one of their 3 lands and the rest of their mana being one or two rocks. They still did a little bit until I had to blow the board and I ended up casting Farewell to get rid of everything.

This set Konrad back a lot and Kumena ran with it by casting a big Verazol, the Split Current which attacked me a couple times. Luckily, I had gotten Pia down and had gotten a couple Thopters for chump blockers. Jenson cast General Ferrous Rokiric and their commander to get a 4/4 token.

While Farewell did set Konrad back, they had just enough mana to cast a Peer into the Abyss targeting themselves to then get some ramp and a Desecrated Tomb. The worst thing about this is that Tomb is bugged so when they discarded their hand at the end of turn, they discarded 13 creatures including Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre which shuffled their graveyard. This caused Tomb to trigger 13 times, not once like it should have. So, they had 13 tokens instead of 1. This greatly changed the game especially after they got Konrad down and gave him infect. Without so many tokens, his Bats dying wouldn't be a big deal....because he wouldn't have so many bats.

This is basically when they other two players scooped. I think this is the reason, even though they played on for a little while, but it did change things enough that it is frustrating to deal with. In any case, I case Reconstruct History to get back Koth, Fire of Resistance, You Find Some Prisoners, and Farewell. I ended up at 7 Infect but Farewell stopped all that.

I also cast You Find Some Prisoners and got their Bolas's Citadel.

Konrad then cast Breach the Multiverse to get their own Vilis, Broker of Blood and my Atsushi, the Blazing Sky. I cast Path to Exile off the top of my library and then had to work around my own Atsushi they stole. I ended up going to 7 life off Citadel (from 28) by casting a couple big things but this gave me enough mana and board presence to attack them with 2 tokens that had haste thanks to getting Pia back down and Neyali, Suns' Vanguard exiled some useless lands off the top. As did March of Reckless Joy. This ultimately got to Swords to Plowshares on top and I stop a Braids, Arisen Nightmare from them as I had Grenzo, Havoc Raiser on the field when one of the tokens connected (twice).

Interestingly, I couldn't cast Braids with the other things I wants to do, but I got Lotus Bloom and Mox Tantalite off the top which I cast with Citadel. Bloom let me cast Braids which then forced them to sac Atsushi. I was hoping with me being at 7 life they would keep it as an attacker and take the 2 to put them from 11 to 9. But they cast Vampiric Tutor anyway to lose 2 life and I killed them by sacrificing 10 permanents to Citadel.

End of Summary

All in all, this was a good game (the bug notwithstanding). It was nice to Lotus Bloom doing something but without Citadel, that and the Mox would have been 2 dead draws in a row which is concerning. I also have not gotten to cast Glimpse of Tomorrow yet (though it has been exiled twice without being able to do anything with it). I still want to try it out but it has so far been a bit of a bust.

I am not sure how much more removal I want to add to combat some of the more combo-y decks. Having cards that don't work with the commander do change the game quite a bit so I don't want to go down too much where I don't have cards that exile to cast. It might be possible that without my silver bullets in hand (Path, Swords, Chaos Warp) I might just straight up lose to combo a lot of the time. I might just have to be fine with that.

Beyond potentially trying to account for combo, I think the following cards are close to being on the chopping block:

Before going too far into these, I will say these are the top 6 cards that stand out to me and they are certainly not created equal.

Bloom and Glimpse was talked about above but I do want to expand on Glimpse. While both play very awkwardly with the exile effects, I am not sure how much I am in on the random cards from the library. There are a lot of good hits of course, but there are plenty of chances of completely whiffing. Especially considering how many nonpermanent cards I am playing. I realize the tokens give me more of a chance at getting good stuff, but shuffling away 10 permanents to get back 6 (and who knows how many are lands) is not great which suggests that this really shines when the board is flooded with tokens. And, well, if it is flooded with tokens why not just keep those?

Impact Tremors is a thought since I already cut Reckless Fireweaver and Goblin Bombardment and I really do think the deck is fine without them. Mentor of the Meek is a thought mainly based on the fact that it costs mana to get the cards and mana can sometimes be at a premium in this deck. Welcoming Vampire and Losheel, Clockwork Scholar can't trigger often but the card draw is free. And since the deck is primarily built with impulse draw, I can usually keep going (though, as some games have shown, not always).

Sword of Hearth and Home is a thought simply due to mana but on the flip side, I have considered adding Sword of Fire and Ice and/or Sword of Once and Future. Part of this is due to the Protection but Fire and Ice draws cards and gets in damage and Once and Future can provide some filtering and a free spell. Once and Future is clearly the worst of the options here, but it isn't so bad as to not be an option.

Faithless Salvaging is probably the one card above all others I want to find a replacement for. Rebound is fine but it doesn't do enough beyond that. Discarding a card to get a card isn't the greatest rate.

I also think I want to go down another land (maybe 2) so I am going to be looking for 2-3 cards to try out instead. I have thought about Monastery Mentor due to how many noncreature spells I have. I have also thought about Anointed Procession and possible even Divine Visitation as options as well.

Post by **WizardMN** » 9 months ago

Here are the next round of changes I want try:

8/4/2023

CUTS

2 Plains

1 Impact Tremors

1 Faithless Salvaging

ADDS

1 Sword of Once and Future

1 Sword of Fire and Ice

1 Mishra's Research Desk

1 Anointed Procession

Approximate Total Cost:

I am finding I tend to flood out so cutting a few lands makes sense. Getting rid of Impact Tremors finally removes all of those types of effects in this deck. And Faithless Salvaging just doesn't do enough here.

I like these Swords as other options for protection as well as their effects. Anointed Procession helps with the token production. I am not sure this is something that will stick around but it is worth trying. And Mishra's Research Desk is another effect that can help me get cards in exile to play to trigger Pia and since it has Unearth, it can be used twice which is more than can be said for most others. I do only get to play one of the two exiled cards but I think it still ends up being fine for now.

Post by **pokken** » 9 months ago

So two things:
1) Squee, the Immortal and Eternal Scourge feel like really fun cards for this deck, and can let you lean into Anger of the Gods / Farewell effects potentially. Or even Rest in Peace

2) I am a such a massive shill for Sword of Forge and Frontier I love it

Exploration is one of my favorite cards,and this thing is super close to Exploration and Life from the Loam on a card (not quite, but similar:P). I got a bunch of them and this deck looks like a really fun spot for it!

And a bonus third thing:
playing some 0 cost dudes like Welding Jar and Ornithopter that can come off the top feel really good.

Oh and lastly, Cosmic Intervention !! best foretell card.

Post by **WizardMN** » 9 months ago

I had thought of Squee but the opportunities to get it into exile are few and far between. While Anger and Farewell can do that, Anger isn't the greatest beyond this. Farewell is a good card though so it offers some utility if Squee was exiled. I just don't think it is quite enough even if they do make a bit of sense in the deck.

Forge and Frontier is awesome in this deck. I love it. I am not sure what other decks I have that want it but it plays so well with this deck that I don't think I could even think of cutting it.

I do agree on Cosmic Intervention and is probably something I will look into if/when Anointed Procession doesn't work out. Or if anything else seems like it needs to go. I am not sure why I don't have it now as I did go through all the Foretell cards but it is a great card.

Post by **ISBPathfinder** » 9 months ago

Tocasia's Welcome could be something to consider. You have several similar effects already. I feel like I like this one more than Mentor of the Meek but it would depend on the situation at hand.

Mondrak, Glory Dominus just a thought but if you are toying with Anointed Procession it can also have some pros and cons. Personally I like the option to have a sac outlet and indestructible creature for attacking / blocking.

Bennie Bracks, Zoologist well..... I just suggested some other token based draw so lets also throw a suggestion of Bennie. Maybe.... maybe not... Seems like he might be ok at the least.

Post by **WizardMN** » 9 months ago

Those are all good options. Mondrak seems very good compared to Procession. I am still not sold on the effect but stapling it to a sac outlet and an indestructible creature seems to make it that much better.

I am not sure on Tocasia's Welcome or Bennie Bracks. I am already considering going down Mentor of the Meek since I don't like having to pay for it. With that in mind, I might actually like Bennie Bracks over Mentor. It can come down for "free" and it should trigger quite often. I am sold on it more than Welcome since I would prefer to keep the creature count as high as I can.

Post by **WizardMN** » 8 months ago

Here are my thoughts regarding Wilds of Eldraine and the Wilds of Eldraine Commander set:

White Cards

Court of Ardenvale - This could be a good resurrection option as well as a good card draw option. And with the amount of fliers this deck should have, it shouldn't be too tough to regain the Monarchy. And the tokens can help protect it as well. And because this works on all permanents that are 3 mana value or less, it can help ramp or get back things like Skullclamp.

Expel the Interlopers - I am not sure how much I like this but it does seeem like a decent option for a deck like this. Even casting it on 2 and blowing up Pia still leaves all the tokens left behind. I think I would rather just wrath the board entirely but this is an interesting option where breaking the symmetry might not be too difficult.

Moonshaker Cavalry - This is a pretty good finisher for this deck. A white Craterhoof Behemoth (more or less) and I should have quite the army going on when this drops on the field. I think I want to find a place for this for sure.

Stroke of Midnight - This might be a good option for some more spot removal if I need it. It doesn't destroy lands like Generous Gift would but it does only give a 1/1 token instead of a 3/3 which is a better option. I might look into this more for some decks even beyond this one.

Red Cards

Redcap Gutter-Dweller - This is another good option for getting cards into exile to play them. However, it does require sacrificing a creature which means the net creatures are 0 if I play the card. It still might be good to get that extra card for the turn though and it ends up being a decent body with Menace which could be good. I will have to think on this one.

Post by **WizardMN** » 8 months ago

I have decided to try out these following changes

9/21/2023

CUTS

1 Anointed Procession

1 Glimpse of Tomorrow

ADDS

1 Mondrak, Glory Dominus

1 Court of Ardenvale

Approximate Total Cost:

I generally prefer creatures over other permanents (other than lands) so I think adding in Mondrak over Procession makes sense.

Court is a good option to get stuff back and to try to draw cards. Plus, it shouldn't be hard to get, and keep, the Monarchy thanks to my fliers. I didn't really have a great cut for this though so I went with Glimpse of Tomorrow due to me not liking the playstyle all that much. I wouldn't say it is a bad card by any means. Just not quite for me unfortunately.

Post by **WizardMN** » 3 months ago

Here are my thoughts regarding Lost Caverns of Ixalan, Murder at Karlov Manor, their Commander Decks, and the Doctor Who Commander set. I know I have not been keeping up so hopefully this covers all the sets I have missed:

White Cards

Get Lost - This is actually one of the better white destruction spells in recent sets in my opinion. It can hit 3 card types and the trade off doesn't seem that great for the controller of the permanent that was destroyed.

Unexplained Absence - 4 mana instant to exile up to 3 permanents (most likely wouldn't exile anything I control in most cases) seems like a pretty good rate. I realize they get a 2/2 back, and possibly bigger depending on what is face down, but I still like the versatility of dealing with multiple threats at once. I think I might give this a try in a couple decks. It is a little tougher here since I want a lower curve but the utility might be worth it.

Red Cards

Bonehoard Dracosaur - This seems nearly perfect for the deck. It is a little high on the mana cost but repeatable exile and play effects are good. It also offers more benefits just on the exiling itself. Even with the higher cost, I think this should be in the deck somewhere.

Breeches, Eager Pillager - Another repeatable exile and play effect. And it can help ramp as well. It seems pretty good here.

Expedited Inheritance - Having a token get damaged while blocking to them fuel more cards being played from Exile seems like a worthwhile trade. And since it is a "may" I don't have to worry about getting decked. It is symmetrical so perhaps it offers too much value for others as well but I might be willing to give it a try.

Flaming Tyrannosaurus - This would be a great card for this deck if it wasn't 7 mana. That is far too much for this to really make the cut but I do like the effect.

Inti, Seneschal of the Sun - It makes some of the other discard a card effects better and gives me more options to exile cards to play them. But needing to discard a card to get it does make it a little worse. I do like gettig rid of bad cards in hand to try to spin the wheel for something better though.

Memory Worm - Here is a more cost effective version of the Tyrannosaurus and it gives more benefits to casting spells from exile. It doesn't directly support the theme but plays into it well. I will see if I have room for it.

The Flux - Removal, exile to play cards, and (maybe) ramp. 4 mana is a little high but it plays into a similar space as Showdown of the Skalds but spreads it out a bit so I don't have to worry about not having the mana to play everything. It is delayed a turn to get to cards and only does one at a time so it can't find a silver bullet if needed, but I might try it if I can find room.

Yasmin Khan - Another exile and play effect. 4 mana might be enough to push it out of contention for the deck considering all the other options that exist now, but it is not a bad option.

Multicolor Cards

Aurelia, the Law Above - This could be a decent curve topper. I should often be able to attack with 3 or 5 creatures so drawing should be easy enough. And since she triggers off anyone, it can offer a bit more utility on other players' turns as well. I do like it. It is just a matter of finding the room if I can.

Quintorius Kand - These sets are definitely giving a lot of options for Pia. Quintorius is a little on the expensive side but the trigger is very relevant and the -3 helps trigger Pia as well. The -6 does too of course but taking 3 turns to get there might be a little tougher even though he can create tokens that protect himself. The card as a whole looks to be a very good addition to this deck so I will almost certainly find room for him.

Colorless and Land Cards

Hidden Courtyard - A land that can help trigger Pia later on is nice. Entering tapped is not as nice but I don't have a lot entering tapped so it might be worth the slot.

Hidden Volcano - Same as above.

New dual typed lands - More fetchable lands is always good and I don' think these are too bad. However, I am wary about the effect entering tapped all the time would have. I will probably pick some up but I am not sure I will ever get to the point of actually playing them considering all the better alternatives.

Post by **WizardMN** » 3 months ago

2/19/2024

CUTS

1 Mountain

1 Plains

1 Mentor of the Meek

1 Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer

1 Invoke Calamity

1 Rousing Refrain

ADDS

1 Breeches, Eager Pillager

1 Aurelia, the Law Above

1 Quintorius Kand

1 Hidden Courtyard

1 Hidden Volcano

1 Unexplained Absence

Approximate Total Cost:

The two "Hidden" lands I am going to try out are coming in for a Mountain and Plains. As mentioned, they may not stick around, but we will see. Jor Kadeen is good here but on the mana cost. Mentor is one I thought about cutting anyway just because I don't always have 1 mana I really want to spend on it. My other card draw has been working reasonably well anyway. Invoke Calamity is one I don't really like losing but I wanted to make room. Rousing Refrain is "just" mana production but that isn't often that great. It can be for sure, if I have a hand full of stuff but even then, it is realistically going to get me 3-4 mana. Not bad for free, but not entirely game breaking either.

I did want to try the Dracosaur but mana cost and no free spots led me to omitting it for now.

Post by **WizardMN** » 3 months ago

I decided to try this deck out online to see how the changes are working. It wasn't the best game since two people scooped very early on but I was at least able to see a few things the deck could do. I basically ended up playing 1v1 against Nalia de'Arnise,

Start of Summary

I started with 2 lands and a Wrenn's Resolve to help get some cards. I cast Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer turn 1 (which never was able to attack all game) and a turn 2 Pia.

I basically sat back doing nothing but trying to get lands until I finally cast Blasphemous Act to clear the board. Or, sort of clear the board as they had a card that gave them 2/1 Flying tokens when a creature with counters on it died and I cast Act a turn too late as Nadia was able to put counters on everything. I tried to rebuild and was only able to get Mondrak, Glory Dominus down. I attacked with it and they exiled it with Sigrid, God-Favored. I then cast Farewell to clear their board again and get Mondrak back.

I rebuilt pretty well from here. I cast Pia again and had Chandra, Pyromaster still from earlier as she survived every wipe. I was able to cast things from exile until I got 6 tokens thanks to Mondrak doubling them. Then they cast Drannith Magistrate which slowed me down but I was able to play Castle Embereth to buff my team and I dealt 20 damage in one turn since they didn't block.

This got them down to 4 and Chandra pinged them for 1 down to 3. They couldn't do much from here and they scooped it up.

End of Summary

Magistrate was definitely a thorn but luckily it came out late enough to not matter as much. I also had Hour of Revelation in hand if I ever would have needed it so I don't think it was really a big deal.

Mondrak was definitely a shining star in this matchup. I think I got a lot of other things to work out well also. Birgi, God of Storytelling // Harnfel, Horn of Bounty was one that sort of got stuck in my hand until I needed to cast her front side just as a blocker. But that was right before they scooped.

I didn't really come across anything that seemed weak but I also didn't get through a lot of my deck either. I think the list is working well.

Post by **WizardMN** » 1 month ago

Here are my thoughts regarding Outlaws of Thunder Junction and the associated Commander set:

White Cards

Final Showdown - Instant timing wrath seems great. I am almost certainly going to find a spot for this in a lot of my decks, this one included.

Red Cards

Embrace the Unknown - This is a great card for this deck. It is slightly more expensive than a couple others but Retrace makes this far more valuable.

Gila Courser - This is another way to get cards to play from exile. And since Saddle is only 1, it should be pretty easy to Saddle it. I am not sure how much I want these types of effects on creatures but it seems potentially worth trying out.

Great Train Heist - I like this. It is expensive for all 3 modes, but I can see different scenarios where different combinations make sense. I will try to slot it in as a finisher.

Highway Robbery - I think I like this Plot card for this deck. I don't like discarding or sacrificing a land but if I ever get to a point where I just need to filter, it would be nice to have this exiled as an option.

Pyretic Charge - Another decent Plot card. This one either refills my hand as needed and/or buffs my team. 4 mana for 4 cards is a pretty decent rate. Even 5 mana isn't the worst.

Multicolor Cards

Bruse Tarl, Roving Rancher - He doesn't let me play lands which is honestly sort of frustrating. But I do get something out of it at least. Otherwise, he gives me an easy way to get cards in exile to cast for Pia along with adding a bit of power to the board. Especially as I get more Oxen on the field.

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