Monday MtG: Decks of Yore

A catalogue of my past decks.  

A few decklists are still at MTGSalvation; I had several others at EDHRec, but it seems they purged members at some point, and mine got zapped.  I have started a new account at Deckstats, so a few can also be found there.  I've linked what is out there, but most simply don't exist outside my vague memories.  That said, most such decks kind of build themselves.

1. Akroma, Angel of Fury - red goodstuff and big mana
2. Anafenza, the Foremost - exile tribal
3. Arcanis, the Omnipotent - blue goodstuff
4. Aurelia, the Warleader - attacks
5. Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim - cleric tribal
6. Azami, Lady of Scrolls - wizard tribal
7. Blind Seer - color changing and protections blue mischief
8. Braids, Conjurer Adept - steal others free things
9. Circu, Dimir Lobotomist - exile Tribal rather unpopular
10. Commander Eesha - voltron surprisingly strong
11. Damia, Sage of Stone - goodstuff, probably?
12. Darien, King of Kjeldor - soldier tribal
13. Depala, Pilot Exemplar - vehicles and dwarves
14. Diaochan, Artful Beauty - vehicles and artifacts that become critters
15. Dragonlord Dromoka - goodstuff and lifegain
16. Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief - black goodstuff
17. Ephara, God of the Polis - lots of blinking
18. Erebos, God of the Dead - black goodstuff
19. Feldon of the Third Path - red graveyard things
20. Firesong and Sunspeaker - sorceries and instants
21. Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury - elf tribal
22. Gahiji, Honored One - politics
23. General Tazri - ally tribal
24. Glissa, the Traitor - BG artifact things
25. Gonti, Lord of Luxury - play others' decks
26. Grand Arbiter, Augustin IV - stax
27. Heartless Hidetsugu - 2013 decklist; some things never change
28. Horobi, Death's Wail - commander-driven silliness
29. Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper and Ravos Soultender - what Anafenza turned into
30. Isperia the Inscrutable - flying tribal
31. Iwamori of the Open Fist - legendary tribal
32. Jarad, Golgari Lichlord - BG commander-focused
33. Jaya Ballard, Task Mage - burn
34. Jenara, Asura of War - commander damage and counters
35. Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer - equipment and artifacts
36. Kambal, Consul of Allocation - stax
37. Kami of the Crescent Moon - blue goodstuff/draw
38. Keranos, God of Storms - storm
39. Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis - group hug with win conditions
40. Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero - rebel tribal
41. Lyzolda, the Blood Witch - built for dueling commander
42. Maelstrom Wanderer - cascade into chaos
43. Marath, Will of the Wild - deathtouch machinegun goodstuff
44. Marchesa, the Black Rose - a focus on 4 cmc; did I actually play it?
45. Marisi, Breaker of the Coil - monarch and goad
46. Melek, Izzet Paragon - spells
47. Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker - forcing sacrifices
48. Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker - mill
49. Mogis, God of Slaughter - early version; group slug, mass land destruction
50. Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer - play lands
51. Muzzio, Visionary Architect - artifact shenanigans; assorted blue legends in the 99.
52. Nath of the Gilt-Leaf - discard tribal
53. Neheb, the Eternal - big red mana
54. Nekusar, the Mindrazer - death by wheels
55. Nemata, Grove Guardian - modeled on the primer at MTGS.  Wins.
56. Nicol Bolas - UBR silly stuff
57. Nin, the Pain Artist - UR artifacts
58. Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind - I draw
59. Norin the Wary - blink-based shenanigans; modeled on Gaka's primer
60. Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper - lands
61. Oloro, Ageless Ascetic - lifegain
62. Patron of the Moon - land denial
63. Phenax, God of Deception - mill and wall tribal
64. Polukranos, World Eater - big green
65. Selvala, Explorer Returned - huggish
66. Selvala, Heart of the Wilds - big green
67. Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker - built around the commander, I couldn't get it to fire
68. Skullbriar, the Walking Grave - aimed at dueling
69. Sol'kanar the Swamp King - URB sillystuff
70. Stonebrow, Krosan Hero - trample tribal
71. Sygg, River Cutthroat - Everlasting Torment and creatures that draw cards
72. Taigam, Ojutai Master - UW goodstuff
73. Tatyova, Benthic Druid - lands
74. Teysa, Orzhov Scion - tokens
75. Thada Adel, Acquistor - theft
76. Thassa, God of the Sea - watery things in art and name theme
77. Thrun, the Last Troll - green goodstuff
78. Tolsimir Wolfblood - GW goodstuff
79. Tsabo Tavoc - group slug
80. Uril, the Miststalker - auras for days
81. Varchild, Betrayer of Krondor - tokens for all
82. Vorel of the Hull Clade - all sorts of counters
83. Vorosh the Hunter - +1/+1 counters
84. Xantcha, Sleeper Agent - mischief
85. Xenagos, God of Revels - big single attacks
86. Xyris, the Writhing Storm - wheels and tokens
87. Zedruu the Greathearted - gifts

What isn't counted are the legends that have (or have had) deck bits set aside for eventual decks that never saw completion.  Also ignored are the legends that are worthy of being commanders that I slip into the 99 for various reasons.

Full disclosure: many of these decks were inspired by a decklist and/or primer on MTGSalvation.  Some are entirely homegrown, but most are - at least somewhat - net decks.  And I am okay with that.  A fine side effect of netdecking is that you quickly learn what cards are good or not, based on others' experience.  When it comes to spending money on painted cardboard, getting bang for your buck is the  only smart way to spend.

A quick scan reveals that I am partial towards mono- and bi-colored decks.  This is chiefly because the landbase is simpler.  In the case of monocolored decks, I grab 28 appropriate basic lands (each a different image, to include some sweet APAC and Euro lands) and 8-10 nonbasics for utility, and I am done.  Other decks follow a similar pattern, with the lion's share of lands being basics.  Not only is this easier on my wallet, but it spares me the pain of a Ruination or Blood Moon.  Granted, these are only threats when people play using my other decks, but still...  

The drawback to running mostly basic lands in a deck with more than one color is the threat of being mana-screwed, either out of a color or just in general.  Opponent strategies can exacerbate landscrew, but that is the cost of playing Magic.  Artifacts help in this regard, with Chromatic Lantern being a key piece of a 3-5 color deck, and the assorted Signets and Talismans helping immensely. 

Regardless, monocolored decks dominate, which means card overlap in regards to 'staples'.  Some, like Erebos, Gonti, and Horobi are wildly different, due to interactions with the commander.  Others, like Poulkranos, Selvala, and Iwamori are basically the same strategy, so many of the same cards appear in the decklists. 

If I were attempting to keep all of these decks assembled, I would either go broke with the multiple copies (especially Sol Ring and certain fancy lands), print lots of proxies, or have some amazingly slow and overall bad decks in continual need of tuning.  Luckily, I gave up on that plan years ago when I sold off cards, keeping only an irregularly supplement Commander Box.  Keeping myself limited on available staples keeps me from having decks that are too similar in strategy built at the same time.