Kenrith: An ETB Pod Journey

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benjameenbear
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Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago




Kenrith: There and Back Again, an ETB Tale







Introduction
This deck came about because of a bad experience with Dinosaurs, Angels, and Yarok.

"What is this nonsense, benjameenbear?" you might be asking. But this deck's inception began with a game where I sat down with my brother and his friend while playing my Yarok ETB list. My list was tuned and had a ton of good synergies that made getting value from the Command Zone easy to do; all I needed was for Yarok to live and I usually would take over a game.

Imagine my surprise when I was OUTVALUED by my brother and his friend, both playing Golos Tribal decks. My brother built his Dinosaur deck (all the Primals and good Dinos) and his friend built Angels (every good one possible).

Watching them fix their mana WHILE getting ahead on mana because of Golos' ETB ability was just too good to keep up with. Especially compared to my sad, no-ETB-or-activated-ability Commander. They buried me with Golos' abilities and just overwhelmed my seemingly meager responses and attempts at trying to be relevant. Even copying a Ravenous Chupacabra's ability twice with Yarok multiple times didn't stem the tide of Stompy death coming at my face.

It was at this moment that I knew that Golos was going to helm my Yarok ETB deck instead.

And he did beautifully. Being able to get ahead on lands from the Command Zone and blink Golos was phenomenal. I NEVER worried about mana or color-fixing and I never had to worry about running out of cards in hand because, oh yeah, Golos could do that too.

Then... he was banned in September 2021. I can totally see why, but I was still sad to see him go. So, Kenrith came up from the 99 to lead this decklist and I've tweaked the main decklist to take advantage of Kenrith's absurd suite of abilities.

This deck is basically a Who's Who of powerful MTG cards. You remember the brokenness of Birthing Pod in Modern or Standard? It's in this deck. You love your ETB value creatures so that you are always doing something? This list has it. Do you like to operate from the graveyard with consistent recursion engines? Read on, comrade, and learn why King Arthur is the Commander of choice for my 5CC Goodstuff deck.




Kenrith ETB Control
Approximate Total Cost:


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ZenN
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Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

My thoughts in no particular order: Okay, that's plenty off the top of my head for now. In general, nice list. Looks like a blast to play.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

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Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

Hey @ZenN! I'll answer your points in turn.
  • I like Nyxbloom Ancient because it turns Eldritch Evolution into a spectacular "ramp" effect if Golos is alive. I played a cEDH style Tasigur list that utilized Tasigur's CMC to turn Eldritch Evolution into a powerhouse card by getting Razaketh, the Foulblooded on its resolution and assembling a combo line from there. That strategy really impressed me, and it's actually one of the core reasons I chose Golos; he Pods or Evolution's into some pretty spectacular creatures, giving my tutor effects some serious threat power. It also adds some diversity at the top of my Pod chains; I try to have various effects (ramp, removal, card draw) at each CMC level so that I can Pod into a specific effect at any point in the game. Also, activating Memnarch with Nyxbloom Ancient is a GLORIOUS feeling and is this deck's primary win condition actually.
  • Since Golos can tutor any land directly to play, Dread Presence gets turbo-charged in power level via Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. Turning fetch-lands into Card Draw OR Board Control while also recouping life is extremely valuable to me. Think of it as a baby Omnath, Locus of Creation that needs Golos to do the setup. It's actually a very flexible card in practice and adds diversity to the first land I tutor with Golos, since I usually tutor for a specific land based on what's in my mind. It helps games be less linear for me as well, so the Presence is delightful. And when it gets YArok'ed... oh man. Let the Burial of my Opponents in Card Advantage commence.
  • I have a foily Countersquall and no more spare copies of Dovin's Veto, so the Squall goes in. This is definitely my pet decklist because...
  • I once built a cEDH style Fblthp, the Lost deck with Proteus Staff. It was EXTREMELY linear in the way that it won games, which is eventually why I took it apart, but the idea of Fblthp bumbling around into an infinite combo (my win condition was Aetherflux Reservoir) and accidentally pressing the Death Star laser button was too good of an image to let go of. I NEVER tutor for it from the library. It's a simple cantrip creature that I'm happy to sacrifice while also being arguably the best Legendary Wizards has ever printed (tongue-in-cheek). I have good memories of the card and it fills a slot that I want (2 CMC cantripper that dies to Skullclamp), so it's in the deck.
  • Voidslime and Disallow are interchangeable imo (even though Disallow is strictly better). I have a copy of Voidslime and no spare copies of Disallow. In goes Voidslime.
  • And I guess I'll continue to standby the ability of Denial to hard counter any spell while requiring only one blue pip. That has come up frequently in games that I play. It also helps to ease the sting of my countering their spell, so I do get a bit of goodwill back from the card. This deck is built to GRIND and grind very hard, so giving away cards to my opponents helps to increase the overall length of the game and (usually) the enjoyment of it.
  • Yeah, Dockside is going to come in. I haven't decided if I want to cut Farseek or Arcane Signet for Dockside yet.
  • Yawgmoth, Thran Physician is my favorite creature of all time and he combos amazingly with Mikaeus, the Unhallowed to create infinite loops. It's my only combo in the deck and it requires Yawgmoth, Mikaeus, a creature that gains life on ETB, and another creature. It's super fragile but ridiculously strong when assembled. Additionally, Yawgmoth serves as a payoff effect for Field of the Dead, and helps make Golos a versatile card that can get me to specific game results depending on my board state needs. Have Yawgmoth but no dudes to sac? Tutor out the Field, play a Fetch, and watch the Card Draw begin to flow. EDIT: I need to update Duplicant to Noxious Gearhulk to properly utilize this synergy...


The deck is definitely a ton of fun to play. It plays pretty much all of my favorite cards and strategies while including no hard combos (my definition of hard combo being no more than 2-3 pieces that are intentionally included for their combo applications). It's definitely high-power in practice though, as Golos has won nearly every match I've sat down for.

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Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

benjameenbear wrote:
3 years ago
Voidslime and Disallow are interchangeable imo (even though Disallow is strictly better). I have a copy of Voidslime and no spare copies of Disallow. In goes Voidslime.
I can't fault the "this is the one I have lying around" logic, but personally the harder colour cost would be enough reason for me to go out of my way to replace it with the easier.
benjameenbear wrote:
3 years ago
Yeah, Dockside is going to come in. I haven't decided if I want to cut Farseek or Arcane Signet for Dockside yet.
With your new-found Omnath, Locus of Creation infatuation, the extra land tutor seems like a nicer keep than the more fragile (albeit better colour fixing) Arcane Signet.

Nice OP edits. Cute name.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

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Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

Thanks! I gather my comments helped explain your previous questions.

The color-fixing of Arcane Signet has come up a few times as being relevant for when I didn't have the right colors in play. I think that Farseek is probably going to go since the deck can spam landfall triggers pretty reliably with the flicker and clone effects in the deck as well as a fetch-land (since the 2nd landfall trigger that generates mana is the one I care most about).

Yeah, Omnath is really quite good. It's one of the most powerfully designed creatures they've made in quite a while. Getting 4 free mana from a basic game action was a mistake for the card's power level, but I'll take it. The fact that it funds the majority of Golos's activated ability trigger means that Omnath often gets 3 spells cast for free on the next turn as well, increasing its overall power relative to my deck.

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Post by SaintForthigan » 3 years ago

I've been giving this a try recently, and have been really impressed by how much value Golos has been able to grind out in an ETB shell, and have a ton of fun with every game. One card that's definitely felt off to me though has been Ulvenwald Hydra. While the ETB is nice, the lack of trample has left me feeling like it's unable to connect in a lot of games, barring such circumstances as where you've already got a blink engine, a murder ETB, and mana enough to keep a player's board clear. Is there something I'm missing in its inclusion?

If not, then as a bomb, might Omnath, Locus of Rage serve better in the role? By the time we'd want to play it, we'd have enough of a lands engine that we should be able to generate an equivalent or greater power to Ulvenwald by the time we untap to swing, with the added advantage of causing a considerable deal of pain if swept, alongside with playing nicely with Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and Risen Reef.

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Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

The Hydra is in the deck because it's a 6 cmc creature for Birthing Pod to keep the mana advantage as consistent as possible. It also has reach, which isn't irrelevant. It makes Prime Speaker Zegana a huge bomb as well. It's not flashy, and might get replaced by the new Kodama, it's done it's job well.

Also, Gruul sucks. Bolas and Omnath are the only red cards in the deck and I prefer to keep it as red lite as possible. Red sucks, Blue rules! Fight me @Airi lol.

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Post by SaintForthigan » 3 years ago

Fair enough! Thanks for sharing your thought process :)

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Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

No problem! The Hydra is definitely the card I've been evaluating the most critically to replace since it's basically a more expensive Golos, but I haven't quite found an ETB creature that does what it does yet. The new Kodama is close, but doesn't generate value by itself like the Hydra does.

Also, I cut Farseek for Dockside Extortionist and changed the mana base a touch to include another red source that I can fetch.

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Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

Ah-Ha! I've found the new 6 CMC creature to replace Ulvenwald Hydra! Burning-Rune Demon is perfect for Kaalia and for this list. Make no mistake, this card is basically an ETB Intuition effect, so I highly recommend picking up a copy ASAP before they inevitably spike. As long as you have solid recursion in your deck, this is an excellent tutor effect to utilize.

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Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

benjameenbear wrote:
3 years ago
Ah-Ha! I've found the new 6 CMC creature to replace Ulvenwald Hydra! IBurning-Rune Demon is perfect for Kaalia and for this list. Make no mistake, this card is basically an ETB Intuition effect, so I highly recommend picking up a copy ASAP before they inevitably spike. As long as you have solid recursion in your deck, this is an excellent tutor effect to utilize.
Yeah, I commented on that card in the unreleased card discussion thread. Thing is bonkers. Instant staple.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

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Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

Highly agreed. I don't understand why it's preselling at such a low price. The secondary singelton market is now more than 50% influenced by EDH staples that get printed or released. Maybe everyone's underestimating the power of this card? I dunno. It doesn't fit the theme of my Yawgmoth deck, so it won't be going in, but Golos and Kaalia are ABSOLUTELY getting copies slotted in.

What do you think of the new snow-Clone guy/girl/thing @ZenN? Moritte of the Frost could have some cool implications, but I've recently realized that I have quite a number of legendary permanent cards in my Golos deck now. The ability to copy any permanent is pretty cool, but I can't think of any immediate uses for something like it. But that's definitely from a lack of imagination more than anything else.

Any other cards stand out to you as possible includes for your Derevi/Golos list?

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Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

Also, I'm testing out Biomancer's Familiar. There's a decent selection of creatures with activated abilities in the list (including Golos himself) that I think it could provide good value over the course of a game. I'm just not sure if it has enough impact outside of saving me mana on activated abilities. We'll see...

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Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

benjameenbear wrote:
3 years ago
What do you think of the new snow-Clone guy/girl/thing @ZenN? Moritte of the Frost could have some cool implications, but I've recently realized that I have quite a number of legendary permanent cards in my Golos deck now. The ability to copy any permanent is pretty cool, but I can't think of any immediate uses for something like it. But that's definitely from a lack of imagination more than anything else.
It's tough for new clones to be worth playing, when we've got such good ones already.

Like, in my ETB deck I'm running Phantasmal Image, Phyrexian Metamorph, and Clever Impersonator, all of which are stronger. Being limited to only copying your own stuff, and costing 5, really hurts this ting.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

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Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

Whelp, I had a huge post typed up detailing out a game I played over the weekend.. and then my internet went haywire. Damn it...

Key moral of the story: I didn't win the game on a turn where I had to manage literally 100+ non-infinite mana.

I had a Nyxbloom Ancient and a Phyrexian Metamorph copy of it so each of my lands produced at minimum 9 mana. One Kar0o land, Arcane Signet, and Sol Ring and Faeburrow Elder were also in play. It was quite the wake-up call to realize that I hadn't actually created a "clean" way to kill the table with this kind of surplus mana and was completely inexperienced in managing that sum of mana.

So, I'm making some changes to the list that will be permanent.
  • -Fblthp, the Lost, +Thassa's Oracle - I could have won off of the Oracle's trigger because I had 14 cards left in my deck and 19 devotion to blue. It's also a decent card for filtering my top of deck to smooth out my draws while also offering a way to cleanly win the game once I've activated Golos's ability enough times.
  • -Protean Hulk, +Terror of the Peaks - the Hulk rotted in my hand most of the game because I was already doing a metric ton of tutoring, creature loops, and other value plays. The Hulk is unnecessary. The Terror produces a hgih-quality clock for a game that synergizes with the core function of the deck.
  • -Diabolic Intent, +Survival of the Fittest - a repeatable tutor is better than a single-shot tutor. I was resisting this change, but given the texture of the game Golos played, I think Survival is gonna go in now.
  • -Gilded Drake, +Kenrith, the Returned King - I had plenty of ways to deal with creatures and my stealing capabilities were on point via Memnarch and Agent of Treachery. The Drake is superfluous to these cards and I really want to slot it into my cEDH Breya deck. Kenrith impressed me greatly (I had slotted him in instead of the Dockside during this weekend game, which was a mistake) so I want to make Kenrith permanent. He's also a great outlet for massive quantities of mana and can give my team Haste and Trample so I can convert a huge board of creatures into a combat-based win condition if necessary.

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Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

I love Kenrith, the Returned King, but every time I try him in a deck, I end up getting him at times when I don't have mana to spare on his abilities and he just disappoints me.

Including Thassa's Oracle seems like a solid choice, especially if you're able to routinely make enough mana to just deck yourself with Golos.

Terror of the Peaks is a very aggressive addition. I like it. I've played a lot of Terror in standard, and I've been super, super happy with it in my Maelstrom Wanderer deck, too.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

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Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

I only played one game with Golos and thankfully had the chance to resolve a Kenrith in the late game and he did some wonderful things, notably recurring my Eternal Witness which pulled a Phyrexian Delver which reanimated a Deadeye Navigator which I flickered twice to bring out my dead Nyxbloom Ancient and my Metamorph to get 9x mana again so that I could get Yawgmoth + Gearhulk + Mikaeus via Kenrith's ability out to kill everyone with a stolen Bastion of Remembrance. I could very easily see him being deadweight in some games too, so I'll be keeping an eye on him.

The most recent games that I've won with Golos have all been because of having two copies of Nyxbloom Ancient via a Clone or Theft effect. This surplus of mana makes Golos's ability EXTREMELY powerful for me as an alternate win condition, so that's why I think ThOracle is a worthwhile inclusion. It fixes my draw at the worst case and literally wins me the game at its best case while not having a dedicated combo to exile my library. I never liked the Forbidden tutors anyway...

In the subsequent game I rofl-stomped the table with Golos, someone was playing the new Purphoros. They were able to get a Terror of the Peaks into play and did an ungodly amount of damage to a whole lot of targets with Purph's ability. I look at it as essentially a damage doubler that gives me another angle of dealing direct damage to my opponents, their 'walkers, or their creatures that takes advantage of the core engine of the deck. The change in the game's tempo was very palpable after the Terror hit play, so I'm looking forward to adding that same pressure in my own deck.

I haven't drawn any of my landfall cards in a while (i.e. Lotus Cobra, Dread Presence, etc.), so I think the next game I play I'll give those ones a test-run to make sure they still carry their weight in the deck. I expect they will, but I want to be sure.

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Post by benjameenbear » 2 years ago

I updated the OP list with quite a few changes based on some games and theory-crafting.
  • -Phyrexian Tower +Derevi, Empyrial Tactician = Derevi has been pretty spectacular at increasing mana production both with her ETB and her combat trigger. Being able to untap Birthing Pod and activate its ability twice a turn has been VERY powerful as well. The Tower generated only Black mana, and I also realized that my Yawgmoth deck didn't have a copy in it. Easy swap, and I haven't really had a ton of mana issues.
  • -Regrowth +Finale of Devastation = Regrowth nearly almost always got back a creature and the Finale does that in addition to being a semi-Overrun effect AND a tutor effect as well. Another easy swap.
  • -Memnarch +Neoform = I'm trying out another CMC matters tutor so that I can have Golos be a consistent source of tutor advantage. I added in C. Sphinx specifically to take advantage of this. Memnarch was great, but he doesn't directly end games and created a feel-bad way of winning. I've removed him in consideration of my playgroup.
  • -Dread Presence + Consecrated Sphinx = The Presence was pretty good as a Card Advantage engine in the deck. C. Sphinx is better and my copy has been collecting dust for a little longer than I like.
  • -Thassa's Oracle +Oko, Thief of Crowns - this is a test because both cards are good. I think the ability to neuter Commanders with Oko is too tempting to pass up, so I'll see how he does in testing. Having a clean win condition actually won me a game, but I picked up a copy of Oko and I want to give it a try.
  • -Countersquall +Peregrine Drake = this deck actually doesn't leave a lot of mana open during games. So I decided just to go all-in on a tap-out, momentum-based mid-range strategy. It's been working, quite well actually. I haven't missed the 'Squall and the Drake has allowed me to do some really heinously powerful non-combo turns while also creating a clean infinite mana combo in the deck when I'm ready to try for the win.

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Post by benjameenbear » 2 years ago

Hmm, sad day that the Commander waas banned. Can't say I'm mad at it or surprised, so I'll just bump up Kenrith from the 99 to the Commander list and slot in Seedborn Muse instead.

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Post by benjameenbear » 2 years ago

Updated the list to its current in-paper iteration. I'm testing out Toxrill, the Corrosive in this list because it's one of the coolest cards I've seen in a while and I love how powerful it is in addition to adding Zacama back in. Man, I LOVE that Dinosaur. So freaking cool and completely OP with an active Seedborn Muse.

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Post by SaintForthigan » 2 years ago

Awesome to see the deck continuing to grow and evolve! This list has been like a big stewpot of all my favorite stuff in Magic, and one that I'm looking forward to playing for a long time to come

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Post by benjameenbear » 2 years ago

Thanks! It's been a blast to play and it can scale up or down in power according to your playgroup. I like the political element that Kenrith enables in that you can easily generate favors across the table with his activated ability to help your opponents out.

I'm hoping to get a game in this Friday with Toxrill to see how he plays, but if he's too powerful then I'll take him out and re-add Koma, Cosmos Serpent as another top-end bomb I'm happy to Pod into.

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Post by benjameenbear » 1 year ago

Significant changes to the primary decklist along with some cool new cards from recent sets being added in. I'll be updating the OP shortly and noting the changes as well as my rationale for them!

EDIT: Here's the list of changes:
  • - Farseek + Noble Hierarch - I have an awesome judge foil that wasn't being used. Farseek is lame in comparison.
  • - Fiend Artisan + Imperial Recruiter - having an immediate ETB effect to tutor out a creature instead of waiting for an activated ability has been much better for the deck. The fact that Recruiter is still Sun Titan-able and finds almost 100% of the effects I need at any given time means this was an easy swap.
  • - Burning-Rune Demon + Buried Alive - I wanted to use some Reanimator cards that were just sitting in my binder. So...
  • - Rune-Scarred Demon + Entomb - I wanted to incorporate more of a Reanimator feel to the deck since Kenrith has a rez activated ability. Plus, with all the recursion in the deck, there isn't too much of an opportunity cost to shift some of the tutors around to lower my curve and get cooler creatures out faster.
  • - Thrasios, Triton Hero + Coiling Oracle - ETB creatures > activated ability creatures, even if Seedborn Muse is in my list. Pretty straightforward swap for me.
  • - Tymna the Weaver + Aether Channeler - again, another straightforward ETB swap for a creature at the same CMC. Tymna has also kind of gotten a bad reputation lately, so she was attracting attention I didn't necessarily want for this deck.
  • - Callous Bloodmage + The Great Henge - I finally got a copy of his card and it's worked overtime for me both in keeping my life total high and for spamming out card draw with the amount of blink and recursion in the deck. An excellent addition that is significantly reduced when Kenrith's out in play!
  • - Omnath, Locus of Creation + Consecrated Sphinx - this could be a future swap, but I wanted to see how C. Sphinx does in the list since I wanted to include another Pod target AND a powerful Reanimator target.
  • - Mulldrifter + Sylvan Library - Mulldrifter is good, but the library is better. And with how much lifegain Kenrith can provide via his activated ability, I feel like the opportunity cost of drawing a boatload more cards with the Library outweighs the usefulness of Mulldrifter.
  • - Ravenous Chupacabra + Ertai Resurrected - this is a functional swap I've been long hoping for. The fact I can target my other spent ETB creatures with Ertai's ability to draw cards is awesome and the card draw helps to preserve some goodwill with my opponents. After I counter/kill their thing, of course...
  • - Toxrill, the Corrosive + Koma, Cosmos Serpent - Koma is MUCH more powerful as a Reanimator bomb. The way it takes over a game is absolutely amazing, and I'm happy I made the switch.
  • - Peregrine Drake + Sun Titan - with a heavier emphasis on recursion/Reanimator tendencies, including the Titan has been excellent. It almost always recurs a fetchland, nevermind the whole suite of sub-3CMC value ETB creatures this deck runs. It's been an excellent inclusion and loves to be blinked or rez'ed.
  • - Derevi, Empyrial Tactician + Reanimate - Derevi is a cool card, but I find she didn't often do enough to really make an impact on the battlefield or my mana production. So, in line with the Reanimator theme I've decided to embrace more fully, I made this swap. It's been pretty good so far in testing to allow the coveted Entomb + Reanimate plays and getting an early Koma is back-breaking.
  • - Deadeye Navigator + Thassa, Deep-Dwelling - I want to keep the blink theme present in the deck, and Deadeye was heavy on the CMC. I also cut a blatant combo piece from the list, so I think it's ok. Thassa is just a solid workhorse card that isn't flashy but does what she needs to do while being Pod-able or Evolution-able in the 99.

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Post by benjameenbear » 1 year ago

I've decided to transition this deck over to the new Atraxa and will no longer be maintaining this thread! It will serve as inspiration for the new Atraxa list I'm working on, so the work isn't totally wasted.

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