Monday MtG: Heartless Hidetsugu

Heartless Hidetsugu

I've been bitten by the new(ish) cards bug, and now I want to buy and build Xyris, the Writhing Storm. After some brief brainstorming and research, I have a rough decklist ready for Xyris. Sadly, it means pulling parts from other decks, notably Norin the Wary.

Building Xyris, the Writhing Storm frees up cards to rebuild Heartless Hidetsugu, which I am not at all averse to doing.  Direct damage really speaks to me, because I am one of THOSE players - hasty and impulsive.  Lightning Bolt, Price of Progress, and a slew of other direct damage spells.

Heartless Hidetsugu was the first commander I ever built, and for a brief moment, it terrified people until it was pointed out that Commander damage meant Combat damage only.  Suitably chastened, I doubled down on reducing life points in a more traditional fashion.

This deck relies on haste.  Run out some haste-enablers, drop HH, and reduce life totals - to include my own. Note that, by far, my preferred haste-enabler is Generator Servant, because it can result in a turn 3 hasty HH.  And even if that doesn’t win the game, it quickly puts the game on a tight damage-based clock. A damage doubler can result in an instant death for players at even life totals, so methods to shoot players for a mere 1 damage to keep them even help (Staff of Nin nets a card, but ….).  Round the damage-inflictors and the damage-doublers out with damage-reducers (Glacial Chasm, Loxodon Warhammer, and Basilisk Collar), and you have a deck. 

I'd like to take a moment to digress about Glacial Chasm. I've no idea why it has yet to be mass reprinted, because it is incredibly useful, and arguably necessary, in a specific type of deck. Namely, decks that throw out damage equally to all players. Glacial Chasm breaks that parity and has been doing so since Ice Age. Yes, it makes a fine defensive card against other damage-dealing decks, but it is best when enabling your own shenanigans - which is why I see it as a crucial piece of Heartless Hidetsugu decks.

The biggest drawback to this deck's strategy is that it telegraphs itself, especially to competent blue players and their nasty countermagic.  So be warned.  And/or run Red Elemental Blast and Pyroblast and fight fire with fire, as it were.

Now, it has been several years since HH was one of my constructed decks, and in that time, a lovely card has been printed: Fiery Emancipation.  Objectively, this is a win-more card, but it is so, so lovely. Just look at it! It even feeds devotion, which is one of my favorite mechanics.

It is also currently much more than I like to spend on a card. I'm hoping it will drop in price, the longer M21 is in print (which is most of this year, I surmise).

As an aside, it amuses me that the most expensive cards I want tend to be Red, a color not known for its ‘awesome must-have’ cards.  Except for Filthy Casuals, like myself.

Since rebuilding HH means finishing the dismantling of Norin, I can shift Caged Sun and Gauntlet of Power out of Erebos and replace them with the now-available Conjurer’s Closet and Cloudstone Curio.  

All things considered, I am looking forward to building both decks, despite giving up Norin.

EDIT: it happened. Here is the first draft of the decklist.

Monday MtG: Away Decks Reprise

I've written about these away decks before.  Of the three decks, the UW and BG decks have only seen small changes, but the R deck has been torn down to the lands and rebuilt almost entirely.  This rebuild is due to both my continual dissatisfaction with it and the great card discussions in the FB Group Budget Magic.

The premise is still the same: A monored burn deck for a creature-heavy meta, where most games have 4-6+ players.  In a pinch, the deck needs to function as a true Commander deck, so the deck's construction follows the Commander rules of 100 cards, no off-color mana, and one (or more) Legendary creatures to feature as the actual commander.  Lastly, the deck will never be tinkered with again once sent off to Ohio.  Here is the final(ish) decklist.

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My first major reworking involves the anticipated commander.  Originally, the plan was Heartless Hidetsugu, with the deck kinda-sorta built around him.  Unfortunately, to run that commander properly, the deck needs at least a dozen ways to make haste, as well as a few ways to avoid the life loss, and doing so prevented other things I wanted to include.  So, while Heartless Hidetsugu is still in the 99, I now have other options.

Better options.  Far better options.

Krenko, Mob Boss is technically one of them, but to be a Commander, the deck would need far more Goblin support than I want to run, so instead Krenko is here to make tokens for blocking and Skullclamping, not swarming and winning. Besides, for Krenko to work, I would need to cast him every game, which would only happen IF playing Commander, and that is not a guarantee.

That said, Torbran and Toralf are both in the deck, with Torbran edging out the God of Fury by just a bit.  Both like burn, but Torbran supports it better.  Etali, Primal Dawn isn't under consideration, because, like Heartless Hidetsugu, it demands haste to work.  Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded is sweet, being an indestructible bruiser, but I simply prefer Torbran more.

Supporting Torbran are Toralf and Gratuitous Violence, which plays extra nice with Heartless Hidetsugu, popping any player with an even life total - even myself.  If this deck was still focused on Heartless, I would add more damage doublers, but as it isn't, I have more space for other nonsense instead, and am enjoying that freedom.

Loxodon Warhammer and Basilisk Collar can keep me alive and are plain silly on Heartless Hidetsugu.  Still, the bane of burn is excessive lifegain, and while there are several red ways to stop it, I am sticking to just Quakebringer, because he also deals upkeep damage AND hits for at least 5.  

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Being intended for multiplayer games, there are several cards in the 99 geared for that in the deck:  Court of Ire, Frenzied Saddlebrute, Disrupt Decorum, Emberwilde Captain, War's Toll, and Insurrection.  The last is there to win the game if nothing else does, and from experience, Insurrection does win games.  

Initially, I disregarded Court of Ire, but now that Torbran is the Commander, it seems a must, burning for 4 or 9 while Torbran is in play.  Drawing cards off Monarch is a bonus.

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The only thing better than burning folks with sorceries and instants, is doing so multiple times.  At 5 cmc, Pyromancer's Goggles is too expensive to consider ramp, but is just dandy for copying spells.  

I have other means to reuse/copy spells in the deck, but the Goggles promises to be the most reliable - or the most reliably killed, depending on how the game goes.  Increasing Vengeance, Wild Ricochet, Dualcaster Mage, and Radiant Performer all provide alternate means to copy spells.  Backdraft Hellkite is in the deck to provide a hint of recursion, for even more copies.  

(My dream play is flashing in Radiant Performer in response to the Chaos Warp that is also in the 99).   

There are other spells in the deck that I look forward to copying, notably Volcanic Offering, Mana Geyser, Seething Song, and Beacon of Destruction.  

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Drawing cards is difficult for monored, yet it is crucial for a burn deck.   My most reliable source of draw is Skullclamp.  To support it, the deck includes Kher Keep, Krenko, and both Squees.  Skullclamp is backed up by Reforge the Soul, Knollspine Dragon, Electric Revelation, and Monarch. 

Some indirect support lies in Etali, Hoarding Dragon, and Sunbird's Invocation.  In theory, an opposing draw spell can be copied or redirected, as well.

There are no other draw spells in the deck for two reasons. First, I am simply not a fan of red's 'exile and cast this turn' nor 'discarding to draw'.  Second, the Ohio group uses a houserule where a player can eschew a draw to reveal cards from the library top until a land is revealed, with the nonlands randomly shuffled and moved to the bottom of the deck.   So fewer support spells for more business spells.

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The biggest change to the deck has been the addition of Brash Taunter, Stuffy Doll, and a host of support cards for them: Fatal Attraction, Basilisk Collar, Blazing Sunsteel, Fiendlash.  The last two turning more of my creatures into death machines when I inevitably cast one of my mass damage spells. The Collar on Taunter means a free murder machine.  In truth, this might be my favorite use of the Collar, even moreso than on Hidetsugu.

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A card I am on the fence about is Repercussion. It is in the 99, because so much in this deck supports it, yet I only have one card in the deck that might keep me from losing to it, as well: Glacial Chasm.  

There are also two life-gaining equipment, but they're a more unreliable 'defense' than Glacial Chasm.   

Reprint this, WotC! Then make a creature version (with Flash!) and an instant version, as well.

One casting of Hour of Devastation or Storm's Wrath can end games with Repercussion in play, and combat math changes drastically while it is on the battlefield.  All things considered, I can see myself getting burned by this more often than not - which is fine.  I am good with a draw and occasionally being hoisted on my own petard.

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Red answers most problems with direct damage.  What damage cannot remove, is probably an artifact or land.  Enchantments escape scott-free.  Vandalblast and Structural Assault are for the artifacts that bother me, while Volcanic Offering and Ghost Quarter handle problematic lands.  Frankly, all red decks should run Vandalblast and Volcanic Offering - they are THAT useful.  Chaos Warp, Steel Hellkite, and Silverclad Ferocidons (kind of) handle everything else.

Ideally, Silverclad Ferocidons is run alongside Pyrohemia, but Brash Taunter works well, too!

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I'll close with the creatures that are mostly likely to carry the day to victory.  Being Red, there are several dragons and a few armies-in-a-can, backed up by support creatures mentioned earlier.  

Spawn of Thraxes, Hunted Dragon, Stormbreath Dragon, Inferno Titan, Siege-Gang Commander, Beetleback Chief, and Etali, Primal Storm.  This is in addition to the Steel Hellkite, Quakebringer, Silverclad Ferocidons, Backdraft Hellkite, Hoarding Dragon, and Knollspine Dragon mentioned earlier in the post.

I know what you're thinking - "wow, there's a lot of dragons in this deck!" and you wouldn't be wrong.  It turns out flying creatures are solid additions in a creature-heavy meta.  There's enough dragons that I'm tempted to add some Dragon-specific cards to the deck: Dragon's Fire, Spit Flame, Sarkhan's Triumph, Draconic Intervention, Sarkhan's Dragonfire, and Sarkhan, Dragonsoul.  I won't add them, but am sorely tempted.  

A remnant of my original deck's plan of Haste-for-all is Ogre Battledriver and Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded, both of which provide my team the haste needed to ensure they connect.  I believe that the more players in a game, the more useful Haste becomes, as more players means more opportunities for an unfortunate sorcery to remove the critters before they can swing.  

When there's a whip, there's a way!

As an aside, Purphoros is a bruiser himself, once there is enough devotion in play. Speaking of devotion, Fanatic of Mogis is also in the deck, as it plays nicely in a red permanent-heavy deck, especially when damage-doubling enchantments are involved.  Before Fanatic of Mogis was printed, I used Deathforge Shaman in this role - but that can be too mana-intensive and doesn't blink well.  

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Overall, I've made substantial changes, but I am now happy with the deck, especially the internal synergies it contains.  Average cmc is 4ish, which means I'm unlikely to do much during the early game, which isn't always an issue in games with lots of players, as early threats eat up the early answers.

By no means is this is the perfect Torbran deck, because odds are good it won't be used for traditional Commander games.  Being modeled on such decks, though, takes the deck an important extra step.  If this deck were guaranteed to be used in Commander games, it would include Manabarbs and Pyrohemia, as well as a variety of rocks.  

But, I cannot make that guarantee, so the deck goes without.

There are numerous other cards that could work in the deck, but the good-idea window is closed, both due to cost and due to it getting more difficult to make the cuts.  If interested in what I think those, follow the link to the decklist up near the top, and check out the maybeboard.

Lastly, I will at some point convert my Heartless Hidetsugu to a Torbran deck, using this decklist as a base, so when I write about that, we can compare notes, as that deck will lack budgetary restraints.

Monday MtG: Play Report

I got to play some proper 3- and 4-player pod Commander games a few weeks back, when work took me to Opelika, and in turn, to the awesome game store Game Time Hobbies.  Over the course of several games, I piloted Dragonlord Dromoka, Heartless Hidetsugu (x2), and Xyris, the Writhing Storm (x2) - note these links run to decklists that need updating, but are close to what I ran.  

Dragonlord Dromoka did quite well, using Fracturing Gust to devastate my opponents (one being a well-equipped Wyleth and the other being Morophon and its mana-rocks) and ensure victory.  It wasn't until this game that I realized that Fracturing Gust was an instant, making it quite the one-sided sweeper (and me the unobservant player - the card is nearly 15 years old).

Heartless Hidetsugu led strong its first game, with a turn 2 Generator Servant into a turn 3 Heartless Hidetsugu.  I kept folks low on life, but ultimately lost to Skithiryx, who infected the table with Karn's Bastion and Ichor Rats.  The second game I drew no haste-makers, so never got to use my commander.  Both of which are typical results of the deck in multiplayer games.  

That second game also featured someone playing Jeleva stealing cards with Harmonic Prodigy in play, which didn't win, but DID make things interesting. So now Jeleva is on my to-build list.  One day.

Xyris was more a live practice duel for the deck, as my opponent was curious as to what the deck would actually do, which was spam the field with snake tokens and accidentally win with Epic Struggle.  By this, I mean I played it and it stuck, but neither of us noticed the win until three turns later. The second game with Xyris saw it do nothing but die to bad draws.

All things considered, I left the shop in a grand mood with a few new cards in mind to purchase (Karn's Bastion and Harmonic Prodigy, among others) and changes to be made to decks (revising which haste cards are in Heartless Hidetsugu).  I did not browse the single cards at the store, but saw they were in binders by set - ideal for impulse purchasing, which is why I didn't browse that evening  as I would have purchased many.

I'm looking forward to visiting Opelika and Game Time Hobbies again, if only for next year's work-related convention.  If you're in the area, I recommend checking them out, especially on Monday afternoons for Commander play.

MtG Monday: Away Decks Completed

It's been a few months, but the Away Decks are built and sleeved, courtesy of birthday gift money.  Decklists are posted on deckstats, and the decks are ready to play. I even picked up the appropriate tokens (2 per creature, Treasure, Monarch, City's Blessing). The only missing ingredient is ready access to Ohio to play them with the group (we don't do the digital meetup very well).

The three decks: Brago, King Eternal; Heartless Hidetsugu; Chevill, Bane of Monsters.

Back in January, I got together with K and dueled, using proper Commander rules.  Chevill did well, and Heartless either won well or lost to land floods. I did get in a first-turn Winds of Change, however, which never fails to make me smile, even when it backfires (like this time).  K did learn the lesson of never letting Heartless stick around for multiple turns, a good lesson in some play groups. Brago was still incomplete, so wasn't played.  Overall, having ready access to the Commander changes a game.

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Brago, King Eternal.   Decklist.

This deck runs several common Brago tricks, but is limited due to my sticking solely to creatures that fly, so Stonehorn Dignitary and Sun Titan are automatically disqualified.  In addition, I've limited the backup blinking cards.  Given the amount of card draw, Approach of the Second Sun should be a viable win.

I'm most excited to see how this deck plays out, because the Ohio group is a fan of large life totals, and I am certain this deck will meet or exceed that expectation.

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Heartless Hidetsugu.  Decklist.

I'm dissatisfied with this build but am torn on what needs to come and go. I am leaning towards more goblin support and changing out some of the other creatures.  

What really bugs me is lack of conditionless draw.  On paper, the draw will either be explosive with Skullclamp and tokens, or sporadic - at best - with the various discard and draw spells.  Looting is a thing, but I dislike that mechanic, unless I can break it.  Maybe Squee, Goblin Nabob is the way to go.

Going Goblin means looting the 'Goblin Horde' deck which I built for a format called Horde that dies when everyone busts out Mind Grind and Mind Funeral.  To be honest, I sleeved my Horde almost a decade ago, and tried it twice before it became a permanent fixture in my storage closet.

Wow! I even posted the decklist! There are certainly a handful of cards I can either port to this deck or to my Commander box or trade binder, all of which are better uses for these cards.

Knowing that the deck won't often be used as a Commander deck means I have pulled many of the haste-making cards I typically run alongside HH.  I guess time will tell how many need to return.  If nothing else, this deck DOES burn.  

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Chevill, Bane of Monsters. Decklist.

Writing up the decklist revealed something interesting - I am running not nearly enough lands in the deck.  There are nine ramp spells (mostly sorceries) and a ridiculous amount of draw - maybe more than Brago. My limited play with this deck hasn't shown this to be an issue, but I know it could be.

With that in mind, I am eyeballing the list for cards that can become lands.  The problem with this is that I then see several other cards I can replace.  A peril of becoming active on one of the FB MtG pages - Budget Magic - is that I have Magic on the brain and new (to me) cards to consider.  I realize that I haven't even added Bounty Hunter to the deck, which is just wrong for me to not run the one other card that truly synergizes with Chevill.

This is all just speculation until I get to actually play these decks in a multiplayer game.  Hopefully, this is sooner than later.

 

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.

MtG: Norin the Netdecked

Norin the Wary (decklist)

One of my most successful decks (judged solely by random people asking me about it and my label at the local game store as the Norin guy) stemmed from a thread at MTGSalvation.

Specifically, this masterpiece of a deck introduction by Gaka.  So yes, I netdecked.

For those unaware, netdecking is looking at refined decklists on the internet and copying them mostly or entirely card-for-card.  This doesn't guarantee victory for anyone, but some decks can effectively pilot themselves, so it can result in more victories.  Netdecking had (has?) a poor reputation because those doing so 'were uncreative,' preferring to win with known effective strategies, over their own personal designs.  

Anyhow, I netdecked Norin the Wary for Commander games, and it wasn't that I won as much as the deck worked and worked well. Lots of internal synergies and combinations to become greater than the sum of its parts.  

Most importantly, that Gaka thread explained WHY many cards are chosen or ignored.  I found the thread and built the deck back when it was only 30-ish pages, instead of the 120+ it is at today.  Even though Gaka no longer runs the thread, it has been taken over by someone as diligent, so Gaka's legacy lives on.

Those lessons were the best part of that thread, as they effectively taught me how to properly evaluate cards for a deck.  I still lean towards neat over best, but at least I now know the difference.  

For those unwilling to read all of it, the basic idea is to play Norin, and capitalize on his constant leaving and entering the battlefield.  Confusion in the Ranks and Genesis Chamber are probably the cards I most want to see when I play, so smart opponents kill these cards first.

At some point, the deck came apart for another red deck (I like monored - another sign of a filthy casual), but I recently rebuilt it.  The primer at MTGS has been discussing cards from recent sets, and I even went singles-shopping for some (and the best ones are $20-$40, so they were not purchased).

So Norin is back and likely to stay untouched, until I need some of the parts - or want to resurrect my Heartless Hidetsugu deck.  Given that two years had passed since I last tore down/built up decks, I don't see this happening any time soon.

See, I sold most of my cards, keeping enough to build and maintain only a small handful of decks, figuring if Commander is a game about single cards, my keeping more than one copy, or using the same card across multiple decks defeated the purpose.

It is too late to change that tune, as replacing the cards that I'd most likely float is prohibitively expensive.

MtG Monday: Away Decks Redux

A few weeks back, I wrote about the decks I plan to leave in Ohio and why.

Since then, I have settled on commanders and determined decklists.  The decks themselves are currently in a state of sleeved, cards in the mail, or a decklist scribbled on paper. The final cards will be ordered in March, as a birthday present of sorts for me.

As for the Commanders chosen, I went with a favorite, a classic, and a brand new (for me) options.

First up is an old favorite, Heartless Hidetsugu.  I've written about this Commander before, and this deck uses that decklist as a start point, but subbing in far cheaper cards than some of the Commander gems in the decklist at the link.  The deck's strategy is burn, supported by Dragons and Goblins.  It was tough to NOT add Goblin Welder and his favorite toys, Ichor Wellspring and Mycosynth Wellspring, to the deck.  Maybe I will include some possible 'sideboard' cards to the deckbox, after all, Welder can muck about in any graveyard, not just my own.

Second is the classic Brago, King Eternal.  The deck's focus is on flying, not blinking, although some of that is going on, as well.  What blinking there is shouldn't be too gross, and without lots of mass-blinking support, like Eerie Interlude or Ghostway, triggers shouldn't get too out of hand.  On the whole, I have played against tuned, efficient Brago decks, so know what degenerate tricks to avoid.  

Third is Chevill, Bane of Monsters.  Yes, Ikoria is several years old at this point, but is still new to me.  The deck is mostly goodstuff, but only affordable goodstuff (most cards under $1, some between $3 and $8), so no Exsanguinate, Torment of Hailfire, or Ohran Frostfang.  Of the three decks, this one contains the most new cards (for me), notably Harness Infinity.

Looking at all three decklists as a whole, there are similarities.  Each deck is designed to be played with the Commander shuffled into the deck, as the Ohio group may use Commander decks, but only rarely actually play Commander.  In addition, there are no planeswalkers in the three decks, although each deck has some means to get rid of them.  Also in each deck are Monarch and other cards/mechanics aimed at multiplayer games.  Lastly, there are few mana rocks among the decks - not even Sol Rings!  The Ohio group never focuses all their ramp into one deck, so I can build decks that move at normal speed.  

That said, the BG deck has land-fetching sorceries (I avoided Sylvan Primordial, despite its low cost - just in case a true Commander game breaks out), the R deck has some burst mana, and the UW deck can fetch Plains.  All three decks feature lots of draw power, and frankly, the Ohio group uses the 'mill for land' houserule - in lieu of a draw, you can announce you're milling for land and reveal cards from the library top until you get a land.  The revealed cards aren't even technically milled, just maybe shuffled and certainly put on the bottom of the library.  

Yes, a serious group could abuse this houserule in several ways (by stacking the bottom of the deck or running an otherwise inadequate amount of lands), but that isn't an issue with the Ohio group.

Lastly, I am aware that Star City Games has higher prices, but on the whole, they have ALL the cards I want - if not now, then they will later. The Dragonshield Matte Sleeves all came from the local game store, Gamers n Geeks.

With luck, I'll get to playtest these decks before taking them back to Ohio next winter.