The Community Deck Build Project v6.0

[3drinks]

What *IS* the community build-a-deck? Inspired by a subject on the MTG Nexus commander forums, ths project takes a randomly determined legend (and partner, or background, if the random button falls on an applicable legend) where we work together on the deckbuild process. For the sake of historical reference, each finished deck will be archived here on my Moxfield. Then There are some rules involved, though;

- I will start the deck with a randomly determined legendary creature or legendary planeswalker that can be a commander. In the event of pulling a partner, I will randomly determine what it's paired with from all the available partners pool. I may reroll the random commander in some cases, because no one wants to see a full build for such all-stars as Tobias Andrion or Lord Magnus, of course.
- Two randomly determined users from a list of those active in the game will be chosen each day/two days if discussion is strong on previous cards, and they will nominate a card for the day's discussion. Three yays/nays is enough to confirm or reject a card.[/b]
- This aim is about communication and cohesion, if you don't agree with a direction or card choices, SPEAK UP, and let's talk it over. Preferably with more than a one sentence quip. If we can't communicate effectively, this project will fail every time. I'm fascinated by the progress we've made as our own little AI machine brains have more and more begun to recognize how each other is thinking and how we can compliment what each other is doing...or not doing. Looking back on the earlier iterations to present is such a fun process!
- Let's aim for a "higher than mid, lower than high" power level. I'm all for expression, but decks should be functioning on it's own power in random pickup games. Card suggestions should be more intricate than chair tribal, but not as parasitic as ThOracle-Consult either.
- Let's talk tutours! Since they're such a polarizing card type, let's limit the mana value of them to 3mv, or 2mv in the event of them being specialized (a la rampant growth|mir or eladamri's call|pls).
- How cool would it be if some number of us actually took these decks and brought them into their paper world? Let's try to leave the Reserve List stuff out, as well as keep the spell selections to ~$35. Occasionally you will see price "spike" cards break this for really synergistic interactions (such as Inkmoth Nexus in the first deck with Livaan, Cultist of Tiamat, or Yawgmoth, Thran Physician in Lulu, Loyal Hollyphant). These price numbers are not set in stone however, just a general guideline to stick close to.
- Each finished deck will go on to my Moxfield to live forever as "@mtgnexus Community Deck Project {deck number}" for reference point.

@mtgnexus Community Deck Build Project v1.0

@mtgnexus Community Deck Build Project v2.0

@mtgnexus Community Deck Build Project v3.0

@mtgnexus Community Deck Build Project v4.0

@mtgnexus Community Deck Build Project v5.0b

- I reserve the right to amend these guidelines as we go, should questions arise.

Without further ado, the commander randomly determined for v6.0;

Community Deck Build Project v5.0b

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Commander

1 Velomachus Lorehold

Ramp

1 Sol Ring|brc

1 Arcane Signet|brc

1 Boros Signet|sld

1 Gift of Estates|sta

1 Mind Stone|brc

1 Talisman of Conviction|h1r

1 Archaeomancer's Map

1 Birgi, God of Storytelling

1 Coalition Relic

1 Prosperous Partnership

1 Big Score

1 Smothering Tithe

1 Unexpected Windfall

1 Visions of Ruin

1 Mana Geyser

Interaction

1 Lightning Bolt|sld

1 Path to Exile|tsr

1 Swords to Plowshares|brc

1 Boros Charm|sld

1 Not Forgotten

1 Collective Defiance

1 Collective Effort

1 Council's Judgment

1 Generous Gift|h1r

1 Oblation|ons

1 Orim's Thunder|apc

1 Veilstone Amulet

1 Akroma's Will

1 Divine Reckoning

1 Release to Memory

1 Chandra's Ignition

1 Tragic Arrogance

1 Volcanic Offering

1 Farewell

Finisher

1 Twinferno

1 Young Pyromancer

1 Monastery Mentor

1 Two-Handed Axe

1 Ken, Burning Brawler

1 Invoke Calamity

1 Hexplate Wallbreaker

1 Savage Beating

1 World at War

1 Arcane Bombardment

1 Aurelia, the Warleader

Card Advantage/Selection

1 Bonders' Enclave

1 Brainstone

1 Dragon's Rage Channeler

1 Gamble

1 Conch Horn

1 Scroll Rack

1 Jeska's Will

1 Prison Sentence

1 Seize the Spoils

1 Battle Angels of Tyr

1 Reconstruct History

1 Double Vision

1 Imposing Grandeur

1 Inspired Tinkering

1 Miraculous Recovery

Lands

1 Alpine Meadow

1 Axgard Armory

1 Battlefield Forge

1 Buried Ruin

1 Clifftop Retreat

1 Command Tower

1 Demolition Field

1 Desert of the Fervent

1 Desert of the True

1 Fabled Passage

1 Furycalm Snarl

1 Inventors' Fair

1 Needleverge Pathway

1 Rugged Prairie

1 Sacred Foundry

1 Sacred Peak

1 Scavenger Grounds

1 Sejiri Glacier

1 Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass

5 Snow-Covered Mountain

8 Snow-Covered Plains

1 Spectator Seating

1 Sunbaked Canyon

1 Sundown Pass

1 Tectonic Edge

1 Urza's Saga

1 Valakut Stoneforge

1 War Room

Approximate Total Cost:

[3drinks]

Last time we ended up a bit light on certain categories of deck functionality and it was a crunch to get a couple pieces in. I think we should go by category (i.e. ramp, draw, interaction) to a defined agreed upon amount, so that we're not up against the wall desperately looking for something by the end.

[aliciaofthevast]

Oh. Big elder dragon that's like a fixed Narset. Hmm, I wonder how we can build this?

[3drinks]

This one's a head scratcher for me, yeah! You want to hit reasonably cost cards to maximize the reduction and no one is using this to free cast Emerge Unscathed. But going in on a bunch of 5mv sorceries is gonna make for a super clunky deck.

[Crazy Monkey]

I was glad to see this series continue and plan to participate going forward. I think these usually start with a strategy discussion?

Velomachus Lorehold seems to push a spellslinging deck with voltron and extra combat spells to me; kind of like a balanced Narset, Enlightened Master. Probably heavier on control elements (ie. Removal) than the decks I participated in before.

I think that the mana base should include Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion.

[toctheyounger]

Velo seems sweet! I want in.

[3drinks]

I was glad to see this series continue and plan to participate going forward. I think these usually start with a strategy discussion?

Velomachus Lorehold seems to push a spellslinging deck with voltron and extra combat spells to me; kind of like a balanced Narset, Enlightened Master. Probably heavier on control elements (ie. Removal) than the decks I participated in before.

I think that the mana base should include Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion.

It triggers on attacks, not damage though. Double strike doesn't matter.

[Dunharrow]

I feel like protecting it from blockers is not very important. It also has haste which is cool. I wonder if this is the one boros deck that doesn't care about Sunforger
I am not sure how many protection spells are needed. I see this more as a Boros control deck that has a sweet dragon that can cast free spells. I wouldn't play it as voltron, personally.
But I know that this idea would make this a generic boros control good stuff deck, and that's not how we tend to build decks.

What if we made the deck's goal to trigger VL as many times per turn as possible. Copy the attack trigger. Make token copies of VL.

I don't know. Just spitballing here.

[Crazy Monkey]

I am absolutely on board with a Sunforger oriented deck, although that's just because it's one of my favorite toolbox cards.

In hindsight, I was trying to advocate for Slayers' Stronghold instead of doublestrike, but I could see it if we take a voltron approach.

[toctheyounger]

But I know that this idea would make this a generic boros control good stuff deck, and that's not how we tend to build decks.

Honestly I'm down for doing this. Triggering as many times as possible is easy, in red you have any number of extra combat spells. Let's take the path less travelled.

[Moonlighter]

Land destruction is a route less travelled for a hateable deck.

[toctheyounger]

Land destruction is a route less travelled for a hateable deck.

You're not wrong. I'm ok with it personally but I'll go with the majority for general strategies.

[3drinks]

I am absolutely on board with a Sunforger oriented deck, although that's just because it's one of my favorite toolbox cards.

In hindsight, I was trying to advocate for Slayers' Stronghold instead of doublestrike, but I could see it if we take a voltron approach.

The dragon already has haste and vigilance like the land grants though. But....getting up over six power does open up some interesting opportunities, such as freecasting wildfire|usg that this conveniently survives...

Man, I'm all about building into the wildfire.............................................

But then if we do that, how much closer have we just gone to build worse Narset, instead of a dragon? And something, something, "play games you want to remember, rather than those we want to forget".

[Dunharrow]

Armageddon deck is more fun to build than to play. So if we are just making a deck... we can. But if we want to make a fun deck to play I don't think that's the way to go.

What about Attack Triggers Tribal?
I can always go for more Etalian.

[toctheyounger]

Attack triggers seems fine.

It's a classic to move to split hairs and build midrange but I think this guy and this build is right for it. None of us want Voltron per se, but a smidge of it could be fine. Control won't really get us over the finish line, and attack triggers are totally valid.

Why don't we draw from these, sprinkle an element of each and see what comes out the other end?

[3drinks]

The only "voltron" we'd want I'd think, is a Rancor-adjacent effect. +2 power means we kill in three hits, which is important because this dragon costs a metric ton of mana.

But the spells though. What's the balance between bomb spells we can't cast until late and utilitarian spells early? Like, I imagine no one is excited to freecast Path to Exile.

[Crazy Monkey]

I think that a trigger which looks 7 cards deep should be supported by at least 1/7 of the deck, so 15 card. Then add on the cards which it *Can* cast, but aren't ideal, such as Swords to Plowshares. If we include a Sunforger package, that's probably 15 "value" instants and sorceries, then 10 interaction/silver bullets. If I was building the deck alone, I would start with a plan for 25-30 spells to sling.

I do like the idea of attack triggers as a theme as well. Taking a bit of each nonmechanical element (control/voltron/attack triggers/midrange) makes sense to me as a mix.

[3drinks]

And the "average deck" listed on edhrec says nothing of note, anyway. Well, there's one cute interaction, but that's my secrets, so I'm not saying it here 😏

[Dunharrow]

I am good with a mixed bag of strategies. I do think we have to be careful about the amount of permanents in the deck. What will our ramp look like?

By the way, freecasting Path to Exile is totally amazing if you didn't have removal in hand. It's not exciting, but sometimes removal is all you need.

[aliciaofthevast]

By the way, freecasting Path to Exile is totally amazing if you didn't have removal in hand. It's not exciting, but sometimes removal is all you need.

While this is true, I believe the sentiment is, if we're going through the trouble of setting up our big dragon attack, we want to benefit from more than a one mana spell!

I wanna propose a change to the lands. Can we justify Cathedral of War over something else? The difference between 5 and 6 is a big one and the six mana slot is full of goodies. 😎

[toctheyounger]

I imagine no one is excited to freecast Path to Exile

Why would you not be? Card is pretty good last I heard.

Can we justify Cathedral of War over something else

I was gonna suggest this tbh

I think there's enough bits and pieces around control, voltron and goodstuff we can get a pretty good stew going here. I'd like to suggest that there are some pretty good topdeck manipulation options available to us too.

[Dunharrow]

By the way, freecasting Path to Exile is totally amazing if you didn't have removal in hand. It's not exciting, but sometimes removal is all you need.

While this is true, I believe the sentiment is, if we're going through the trouble of setting up our big dragon attack, we want to benefit from more than a one mana spell!

Right but you aren't throwing in Angelic Edict either... even though it is strictly better when cast for free. I am just saying that we should still play the good cards, not force expensive cards.
I don't want to see Lorehold Command in here for example just because it's a 5 mana spell.

To me, getting a free removal spell or draw spell is more than good enough for an attack trigger.

[toctheyounger]

It's probably also worth clarifying what will and won't work mechanic wise with our commander's attack trigger.

The big one is overload. I'm almost certain Winds of Abandon and Mizzium Mortars will only work as single target spells. I can't think of anything else directly that won't work as intended but I'm sure there's more.

Rebound, Storm, Buyback, Replicate I would assume will all work as intended and are probably fair game.

[3drinks]

So we've got the basics down, so let's start with the ramp suite, let's shoot for twelve slots and then we can move onto the next category.

To get this started, I'll put myself on the clock and nominate Gift of Estates|sta. It's not officially ramp, but it does help us make at least three land drops which is important because our commander is a massive 7mv, and it's at it's worst case, still a target off the trigger. Worth noting we have a few type duals in here so we can even colour fix with it.

We'll put @Dunharrow on the clock as well, before we hit the weekend and they're away from the computer.

I don't want to see Lorehold Command in here for example just because it's a 5 mana spell.

To me, getting a free removal spell or draw spell is more than good enough for an attack trigger.

...I was totally thinking this was the one place lorehold command would be good lmao. Man they really screwed up on that didn't they.

It's probably also worth clarifying what will and won't work mechanic wise with our commander's attack trigger.

The big one is overload. I'm almost certain Winds of Abandon and Mizzium Mortars will only work as single target spells. I can't think of anything else directly that won't work as intended but I'm sure there's more.

Rebound, Storm, Buyback, Replicate I would assume will all work as intended and are probably fair game.

Kicker is the biggest one. Wait, no, additional costs are still fair game (so if we had, say, diabolic intent, we'd still have to sac a body). Any kind of alternate costs like pitch or variable x spells. So...no suggesting Scars of the Veteran|all in here I guess

[TheAmericanSpirit]

I don't want to see Lorehold Command in here for example just because it's a 5 mana spell.

To me, getting a free removal spell or draw spell is more than good enough for an attack trigger.

...I was totally thinking this was the one place lorehold command would be good lmao. Man they really screwed up on that didn't they.

All they had to do was cost it at 4 for sunforger, the bastards.