Magic the Gathering XXII: Where Puns Go to Die

[tgva8889]

Most people don't play with sideboards in Commander, so it's generally safe to just assume they aren't allowed, but having a bunch of alternate cards to swap in and out is totally fine. I certainly have some weirdly constructed Commander decks, like the one that's only 80 cards and I randomly shuffle 19 more cards into it from a preselected pile before the game starts.

In terms of life gain cards, I have a lifegain deck and it's pretty fun. Cards I've enjoyed in mine include literally every card with Extort (basically all of them are playable, though they're better in multiples), Greed for draw, Phyrexian Reclamation for returning creatures from your graveyard, Rhox Faithmender, Boon Reflection, and Cradle of Vitality (the last 3 are kind of obvious but still insane). I notice you don't have Wall of Reverence; that card is responsible for a lot of the stupidest situations I've gotten into.

[Ionbound]

So, uh...Permeating Mass might be the most hilarious card I've seen in a long, long time. Nice callback to Essence of the Wild, too.

[Androgeus]

Cards I've enjoyed in mine include literally every card with Extort

I've been planning a Karlov deck and somehow forgot about extort and each ability being its own instance of life gain.

[Dhavaer]

Spoiler: EMN

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The new Flash spirit looks amazing. And it curves perfectly from Rattlechains into this into Wyvern into Avacyn. The only question is if Always Watching will still fit into an otherwise largely instant speed deck.

[Fable Wright]

Nimble MongooseWild Mongrel returns! With reach for some reason! Brain still appears to be missing, though.

Also, Liliana's oath is hilarious, Cryptbreaker is amazing, Dark Salvation is the second best Tribal removal spell to date, and I wish I still played Zombies. It's finally getting the support to actually be a viable midrange/control deck.

[tgva8889]

Do you mean Wild Mongrel?

[Fable Wright]

Do you mean Wild Mongrel?

Yes. Apparently I had four card types in my graveyard when I made that post.

[Dhavaer]

Oh wow, more awesome spirits. I'm playing the hell out of this.

[ryuplaneswalker]

We can all go home, The Set is over we know the card that is going to absolutely break some format.

Spoiler

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Stunning Growth 3G

Sorcery

Return all lands from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.

[Tesla_pasta]

We can all go home, The Set is over we know the card that is going to absolutely break some format.

Spoiler

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Stunning Growth 3G

Sorcery

Return all lands from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.

Several commander decks have already cried tears of joy. Titania, Sidisi, Meren, Gitrog Monster, Jarad, new Spider legend.... in a dedicated graveyard deck, this card is Boundless Realms except it does more and costs less- which is to say it's TOTALLY AMAZING.

[Tvtyrant]

We can all go home, The Set is over we know the card that is going to absolutely break some format.

Spoiler

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Stunning Growth 3G

Sorcery

Return all lands from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.

Yeah I think Titan Dredge might become a thing now in modern, which is crazy because modern dredge is slowly taking off already.

[Bucky]

Do you mean Wild Mongrel?

Gnarlwood Dryad is the new Nimble Mongoose. With Deathtouch for some reason.

[ChaosOS]

Honestly Gnarlwood Dryad is a very different card than mongoose despite being 1/1s for G that grow to 3/3 by dumping cards in your graveyard. Deathtouch on something as large as a 3/3 heavily discourages entering creature combat with it, as there's very few creatures that trade evenly on both cards and tempo with it, thereby encouraging you to just point a bolt at it. Shroud, on the other hand, forces you to engage the Mongoose with blockers. One tarmogoyf can completely shut down a mongoose offense, while having a hand full of removal does nothing to stop the Mongoose from tapping to bolt your face every turn.

[ryuplaneswalker]

Yeah I think Titan Dredge might become a thing now in modern, which is crazy because modern dredge is slowly taking off already.

I am thinking we might see some odd..Dredge deck with Valakut the Molten Pinnacle somewhere.

[Tvtyrant]

I am thinking we might see some odd..Dredge deck with Valakut the Molten Pinnacle somewhere.

What worked for bloom titan can work for dredge.

[Grytorm]

Feel guilty today, played 2 games of Commander and won both of them, one with Prossh. One with Daretti. Probably going to make a "Standards" for abusing Mindslaver.

Rules would be:
I will not recur Mindslaver unless I think I will die by my next turn, or if I think I can win by my next turn, or if it would be exiled, or when the game is reduced to a 1 on 1 situation. Seem fair?

[ryuplaneswalker]

What worked for bloom titan can work for dredge.

The worst part is..Amulet of Vigor is still legal, I can forse some insane Dredge/Tron deck that dumps 20 lands into the graveyard, uses this to get them back..then casts animist's awakening and ends the turn with all of the lands on the field.

OH MY GOD LOTUS COBRA IS A THING.

[Dhavaer]

Full spoilers are out! Succumb to Temptation looks like a great replacement for Read the Bones when Origins rotates.

[tgva8889]

I will not recur Mindslaver.

I fixed your rules for you.

[Bucky]

Full spoilers are out!

And, true to form, the new set has at least one infinite combo.

Spoiler

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Unsubstantiate+Vexing Scuttler loop powered by Tamiyo emblem, convert to damage with Thermo-Alchemist.

[Dhavaer]

Spoiler: Izzet Spellslinger

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Creatures (12)
4x Curious Homunculus
4x Thermo-Alchemist
4x Weaver of Lightning

Enchantments (4)
4x Fevered Visions

Sorceries (12)
4x Exquisite Firecraft
4x Incendiary Flow
4x Take Inventory

Instants (8)
4x Disperse
4x Fortune's Favour

Land (24)
4x Evolving Wilds
6x Island
6x Mountain
4x Shivan Reef
4x Wandering Fumarole

I'm not 100% sold on the Firecraft, but I wanted something that could go to the face or at creatures. Maybe Burn from Within would be better? Sideboard would probably involve Engulf the Shore and Radiant Flames. I think two colours would be enough, three would kill the alchemists.

[ryuplaneswalker]

Spoiler: Izzet Spellslinger

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Creatures (12)
4x Curious Homunculus
4x Thermo-Alchemist
4x Weaver of Lightning

Enchantments (4)
4x Fevered Visions

Sorceries (12)
4x Exquisite Firecraft
4x Incendiary Flow
4x Take Inventory

Instants (8)
4x Disperse
4x Fortune's Favour

Land (24)
4x Evolving Wilds
6x Island
6x Mountain
4x Shivan Reef
4x Wandering Fumarole

I'm not 100% sold on the Firecraft, but I wanted something that could go to the face or at creatures. Maybe Burn from Within would be better? Sideboard would probably involve Engulf the Shore and Radiant Flames. I think two colours would be enough, three would kill the alchemists.

Exquisite firecraft is a beautifully excellent card do not be put off by it's cost or it's speed. With Spellcraft active the thing can end a game from nowhere.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Exquisite Firecraft sees play in Legacy Burn as a sideboard card, because it's a way to kill Miracles out of nowhere.

While it's not the most mana-efficient, the ability to be uncounterable is great.

[Dhavaer]

Spoiler: Azorius Speedy Spirits

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Creatures (22)
2x Archangel Avacyn
4x Mausoleum Wanderer
4x Rattlechains
4x Selfless Soul
4x Spell Queller
4x Thunderclap Wyvern

Spells (14)
2x Comparative Analysis
4x Essence Flux
4x Stasis Snare
4x Void Shatter

Land (24)
8x Island
8x Plains
4x Port Town
4x Prairie Stream

Who likes draw-go disruptive aggro? Only 8 of the non-lands in this can't be played at instant speed, and at 1 and 2 mana they're either coming down early or not taking too many resources late, and Rattlechains can flash them in anyway. I'm not sure whether the deck wants Evolving Wilds - I kind of like being able to have everything come in untapped.

[tgva8889]

Tamiyo Emblem kind of makes the infinite combo stupidly easy doesn't it?

[Bucky]

Tamiyo does that in general. Getting both Tamiyo emblems out at the same time is stage 1 omnipotence.

That said, the hard part this time is getting things back into my hand.

[Occasional Sage]

Spoiler: Azorius Speedy Spirits

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Creatures (22)
2x Archangel Avacyn
4x Mausoleum Wanderer
4x Rattlechains
4x Selfless Soul
4x Spell Queller
4x Thunderbreak Wyvern

Spells (14)
2x Comparative Analysis
4x Essence Flux
4x Stasis Snare
4x Void Shatter

Land (24)
8x Island
8x Plains
4x Port Town
4x Prairie Stream

Who likes draw-go disruptive aggro? Only 8 of the non-lands in this can't be played at instant speed, and at 1 and 2 mana they're either coming down early or not taking too many resources late, and Rattlechains can flash them in anyway. I'm not sure whether the deck wants Evolving Wilds - I kind of like being able to have everything come in untapped.

Thunderclap Wyvern, right?

I like Wilds for their deck shrinking effect. While they forcetap the new land, they also make your deck 56 cards. With your casting costs are I wouldn't worry, unless you're relying on them in the first three-ish turns. After that you should be golden.

Also, Avacyn brings up a question about double-sided cards and EDH. What is her color identity?

[Dhavaer]

Thunderclap Wyvern, right?

I like Wilds for their deck shrinking effect. While they forcetap the new land, they also make your deck 56 cards. With your casting costs are I wouldn't worry, unless you're relying on them in the first three-ish turns. After that you should be golden.

Also, Avacyn brings up a question about double-sided cards and EDH. What is her color identity?

That's the one. Avacyn has a red/white identity.

[Ebon_Drake]

Spoiler: Azorius Speedy Spirits

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Creatures (22)
2x Archangel Avacyn
4x Mausoleum Wanderer
4x Rattlechains
4x Selfless Soul
4x Spell Queller
4x Thunderclap Wyvern

Spells (14)
2x Comparative Analysis
4x Essence Flux
4x Stasis Snare
4x Void Shatter

Land (24)
8x Island
8x Plains
4x Port Town
4x Prairie Stream

Who likes draw-go disruptive aggro? Only 8 of the non-lands in this can't be played at instant speed, and at 1 and 2 mana they're either coming down early or not taking too many resources late, and Rattlechains can flash them in anyway. I'm not sure whether the deck wants Evolving Wilds - I kind of like being able to have everything come in untapped.

[obvious]Flooded Strand would be a much better choice than Evolving Wilds[/obvious]. I'm guessing you're going Standard-legal though and as a budget/casual option Evolving Wilds is a fine mana fixer. It'll take some experimentation to work out the right number for your deck though. With Prairie Stream and Port Town in the deck too there's a risk you'll really hurt your own tempo with too many ETB tapped effects.

[Dhavaer]

Spoiler: Izzet Spellslinger

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Creatures (12)
4x Curious Homunculus
4x Thermo-Alchemist
4x Weaver of Lightning

Enchantments (4)
4x Fevered Visions

Sorceries (12)
4x Exquisite Firecraft
4x Incendiary Flow
4x Take Inventory

Instants (8)
4x Disperse
4x Fortune's Favour

Land (24)
4x Evolving Wilds
6x Island
6x Mountain
4x Shivan Reef
4x Wandering Fumarole

I'm not 100% sold on the Firecraft, but I wanted something that could go to the face or at creatures. Maybe Burn from Within would be better? Sideboard would probably involve Engulf the Shore and Radiant Flames. I think two colours would be enough, three would kill the alchemists.

Thinking about it further, I don't think I want the Homunculus. The only spell that gets much benefit from its ability is Fortune's Favour, which I only put in there to speed up transforming the homunculus. I'm thinking some combination of Thing in the Ice and Bedlam Reveler in its place, but I'm less sure about replacing Favour. More burn would be nice, but there's no other good burn in standard. Maybe Anticipate?