I'm not to keen on Mass Calcify as it can let you down in some games but Hallowed Burial is a fantastic card I have it in my other mono white deck but I missed it when I made this one. There's always one card I miss when making a Commander or 100 singelton deck.
Plague Wind is NOT a good replacement for Damnation. Decree of Pain is. Barely. That is the real problem with this format. It is still nearly as degenerate as it's twin 100s. To be competitive (not just for fun) you have to be well carded. Whether this means having a deep collection from time/effort or just deep pockets it boils down to being a format that isn't for everyone. Which is funny because it is one of the two formats chosen for the CCC. And the CC accounts all have 4x each card so making broken Commander decks should be relatively easy.
Interesting game, Maga is a commander that makes me automatically gun for that player. It is just that broken. A cheesier general is hard to find. (Not impossible mind you.) I don't blame the player who quit (by not responding which is bad etiquette and dumb) for feeling out of sorts over the hosers. Hosers are a strategy that is definitely double edged in friendly games. On the one hand "I don't like x. Don't play with it." On the other "I will play whatever it takes to win."
I played with Mind Slaver in a recent game and was told that it was strictly taboo. Not because it isn't answerable but because people feel it is unfair. Ok...Won't be bringing that card to any more games. But honestly it's function in that game was to stop me from being killed. And it worked. The fact that I had the ability to continually recur it and make everyone else miserable was really besides the point. In response to that comment though I mirror golemed (off a spitting image) it out of the game.
Also you forgot 'Cynicism' on your list of black mana attributes. "You all really just want to kill me, so I'll kill all you first."
-- Final Judgment works wonders to clear the board against reanimation.
-- Shining Shoal is worth it's weight in gold in commander where combat is going to be key. (Not so much if you are facing combo decks.)
-- Bojuka Bog is probably a justifiable splash even though it adds colorless only, to kill graveyard recursion.
-- Ruin Ghost is amazing with the 'enters the battlefield' effect lands. Not to mention that it combos nicely with the landfall creatures.
-- Tectonic Edge is a 3rd way to kill Emeria/Vorath's stronghold.
-- Return to Dust kills two birds with one stone. (birds being objectionable artifacts and or enchantments.)
-- If you are running Zuran Orb anyway why not bring Armageddon/Ravages of War?
-- Windborn Muse is a superior creature to a few you have and reinforces the "don't attack me" theme.
-- Ghostly Prison also helps this theme, though admittedly late game both strategies lack because people tend to have tons of mana anyway. (Unless you successfully resolved Armageddon or Ravages recently.)
There are a bunch of great monowhite legends like Mangara of Corondor and Michiko Konda, truth seeker.
Drana will be awesome, worthy of her own deck or you can fit her in here.
Also, the game has a slightly older version of the deck that included Mirari. I figured out after that I forgot the Magus, so I took out Mirari for Magus.
Naw man, keep it up! The more interest in the format the better. Funny that we both linked to stuff written by Tempesteye as well.
Wow, thwarted by Gloomlance. That's why I love the format, where else would you see that card played?
I like the deck. A couple of suggestions. You have no graveyard hate, so a Stonecloaker (repeatable and pinpoint) or Tormod's Crypt may be useful. And Beacon of Immortality fits the theme, but might not be necessary. Don't know how you feel about tutors, but Planar Portal can search up answers, for a cost.
I have an old deck using Kiyomaro. Maybe it's time to dust that bad boy off. Great article!
but I know I would probably go for the less powerful tribe, and I don't think I'm the only one that likes a challenge when it comes to these types of tournaments.
People also like to root for the underdog, so I'm guessing that some people would choose the smaller tribe.
Nope. When I got "serious" into Magic I did some ALA block with 5cc charm, and then it was straight into Pauper for me. I know some tidbits here and there, but at least online I've never played in other formats.
I also like the single tribe week. It's simple and it does encourage creativity to deal with the mirror matches.
Another variation of the this could be a David versus Goliath type event. You have 2 choices for tribes, 1 of which is very well known and powerful while the other is a bit obscure. Examples (Slivers versus Insects) (Goblins versus Kithkin) (Soldiers versus Ninja) At least this version appeals to the contrarians that like to go against the popular choices.
Medallion would be nice to have instead of the Chalices but as you said...a bit more expensive. The one thing about the Chalices though is, if you get enough of a mana lead going with them you can do some fun things in a single turn. Medallions are a little more balanced that way.
I like the idea of a single tribe week. Kind of the Like the IROC races NASCAR used to do. Everyone got the same car same build, and it all came down to skill and not what they were using. The same could be done with tribal.
After reading your article Paul, I thought about remaking this deck. One thing that I liked, although it may not be budget friendly, was Sapphire Medallion.
I haven’t played tribal in a long time, but these guys might be interesting enough to get me there.
same reason he has Misty rainforest but no forest. The rainforest searches out islands and the marsh flats and verdant catacombs get swamps. Plus each fetchland is basically two land fall triggers which greatly speed up the deck.
Well like I said sorry for not making it clear, when writing it I didn't want to be redundant and keep saying it over and over in those bullets, but it seems in that attempt I totally left it out instead
This might be a stupid question, but why do you include marsh flats and the verdant catacombs in the deck when there isn't a stitch of white or green in it?
I've wanted to write an article like this for a long time. This is super ridiculously Johnny. It's so Johnny that you can really only do it in Freeform.
Playing with Licids and attaching a Phyrexian Dreadnought "as jewelery" is fantastically awesome. I wasn't aware of that interaction, but it should work because the licids lose the type creature. By the way, that Squire has an "aura with trample", but the Squire does not have trample!
If you want to do more, these are the starting points that I had:
- Have a permanent on the battlefield with no card types. (easy)
- Have a permanent on the battlefield with no card types, color, name, mana cost, or abilities. (possible?)
- Search your deck for a card named "Illusion" and put it into play, and find Illusion // Reality. The official rules state that the effect will fail to move the split card from the library, but what does our client do?
- "PLAYERNAME is being attacked by Jace Beleren." (easy)
- "PLAYERNAME is being attacked by Jace Beleren, Jace Beleren." (possible?)
- Resolve a Fiery Gambit with 4 Krark's Thumb in play, just to see how the client handles it.
- Volcano Hellion + Darien, King of Kjeldor, just to see how the client handles it.
- "3:00 AM Icy Manipulator is being attacked." (screenshot! though it was a bug)
I'm not to keen on Mass Calcify as it can let you down in some games but Hallowed Burial is a fantastic card I have it in my other mono white deck but I missed it when I made this one. There's always one card I miss when making a Commander or 100 singelton deck.
Plague Wind is NOT a good replacement for Damnation. Decree of Pain is. Barely. That is the real problem with this format. It is still nearly as degenerate as it's twin 100s. To be competitive (not just for fun) you have to be well carded. Whether this means having a deep collection from time/effort or just deep pockets it boils down to being a format that isn't for everyone. Which is funny because it is one of the two formats chosen for the CCC. And the CC accounts all have 4x each card so making broken Commander decks should be relatively easy.
Interesting game, Maga is a commander that makes me automatically gun for that player. It is just that broken. A cheesier general is hard to find. (Not impossible mind you.) I don't blame the player who quit (by not responding which is bad etiquette and dumb) for feeling out of sorts over the hosers. Hosers are a strategy that is definitely double edged in friendly games. On the one hand "I don't like x. Don't play with it." On the other "I will play whatever it takes to win."
I played with Mind Slaver in a recent game and was told that it was strictly taboo. Not because it isn't answerable but because people feel it is unfair. Ok...Won't be bringing that card to any more games. But honestly it's function in that game was to stop me from being killed. And it worked. The fact that I had the ability to continually recur it and make everyone else miserable was really besides the point. In response to that comment though I mirror golemed (off a spitting image) it out of the game.
Also you forgot 'Cynicism' on your list of black mana attributes. "You all really just want to kill me, so I'll kill all you first."
Some thoughts on mono white tech:
-- Final Judgment works wonders to clear the board against reanimation.
-- Shining Shoal is worth it's weight in gold in commander where combat is going to be key. (Not so much if you are facing combo decks.)
-- Bojuka Bog is probably a justifiable splash even though it adds colorless only, to kill graveyard recursion.
-- Ruin Ghost is amazing with the 'enters the battlefield' effect lands. Not to mention that it combos nicely with the landfall creatures.
-- Tectonic Edge is a 3rd way to kill Emeria/Vorath's stronghold.
-- Return to Dust kills two birds with one stone. (birds being objectionable artifacts and or enchantments.)
-- If you are running Zuran Orb anyway why not bring Armageddon/Ravages of War?
-- Windborn Muse is a superior creature to a few you have and reinforces the "don't attack me" theme.
-- Ghostly Prison also helps this theme, though admittedly late game both strategies lack because people tend to have tons of mana anyway. (Unless you successfully resolved Armageddon or Ravages recently.)
There are a bunch of great monowhite legends like Mangara of Corondor and Michiko Konda, truth seeker.
That is THE WORST WW build I've ever seen, time better spent testing against a box of cereal.
I would have preferred Hallowed Burial or Mass Calcify.
So much more fun in mono white / Commander
Drana will be awesome, worthy of her own deck or you can fit her in here.
Also, the game has a slightly older version of the deck that included Mirari. I figured out after that I forgot the Magus, so I took out Mirari for Magus.
I would pick giants only because they are highly underplayed...
Naw man, keep it up! The more interest in the format the better. Funny that we both linked to stuff written by Tempesteye as well.
Wow, thwarted by Gloomlance. That's why I love the format, where else would you see that card played?
I like the deck. A couple of suggestions. You have no graveyard hate, so a Stonecloaker (repeatable and pinpoint) or Tormod's Crypt may be useful. And Beacon of Immortality fits the theme, but might not be necessary. Don't know how you feel about tutors, but Planar Portal can search up answers, for a cost.
I have an old deck using Kiyomaro. Maybe it's time to dust that bad boy off. Great article!
You can't...
but I know I would probably go for the less powerful tribe, and I don't think I'm the only one that likes a challenge when it comes to these types of tournaments.
People also like to root for the underdog, so I'm guessing that some people would choose the smaller tribe.
Nope. When I got "serious" into Magic I did some ALA block with 5cc charm, and then it was straight into Pauper for me. I know some tidbits here and there, but at least online I've never played in other formats.
good stuff I've always wanted to put together a mono-black one, I think I'll def do it once we get Drana, good to see another list get some ideas goin
Wouldnt David versus Goliath be giants vs Kithkin that would be funny.
but how could you garuntee that not everyone would pick the known powerful tribe?
I also like the single tribe week. It's simple and it does encourage creativity to deal with the mirror matches.
Another variation of the this could be a David versus Goliath type event. You have 2 choices for tribes, 1 of which is very well known and powerful while the other is a bit obscure. Examples (Slivers versus Insects) (Goblins versus Kithkin) (Soldiers versus Ninja) At least this version appeals to the contrarians that like to go against the popular choices.
Medallion would be nice to have instead of the Chalices but as you said...a bit more expensive. The one thing about the Chalices though is, if you get enough of a mana lead going with them you can do some fun things in a single turn. Medallions are a little more balanced that way.
I like the idea of a single tribe week. Kind of the Like the IROC races NASCAR used to do. Everyone got the same car same build, and it all came down to skill and not what they were using. The same could be done with tribal.
After reading your article Paul, I thought about remaking this deck. One thing that I liked, although it may not be budget friendly, was Sapphire Medallion.
I haven’t played tribal in a long time, but these guys might be interesting enough to get me there.
Roflmao...Im the one who researched that. :p (cf my initial article on the subject.)
same reason he has Misty rainforest but no forest. The rainforest searches out islands and the marsh flats and verdant catacombs get swamps. Plus each fetchland is basically two land fall triggers which greatly speed up the deck.
Well like I said sorry for not making it clear, when writing it I didn't want to be redundant and keep saying it over and over in those bullets, but it seems in that attempt I totally left it out instead
?
This might be a stupid question, but why do you include marsh flats and the verdant catacombs in the deck when there isn't a stitch of white or green in it?
On the contrary: Suicide Plague Sliver for the win. There's always a metagame option.
I forgot that the Licid-Jewelry never stops being an Aura. Thanks for reminding us. No bug at all.
I've wanted to write an article like this for a long time. This is super ridiculously Johnny. It's so Johnny that you can really only do it in Freeform.
Playing with Licids and attaching a Phyrexian Dreadnought "as jewelery" is fantastically awesome. I wasn't aware of that interaction, but it should work because the licids lose the type creature. By the way, that Squire has an "aura with trample", but the Squire does not have trample!
If you want to do more, these are the starting points that I had:
- Have a permanent on the battlefield with no card types. (easy)
- Have a permanent on the battlefield with no card types, color, name, mana cost, or abilities. (possible?)
- Search your deck for a card named "Illusion" and put it into play, and find Illusion // Reality. The official rules state that the effect will fail to move the split card from the library, but what does our client do?
- "PLAYERNAME is being attacked by Jace Beleren." (easy)
- "PLAYERNAME is being attacked by Jace Beleren, Jace Beleren." (possible?)
- Resolve a Fiery Gambit with 4 Krark's Thumb in play, just to see how the client handles it.
- Volcano Hellion + Darien, King of Kjeldor, just to see how the client handles it.
- "3:00 AM Icy Manipulator is being attacked." (screenshot! though it was a bug)
...and so on.