Samut: Play Dudes, Turn Sideways

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Post by Mookie » 3 years ago

Full spoiler for Commander Legends is out. Should have some interesting implications for the format - lots of interesting stuff, in terms of reprints, staples, and niche players.

White
  • Armored Skyhunter - looks very sweet for an equipment-based Samut build. This deck isn't voltron, but, as always, it's a very legitimate option.
  • Court of Grace (and monarch cards in general) - I don't think this deck is particularly good at protecting or claiming the crown. The creatures are mostly small and non-evasive, which makes it hard to take it back once lost. Court of Grace is a fine card, but this deck doesn't value tokens that highly.
  • Keeper of the Accord - much better for white decks that aren't running green, or that care about tokens. This deck can go wide on both lands and creatures, so I wouldn't expect Keeper to do much.
  • Promise of Tomorrow - very interesting as board wipe protection, and much easier to use than Second Sunrise. Recurrable with Sun Titan. I suspect it is at its best when you run enough sacrifice outlets to trigger it at will though, and ETB effects to take advantage of the creatures being re-summoned.
  • Slash the Ranks - a very sweet wrath variant. Kills all our random little critters, which is unfortunate, but not needing to repay commander tax on Samut is nice.
Green Red
  • Port Razer - combat damage: untap all your creatures? This sounds abusable.
  • Soulfire Eruption - another very silly nine mana spell. I wouldn't expect it to be that consistent as removal... but it doesn't seem difficult to flip 20+ cards off it either, which digs extremely deep.
  • Coercive Recruiter - most notable as a card that works very well with Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. Only steals creatures, but also gives you infinite untaps of other creatures... if just having infinite attackers isn't enough for some reason.
  • Jeska's Will - mildly interesting as a potentially free-ish card draw option, although this deck doesn't have a ton of mana sinks for excess red mana.
  • Wheel of Misfortune - an interesting card draw option if you're into wheels.
  • Alena, Kessig Trapper - a somewhat interesting mana producer, although the average size of creatures in this deck is pretty small.
Other
  • Jeweled Lotus - card looks busted, but I don't think a turn 2 Samut is actually that impressive in terms of snowballing. That said, turn 5 lethal commander damage if unchecked is certainly a fast clock on one opponent.
  • Bladegriff Prototype - I always find myself bemoaning the lack of on-theme removal for this deck, and a repeatable flying Vindicate seems excellent. It is sort of under an opponent's control what gets blown up, but it doesn't seem that difficult to get it to work.
  • Bell Borca, Spectral Sergeant - mildly interesting as a card draw engine, but otherwise unexciting.
  • Hans Eriksson - pretty sweet as a way to cheat out nonsense, but more of a build-around if you want to cheat out fatties... meanwhile, most of the creatures in this deck would lost the fight. Just drawing a card isn't a bad fail case though.
  • Jared Carthalion, True Heir - seems like another build-around. Again, this deck isn't great at protecting the crown.
  • War Room - three life is a significant cost. Bit of a toss-up between this and Arch of Orazca, but I think I'll give the nod to Arch due to also functioning as a combo piece to draw the deck.
  • Spectator Seating - an untapped dual land. Seems good.
Overall, I'd say that there aren't any obvious autoincludes for me in my current build. Gladegriff Prototype is probably the closest, with Reshape the Earth as a second pick... but there are a few more utility lands I would want to be running first. Plus, nine mana sorceries are pretty hard to find slots for.

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Post by Mookie » 3 years ago

Full Kaldheim spoiler out, and definitely some interesting options. The two standout mechanics for this deck are Boast and Snow. Boast has a natural synergy with Samut, similar to Exert - as an attack trigger, it greatly benefits from access to haste. The synergies for Snow are a bit more limited, and primarily dependent on the land slot. That said, Into the North and Dark Depths could justify a snow package by themselves.

As for individual cards... Overall, I'd say Svella is the card I'm most excited for in this deck, but there are a few other cards I'd like to run. A snow / legends package with Kolvori and Search for Glory could be quite fun.

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Post by Mookie » 3 years ago

Strixhaven spoilers out. Definitely some interesting cards in the set. This deck is pretty light on instants / sorceries, so not a ton of overlap with the magecraft mechanic. However, the RW faction (Lorehold) has a strong graveyard / recursion theme, which is extremely interesting.
  • Velomachus Lorehold is pretty expensive at seven mana, but casting free spells is strong. Still, probably needs more instants / sorceries to support it.
  • Hofri Ghostforge may be my favorite card in the set. That said, hard to say whether Hofri works in this deck - granting haste is fantastic, but this deck doesn't have many token / sacrifice synergies, and I think you would also want more sac outlets and ETB effects.
  • Plargg, Dean of Chaos looks fantastic. Rummaging and free spells on the front side, an untap effect on the back side.
  • Venerable Warsinger also seems fun as a repeatable recursion effect. Better if you have ways to pump it. Not able to recur noncreatures though, which makes it more limited than Sun Titan.
  • Reconstruct History is... a lot of card advantage. Recurring both an instant and a sorcery is fairly unique in these colors, and throwing in an artifact and enchantment just sounds like a pile of value.
  • Ecological Appreciation seems like an extremely powerful multi-tutor. Your opponents get to control what you end up with though, so I'd need to do some additional analysis to figure out whether there are any particularly good packages to fetch - a lot of the creatures are somewhat situational.
  • Mila, Crafty Companion is interesting. Soft protection for your creatures on one side, a draw / recursion engine on the other. Grabbing back Sun Titan or Etali, Primal Storm for a turn seems good.
  • Fervent Mastery is a triple Gamble. Hard to control what you end up with, but Life from the Loam and Dusk // Dawn mean there are some deterministic piles you can fetch. That said, it does seem pretty mana intensive.
  • Accomplished Alchemist is interesting if you have lifegain to support it. If you're running Wellwisher or Oracle of Nectars, could be sweet.
  • Strict Proctor is an interesting hatebear, given that this deck has so few ETB effects. Also supports bouncelands, which is nice.
Overall, I'd say Plargg seems like an obvious snap-include. Reconstruct History also seems worth consideration, and Fervent Mastery seems potent if you want to lean into it.

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Post by Mookie » 3 years ago

Following up on Strixhaven, we have the C21 spoilers. The Lorehold (RW) deck is mostly focused on artifact creatures, but there is also an activated ability that pairs nicely with this deck - I'm very happy with the Thousand-Year Elixir reprint. It looks like WotC has toned down the number of staples / autoincludes they've printed in the set, with the exception of some card advantage and ramp options for white decks. As a base-green deck, this deck doesn't really need those new cards, but certainly some interesting options.
  • Ezzaroot Channeler is an interesting cost reduction effect - this deck doesn't have much lifegain (or expensive creatures), but it can represent a pretty substantial cost discount by itself.
  • Pest Infestation is a flexible Naturalize variant.
  • Osgir, the Reconstructor is an excellent artifact recursion engine. You do need a lot of support to make him worth it though - I don't think this deck has enough artifacts.
  • Audacious Reshapers is a sweet repeatable Madcap Experiment. It will probably also kill you if you don't have enough artifacts.
  • Battlemage's Bracers is a potent Illusionist's Bracers variant. Costing mana to copy the ability limits combo potential significantly, but haste is very relevant.
  • Cursed Mirror is awesome. Fantastic design. Not necessarily for this deck, but I love it in general.
  • Excavation Technique is a flexible Generous Gift variant - if you have a friend, blowing up three things for four mana is very strong. Gifting an opponent treasure can backfire though.
Overall, I don't think any of these cards are autoincludes for this deck, but there are some cool options. Battlemage's Bracers is probably most interesting as a second copy of Illusionist's Bracers, but Ezzaroot Channeler could also be interesting.

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Post by Mookie » 2 years ago

MH2 spoilers out, and there are definitely some interesting new cards. Unfortunately, the subthemes in Naya colors (artifacts, +1/+1 counters, and storm for RW/GW/RG, respectively) don't have a lot of overlap with this deck.
Overall, I'd say that Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth is the new card I'm most interested in including in the deck. Other than it, not a ton of options unless you've leaned into one of the set's themes (artifacts / +1/+1 counters).

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Post by Mookie » 2 years ago

AFR spoilers out. A few interesting cards, but the overall power level of the set seems a bit low compared to recent sets. Dungeons are pretty parasitic, so it's a bit difficult to justify including only one or two venture cards - you really want a dedicated deck. Anyway...
  • Zariel, Archduke of Avernus grants haste, and the ultimate untaps creatures. Otherwise not that exciting - this isn't a very planeswalker-friendly deck.
  • Old Gnawbone seems sweet if I ever get around to making a Samut stompy deck - it generates a ton of mana and loves haste. Not great if you're not attacking though.
  • Instrument of the Bards is... interesting. It's pretty slow, but if you're running a legend-tutoring package with Captain Sisay, it looks a bit better. Still, I suspect Citanul Flute is better.
  • Froghemoth is a sweet variant on Scavenging Ooze - grave hate, lifegain, and grows into a big beater. A bit weaker against combo due to no activating at instant speed though.
  • Guardian of Faith is an option to protect your creatures, if you want an alternative to Heroic Intervention and similar effects.
  • Zalto, Fire Giant Duke is one of the few cards capable of venturing into the dungeon multiple times per turn. Could be very sweet alongside pingers.
  • Varis, Silverymoon Ranger is a bit weaker than Beast Whisperer if you aren't able to complete a dungeon, but still somewhat interesting.
  • Nadaar, Selfless Paladin ventures on attack, and seems like a reasonable inclusion if you want to do dungeon delving.
  • Oswald Fiddlebender is amazing - Birthing Pod for artifacts is an incredibly powerful ability. Unfortunately, this deck doesn't run enough artifacts for him.
  • Flumph is another interesting option if you have a lot of pingers, or you could just use it politically and have opponents chump attack into it for a card.
  • Wandering Troubador is another creature that repeatedly ventures, assuming sufficient landfall triggers.
  • You Happen On a Glade is a mildly interesting option - land fetching in the early game, recursion in the late game. Not actual ramp, but flexibility is good.
  • Ranger's Hawk is another repeatable venture engine, assuming you have sufficient untaps (and tappable creatures) available. Tapping other creatures is a pretty steep price, but it does somewhat enable itself with dungeon-based token generation.
  • Fighter Class is mildly interesting as a way to tutor up relevant equipment. I think you need to be running a lot of equipment to justify it over other equipment-tutoring options, but the third level can be sweet for a stompy deck.
  • Bard Class seems excellent if you're running a lot of legends (such as for the oft-mentioned Captain Sisay package). Reducing Samut's cost is also nice.
  • Lair of the Hydra is somewhat interesting as a land tutor target that can represent a lot of damage. Usually entering tapped means I think it looks a bit weak though, given that the other manlands like Raging Ravine can also provide fixing.
Overall, I don't think there are any obvious autoincludes for this deck - there are a few cards that are sweet if you have a bunch of pingers, a few that are sweet if you have a lot of legends, and a few that are sweet if you want to go all-in on dungeon delving. Unfortunately, my current build is a bit too light on pingers and legends, and I don't think I'm willing to make all the cuts necessary to support dungeon delving. Alas.

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Post by Mookie » 2 years ago

Following up on the Adventures in the Forgotten Realms spoilers, we have the precon decklists. Some interesting options there. The RG dragons deck in particular has some interesting options if you have a more beatdown-focused Samut deck.
  • Klauth, Unrivaled Ancient is capable of generating a lot of mana. Doesn't combo with Aggravated Assault, but still seems quite scary.
  • Vengeful Ancestor is another fun option for Samut stompy. Goading is entertaining.
  • Bag of Tricks is an interesting alternative to Birthing Pod - random creatures are obviously much weaker than tutoring for something specific, but not needing to sacrifice a creature makes it much lower investment. This deck is pretty low on value creatures though, so may be a miss. Still, seems fun to test out, especially if you have a 1-of at some points on the mana curve. Having Godsire as the only 8-drop target sounds hilarious.
  • Wulfgar of Icewind Dale is another fantastic option for Samut stompy - doubling Etali, Primal Storm triggers sounds sweet.
  • Thorough Investigation is interesting. This deck doesn't do much attacking, but it's not difficult to have some expendable tokens to cash in for clues. If you do have a bunch of clues, getting bonus ventures seems sweet.
  • Share the Spoils is an interesting Knowledge Pool variant. This deck is pretty synergy-dependent, which means that opponents can't take advantage of most of our cards. On the flip side, gaining access to stuff from opponents' decks could be good.
  • Fey Steed is an interesting option to protect our stuff, although Mila, Crafty Companion // Lukka, Wayward Bonder does it better.
Overall, Bag of Tricks is the card I'd be most interested in testing for this deck. For a more beatdown-focused deck, Wulfgar and Klauth seem very interesting - I've contemplated making a second Samut deck built around combat triggers like Etali and Aurelia, the Warleader for ages.

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Post by Mookie » 2 years ago

Finally played Samut for the first time in a while, mostly to refresh my memory of the deck. I'm playing in a different meta than the one in which I made my most recent changes - that meta was extremely fast but somewhat light on creature-based interaction, while there seem to be a lot more board wipes in my new meta (one game I played was a 6-player pod which had multiple board wipes per turn cycle, which was... not good for this deck). I think for my new meta, I probably want to run a bit more card draw to allow for a grindier gameplan - I found myself running out of action a lot.

On the flip side, I feel like I may want to also run another board wipe or two (or just more interaction in general) in case I fall behind... or just run more acceleration / cheap ramp to try to outpace my opponents. I actually think I'm running a sufficient amount of ramp already, but the creature-based ramp is somewhat vulnerable to the previously-mentioned board wipes. Some more recursion to grab back dead creatures (and other cards) is probably also a good idea.

I've also been toying with the idea of leaning into Hermit Druid and adding some way to combo with an empty library - Krosan Reclamation (shuffling back Seasons Past) + Rude Awakening + cycling land was my first idea, but it requires at least thirteen mana (which is a lot). Krosan Reclamation to shuffle back Rally the Ancestors is probably the actual best line, but it also requires a few additional cards (I don't have any combos that only require creatures, and summoning sickness is a thing). Hmmm.....

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Post by Mookie » 2 years ago

Following up on the last post, I'm trying out a few card swaps with the intent of having a slightly more grindy gameplan. Just swapping in cards I already had on hand at the moment, but there are also some cards I'm looking to pick up, at which point I'll probably have some more extensive swaps. There are still a fair number of creatures in the deck that I haven't tested to my satisfaction yet, so planning to test them before I cut them.

Cuts: Adds: Expedition Map is pretty likely to return at some point - I have a lot of nice utility lands to fetch - but I feel like testing Nylea's Intervention in its place. Somberwald Sage may also come back, but I think it fits awkwardly into my curve - I don't have a lot of 6/7 mana creatures I want to ramp into. Deal Broker feels a little awkward in a deck that doesn't have that many graveyard synergies outside Life from the Loam, and I don't think armies of small creatures are prevalent enough for me to want Brigid (she can kill bigger things with untaps, but those are a pretty valuable resource).

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Post by Mookie » 2 years ago

Midnight Hunt spoilers out, and there are definitely some interesting options. The two biggest themes in this deck's colors are werewolves in RG, and humans / coven in GW. I don't think day / night and werewolves work that well in this deck - it usually casts spells on its own turn, which makes it difficult to flip to night. On the other hand, it tends to have a lot of creatures of various sizes, including many humans, so it has some synergy with the GW themes.

White
  • Fateful Absence is a solid removal spell if you want more spot removal.
  • Gavony Dawnguard is mildly interesting as a draw engine. However, you need to be able to flip day / night repeatedly, and have enough creatures for it to hit consistently, which seems difficult.
Green
  • Wrenn and Seven is an extremely powerful enabler and payoff for any graveyard / land-based strategy. Get lands into hand, mill yourself for value, do some ramping, make a few beefy tokens, and if you hit the ultimate you get a ton of recursion.
  • Tovolar's Huntmaster // Tovolar's Packleader does a solid impression of Grave Titan. If you're playing lots of werewolves and can make it enter during night, it looks even better. If you don't have other enablers, I think it looks a lot weaker.
  • Vanquish the Horde is an extremely efficient board wipe, and possibly the best white one in the format.
  • Augur of Autumn looks excellent - in this deck, it's 70% of a Future Sight, assuming you can get enough creatures for coven. Even if you don't, I think it's a meaningful upgrade over Courser of Kruphix - it doesn't reveal your draws, and it doesn't die to random enchantment removal.
  • Saryth, the Viper's Fang - YESYESYESYESYES. Untaps things, gives pingers deathtouch, and protects your team. This deck can fully benefit from every line of text on Saryth, and every line is fantastic.
  • Outland Liberator // Frenzied Trapbreaker looks solid, assuming you can flip it to night to get multiple Naturalize triggers on attack. A bit clunkier than Kogla, the Titan Ape though.
  • Turn the Earth looks amazing, mostly because it's a strictly-better Krosan Reclamation, which I've been considering to add to the deck to enable Hermit Druid shenanigans.
Gold Overall, I would say that Saryth is the biggest snap-include printed in the set, to the point that I almost wonder if someone at WotC is playing this deck. I'm probably going to make a few changes to my build to support it (namely, adding a few more pingers). Turn the Earth is also likely going to get added, due to the previously-mentioned Hermit Druid shenanigans. Other than those two.... Augur of Autumn looks solid, and there are a few other cards worth consideration if you have sufficient humans.

Edit: nothing particularly exciting in the Midnight Hunt commander decks - Heronblade Elite and Celebrate the Harvest are interesting ramp options, but I don't think either of them actually fit in this deck.

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Post by Mookie » 2 years ago

Welp, I have an annoying problem: I got ~30 cards for the deck, but I can only find space for half of them. I'm blaming Saryth, the Viper's Fang - it's an extremely strong enabler for a pinger package, but that package demands a bunch of deck slots. Add in several other packages I want to run, plus a bunch of cool cards I want to play with, and there are way more cards than I can fit in a deck. Decisions, decisions....

...given how many changes there are, I'm probably going to end up reverting half of them, and cutting a fair number of the new cards to squeeze in the cards I couldn't fit. So, expect another update at some point in time after I've been able to do some testing.

Adds - Pinger Package
  • Saryth, the Viper's Fang - the headliner. Gives pingers deathtouch, untapped creatures hexproof, and he can also untap both creatures and lands. This deck makes fantastic use of every line of text.
  • Goblin Sharpshooter - one of the better pingers in the format, it acts as a one-sides Plague Wind alongside deathtouch.
  • Inferno Titan - not a tap ability, but attack triggers are close enough.
  • Basilisk Collar - a redundant source of deathtouch, plus a bit of incidental lifegain.
  • Stonehewer Giant - fetches up Basilisk Collar, along with all my other equipment.
Adds - Bag of Tricks
  • Bag of Tricks - a card I want to test out - this deck doesn't want Birthing Pod because most of its creatures' value comes from them sticking around, instead of from ETB / LTB triggers. However, cheating out random creatures is still quite good.
  • Angel of Glory's Rise - testing out because I currently have no 7-drops in the deck, and I want at least one card at every point on the curve. It also happens to be a pet card of mine, which doesn't hurt. That said, there are a lot of other options worth consideration - Drakuseth, Maw of Flames, Old Gnawbone, Nyxbloom Ancient, and Avenger of Zendikar are all very strong options. (I'll call out Godsire as the most amusing 8-drop)
  • Ley Weaver - adding in because it is another human for Angel of Glory's Rise.
Adds - Misc
  • Turn the Earth - as mentioned, I want to try out some Hermit Druid shenanigans- the idea is to mill the entire deck, then shuffle Rally the Ancestors back in. It also acts as grave hate in a pinch.
  • Plargg, Dean of Chaos // Augusta, Dean of Order - testing. Plargg loots and provides card advantage, while Augusta acts as an untapper. Both seem very strong, and I'd probably run them individually.
  • Svella, Ice Shaper - makes a bunch of icy manaliths for sweet, sweet ramp value... then turns into a card advantage engine when you have a bunch of mana.
  • Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker - an unexpected addition to my list, but I traded for one a few days ago. Kiki-Jiki is... very possibly the strongest single tap ability in the entire format, and a known combo machine. I'm not a fan of 2-card combos, so Kiki-Jiki is actually bumping Village Bell-Ringer from this slot in an effort to tone things down a little.
  • Bladegriff Prototype - testing, but a repeatable Vindicate every time it deals combat damage seems sweet. I've been wanting some more flexible removal for this deck. That said, letting your opponent choose is a pretty significant downside, so will require some diplomancy.
  • Kogla, the Titan Ape - more repeatable removal, and another incentive to favor running humans.
  • Moraug, Fury of Akoum - 'landfall: untap your creatures' seems pretty absurd. Also capable of pumping out some absurd damage alongside any beater.
Adds - Lands Cuts - Nonlands
  • Sunbird's Invocation - I like Sunbird's, but a lot of spells in this deck are pretty cheap (and thus prone to whiffing).
  • Genesis - see previous comments re: Hermit Druid shenanigans - I think comboing out is a slightly stronger payoff for self-mill, and Genesis is a little slow.
  • Kamahl, Pit Fighter - outclassed by Inferno Titan, unfortunately.
  • Argothian Elder - switching to Ley Weaver due to creature typing.
  • Intrepid Hero - it's alright, but only hitting big creatures limits it significantly. Crucially, the second-most kill-on-sight creature in the format is probably Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, which it matches up poorly against (the first is obviously Linvala, Keeper of Silence).
  • Mangara of Corondor - I like the idea of Mangara, but in practice, it's too much effort to exile more than one thing.
  • Goblin Bombardment - I've always had mixed feelings about Bombardment in this deck - I don't make that many tokens / expendable creatures, so it pretty much only acts as a combo piece. Still, I may bring it back if I find myself wanting to win with Thornbite Staff more consistently.
  • Thraben Doomsayer - I don't have that many payoffs for 1/1 tokens, so giving Pride Sovereign the nod over it. May come back though.
  • Atla Palani, Nest Tender - I tried to make Atla work, I really did... but despite having played her out in several games, I have yet to crack a single egg. I simply don't have enough sac outlets for her. May come back if I ever end up running more.
  • Magus of the Library - fun card, may come back, but I find myself running out of cards more often that I would like.
  • Glissa Sunseeker - interesting card, but I don't think I've actually used her.
  • Scavenging Ooze - probably irresponsible of me to cut grave hate, but as mentioned, there were a lot of cards I wanted to test. May come back if I can find space for it... unless I run Froghemoth instead.
  • Mother of Runes - as with Sc'ooze, finding slots is hard, and Mom is pretty low-impact. May return though.
  • Boundless Realms - in my quest to enable Hermit Druid, I've also cut a lot of basic lands, which makes this significantly worse. May come back if I find myself wanting to do more big mana shenanigans... but honestly, I don't mind differentiating this deck from my Tasigur (big mana / ramp) deck a bit more.
Cuts - Lands
  • Opal Palace - weak fixing. It is fun to pump Samut into voltron range though, so may come back someday.
  • Myriad Landscape - I'm cutting a bunch of basics, which makes this a bit worse.
  • 1x Mountain, 2x Plains, 3x Forest - as mentioned, cutting basics for Hermit Druid. May pull back if I find myself wanting more.
  • I'll also note that I'm cutting one land slot total - may be a mistake, but I'm currently planning to tutor semi-aggressively for Thawing Glaciers to hit land drops.
Can't find space: Jeska, Warrior Adept (or any other pinger), Hammer Mage, Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner, Ezzaroot Channeler, You Happen On a Glade, Path of Mettle // Metzali, Tower of Triumph, Dire-Strain Rampage

Not running because of Kiki-Jiki: Village Bell-Ringer. I was actually planning to run it prior to me acquiring Kiki-Jiki, primarily because it seemed like an amusing addition to my Yisan, the Wanderer Bard chain, which was missing a 3-drop. Quirion RangerSeeker of SkybreakVillage Bell-RingerSaryth, the Viper's FangSeedborn Muse is a pretty absurd curve.

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Post by Mookie » 2 years ago

Got in two games to test the new changes, and things generally felt good. Definitely still a bit of room for additional tuning, but I was generally happy with the new cards.

The first game featured Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh // Thrasios, Triton Hero Polymorph.dec, Ranar the Ever-Watchful (UW control), and Otrimi, the Ever-Playful (mutate). The polymorph deck started out as archenemy due to them very clearly being up to no good (they revealed Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger and other nonsense to an early Fact or Fiction, which sort of gave away their plan). The rest of the table was able to keep their board largely clear while the Otrimi player and I beat down. They eventually forced the issue by playing Vorinclex, and they were taken out. However, at this point in time, the Ranar player cast Approach of the Second Sun, and despite the Otrimi player and I working together, we weren't able to blitz them down before they recast it.

In that game, I happened to draw Inferno Titan and Basilisk Collar, which worked out exactly as designed. The Collar was killed pretty quickly, but even one attack with a deathtouch Inferno Titan was enough to deal with almost every problem on the board, and Inferno Titan in general represented a ton of damage. On the other hand, I drew a bunch of tap synergy cards and almost no tap abilities, and generally felt pretty light on the resources - the UW player wiping the board with Doomskar didn't help. Still, I was a turn off of winning via Hermit Druid - I incidentally got 7/8 of the basics out of my deck, so could have double-activated for a win on my next turn.

On the other hand, in the second game, I has more resources than I could actually play. That game featured Sisay, Weatherlight Captain (legends), Vial Smasher the Fierce // Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist (goodstuff), and Kambal, Consul of Allocation (life drain). Between Ludevic, my own Skullclamp, and Oracle of Mul Daya, I had a ton of card advantage and fully-stocked hand. Again, I happened to draw Inferno Titan and it performed magnificently, shooting stuff down and representing a bunch of damage. The last turn of the game features me playing Moraug, Fury of Akoum + 2 lands and tutoring up Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker to clone Inferno Titan, which represented enough damage to take both Sisay and Kambal out of the game, and Vial Smasher // Ludevic the following turn. In that game, I also had Plargg, Dean of Chaos // Augusta, Dean of Order out, but wasn't rummaging much, and never actually spun Plargg due to having better things to spend my mana on. I also played Svella, Ice Shaper, but, again, didn't have any spare mana to spend.

Anyway, to summarize: Inferno Titan is pretty good, Kiki-Jiki and Moraug are sweet, Hermit Druid combo felt plausible, other stuff behaves more contextually.

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Post by Mookie » 2 years ago

Following up on Midnight Hunt, we have the full spoilers for Crimson Vow. It carries over a lot of the subthemes from the previous set, with RG and GW having werewolf and human tribal components, respectively. Werewolves still have day/night, but instead of coven, humans have the 'training' mechanic this time around, benefiting when a creature attacks with another, larger creature. This deck is pretty light on large creatures (although it does have some), but haste makes the creatures much better.

White
  • Savior of Ollenbock looks quite nice alongside Samut - she can grant haste and allow it to mentor immediately, which seems awesome.
  • Welcoming Vampire is a very solid upgrade over Mentor of the Meek - it doesn't cost mana to draw cards, and also has a better body. It is limited to once per turn, but it still works if you're able to generate bodies on opponents' turns (such as with any token production)
  • Hopeful Initiate is mildly interesting as a repeatable Disenchant effect. It does need to have a source of +1/+1 counters though.
  • By Invitation Only is somewhat interesting as an asymmetric board wipe, assuming you have lots of creatures.
Red Green
  • Cemetery Prowler looks quite nice - repeatable grave hate that also brings along a strong cost reduction effect.
  • Cultivator Colossus is complete nonsense, but works well if you can get a lot of lands into hand off something like Life from the Loam.
  • Hiveheart Shaman is a bit weird - it ramps out lands on attack, but only if you're lacking basic land types. A miss overall, unless you're willing to run Wastes.
  • Glorious Sunrise is interesting. It does a lot of things - I'll call out the mana generation as working well with land untap effects, and the card draw is always appreciated.
  • Howlpack Piper is sweet. I've been wanting to play Elvish Piper in the deck for ages, and a version that also generates card advantage seems quite nice. Only activating at sorcery speed is a significant drawback though.... as is needing to track day/night for the rest of the game. >.>
  • Cartographer's Survey is somewhat interesting as a variant on Explosive Vegetation - it can get any land, not just basics, but it also has a chance of whiffing.
  • Cloaked Cadet is mildly interesting as a draw engine, but needs a lot of support for +1/+1 counters.
Gold, Colorless, and Lands Overall, not a ton of tap abilities I'm excited by, but Howlpack Piper looks quite nice.

I'll post an update if anything in the commander decks catch my eye - Mirage Phalanx is somewhat interesting as a way to generate more taps, but probably a bit too clunky overall. Could be very sweet in a more stompy build though - hasty token Inferno Titans are quite nice. Wedding Ring could also be interesting as a draw engine, but very difficult to evaluate without actually playing with it.

(edit)
A few interesting options in the commander precons. The tribal components for vampires and spirits don't really make sense in this deck, but still some good stuff.
  • Imposing Grandeur is somewhat interesting as a wheel effect - we can draw five off Samut, which isn't bad for five mana.
  • Storm of Souls looks very powerful alongside self-mill. I'm currently running Rally the Ancestors as a win condition after Hermit Druid, and Storm of Souls looks to be even better (even if the recurred creatures are 1/1s).

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Post by Mookie » 2 years ago

Kamigawa 2: Electric Neon Boogaloo brings along some interesting new cards. The modified theme in RG and enchantments in GW don't have much overlap with this deck, but I will note that Samut is a warrior for the samurai / warrior theme in RW. I generally assume warrior tribal decks to be Najeela, the Blade-Blossom, but it's possible that someone is running Samut warriors out there somewhere. Alternatively, Samut exalted voltron?
  • Ao, the Dawn Sky, Atsushi, the Blazing Sky, and Kura, the Boundless Sky are all reasonable value beaters that go up in value if you have ways to sacrifice them for value. This deck is light on sac outlets, and they don't have any notable synergy with the rest of the deck, but still sweet cards. I will note that Kura's ability to fetch nonbasics can be quite relevant.
  • Farewell is an extremely powerful and flexible board wipe. I'm a huge fan of Merciless Eviction, so having access to it in non-black decks is certainly relevant.
  • Fable of the Mirror-Breaker is very sweet - a value creature, a bit of filtering, and a delayed Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. The last part is obviously the most relevant - the cost to activate shuts down most combo potential, but this deck is perfect for playing the effect fairly. Th fact that it doesn't immediately threaten to combo also means opponents might leave it alive(?).
  • The Restoration of Eiganjo is an interesting card - a bit like a janky Farhaven Elf, since you can reanimate the land you fetch, but it can also do plenty of other things too. This deck has some ways to take advantage of discarding a land, which is nice.
  • Shigeki, Jukai Visionary looks like a ton of fun - ramps, fills the graveyard, and acts as a big recursion spell in the lategame. I'm a little sad that returning to hand is part of the cost (since it makes it hard to copy the effect), but still seems quite nice. I've wanted to run Frontier Guide in the past, and Shigeki is significantly more efficient and convenient.
  • Scrap Welder is not Goblin Welder.
  • Weaver of Harmony has a very powerful ability, but also pretty niche - this deck doesn't have many enchantment abilities to take advantage of.
  • Lion Sash is a white Scavenging Ooze. I think I like it a bit more in this deck due to Samut's double strike giving some incidental equipment synergies. Definitely an interesting card.
  • Raiyuu, Storm's Edge lets you attack twice with Samut, which is quite scary - she goes from a 4-turn clock to a 2-turn, and potentially a 1-shot kill if you have any ways to pump her.
  • Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire and Boseiju, Who Endures are both very powerful utility lands, especially if you can back them up with Life from the Loam. Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance is a significant downgrade from those two though.
Overall, I would say Shigeki is the single card I'm most excited to put in this deck, but Fable of the Mirror-Breaker also looks quite solid. A few other interesting options too.

(edit) The precons don't have much for this deck... but I will note that Drumbellower looks excellent. I'm not sure if I would actually run it, given that I cut Quest for Renewal a while ago - cards like Humble Defector and Ley Weaver are significantly more valuable when untapped on your own turn. Still, certainly worth consideration, especially as a target for Yisan, the Wanderer Bard.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

It feels like barely any time has passed since the last set, but Streets of New Capenna spoilers are here. As a shard-colored set, there is plenty of new cards that can go in this deck. The RGW faction this time are the Cabaretti, who focus on a go-wide strategy using the Alliance keyword. This deck doesn't have an explicit go-wide / token component to it, but it does naturally play a lot of creatures, so there is some mechanical overlap.

White
  • Halo Fountain - I don't care if Halo isn't a drug - I want to inject this card directly into my veins. Seriously, I'm already happily playing Magewright's Stone... and this offers untaps with upside? I would play a card with ' , : untap two tapped creatures' and this is also offering a choice of tokens or card draw? Honestly, I feel like the win-the-game mode is a downside - it makes opponents more likely to blow up the fountain, and if it sticks around for any amount of time, we're already winning.
  • Elspeth Resplendent is somewhat interesting - throwing extra counters on Samut is good for a voltron strategy (even if some of those keywords are redundant), and her (-3) is some solid card advantage.
  • Sanctuary Warden is mildly interesting due to Samut granting it haste, letting you get two cards and two tokens immediately. It obviously goes up significantly in value if you have lots of counters.
  • Patch Up is mildly interesting as a recursion effect, assuming you have enough 1-drops / small creatures to recur.
  • Rumor Gatherer is a solid draw engine, assuming you can generate enough creatures. This deck is a bit too light on token production, IMO, which makes it outclassed by Guardian Project and other green options.
Red
  • Urabrask, Heretic Praetor is a reasonable draw engine / hate piece, but doesn't quite align with this deck's gameplan.
  • Structural Assault is an interesting artifact // creature combined board wipe. A bit too symmetric for this deck though.
  • Hoard Hauler (and other vehicles) is a little awkward to crew, but it can represent a lot of treasure production against some decks.
  • Jaxis, the Troublemaker is a janky rummager // Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker variant. I generally have mixed feelings about rummaging, but cloning stuff is pretty solid.
  • Professional Face-Breaker is another option for treasure production. Note that Samut's double strike will give two tokens, and it triggers once per opponent you hit.
Green
  • Vivien on the Hunt is a little pricey, but she does let you Birthing Pod repeatedly, and her (+1) digs for creatures and fills the graveyard. Overall, a solid value engine if you can protect her.
  • Bootleggers' Stash is a one-sided Upwelling, enabling supercharged Genesis Waves and other X-spells. This deck doesn't have any artifact / treasure synergies of note, but still a strong effect.
  • Evolving Door, unlike Vivien, requires you to actually pay mana for the tutored card, which makes it significantly more limited. That said, it is an easy way to fetch up most 2-colored creatures in the deck.
  • Glittermonger lets you repeatedly bank treasures for later. Not a particularly efficient mana dork, but can be good if you want to save up for an explosive play.
Gold, Artifacts, and Lands Overall, Halo Fountain is clearly the biggest snap-include for this deck. Jaxis is probably my second pick, and beyond those cards, I'm most interested in the lands. Some of the treasure-generating cards could be good if you're looking to ramp into something big.

Will have a separate post for commander deck cards when they are fully revealed.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Full New Capenna Commander spoilers are here. Lots of interesting options for white decks, but since we already have access to multiple colors, they're not quite as impactful here.
  • Cabaretti Confluence is a flexible card - exile three artifacts / enchantments, temporarily clone a creature, or just pump your team for some beatdown. The Naturalize mode seems worse than Heliod's Intervention (assuming you don't care about exile vs destroy), so the real question is how relevant the Heat Shimmer mode is. Seems like a strong include if you have lots of fatties to beat down with, but less exciting if you're mostly playing small creatures.
  • Tenuous Truce is mildly interesting as a Phyrexian Arena with diplomatic implications.
  • Smuggler's Share looks more promising than Tenuous Truce - assuming one opponent is drawing extra cards on their turn, it will give the same benefit without also helping out an opponent. It is higher variance though.
  • Master of Ceremonies is another option for white card draw / treasure production, again relying on opponents to give you something useful.
  • Jailbreak is an incredibly efficient recursion spell... if you're willing to help out an opponent. That said, it's definitely possible to give your opponent something less useful.
  • Aerial Extortionist looks like a strong tempo option for Samut decks - it won't get rid of a problem permanently, but still seems fun. I've heard good things about Ghostly Pilferer, so the card draw mode will likely also be relevant.
  • Grand Crescendo is a solid protection spell that can also represent some board presence. Probably worse than Boros Charm / Heroic Intervention due to only protecting creatures, but still reasonable.
  • Turf War is hilarious. I won't say it is good, but it does amuse me.
  • Rain of Riches is a very solid payoff for treasure, if you have a way to produce it consistently. That said, New Capenna does bring a lot of new treasure production options... and Old Gnawbone exists.
  • Mezzio Mugger is mildly interesting as a creature to grant haste.
  • Industrial Advancement is a janky Birthing Pod variant. It can cheat out something massive, but I think I would prefer Pod's consistency if I wanted this effect.
  • Audacious Swap looks worse than Chaos Warp (and Beast Within / Generous Gift), but hitting two things can be nice.
  • Seize the Spotlight is an interesting punisher effect - either draw a card or borrow a creature. You really want to play it alongside sac outlets.
  • Boxing Ring is a janky removal engine / mana rock. Seems a bit too situational for this deck though - most of its creatures are undersized (and thus will probably lose the fight).
  • Scepter of Celebration is somewhat interesting for a voltron build - it's a little less impactful than Loxodon Warhammer, but it also represents a ton of tokens.
  • Prosperous Partnership looks like a weaker Earthcraft / Cryptolith Rite - tapping three creatures is huge cost for this deck. Still, banking treasure for later is interesting.
Overall, Aerial Extortionist is the card I'm most excited about testing for this deck - unfortunately, no useful tap abilities of note in the commander decks. Beyond that, some of the other white card draw options could be good - I think Smuggler's Share looks solid.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Tiny update:

Rally the AncestorsStorm of Souls - as previously mentioned, it's pretty much a straight upgrade for Hermit Druid shenanigans.
Joraga TreespeakerStone-Seeder Hierophant - mostly to combo with Thawing Glaciers. I added Treespeaker initially to deal with an incredibly fast meta, but since my current meta is much slower, it's getting cut.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate spoilers out, so time to evaluate. Not a lot of tap abilities, but there are still some interesting options.

Creatures
  • Ancient Gold Dragon, Ancient Copper Dragon, and Ancient Bronze Dragon are all giant beaters that work well with haste. Of the three, I think that Copper works the best with this deck from a synergy perspective (I like mana), but the other two are very much capable of just killing your opponents, so... I do think Copper is an upgrade over Old Gnawbone though - comes down a turn earlier and makes more treasure (assuming only it is attacking).
  • Battle Angels of Tyr are another reasonable beater. Getting treasure may be difficult, but getting a card should be doable.
  • Balor is another interesting beater. The main draw is probably the ability to chew through artifacts, but messing with hands and dealing damage is also nice.
  • Undermountain Adventurer is an interesting mana dork that brings initiative into the game. I don't think initiative is amazing for this deck, since it is a bit light on evasive creatures, but Samut tends to be a good attacker. Beyond that.... completing a dungeon seems difficult, but just tapping for two mana is fine.
  • Karlach, Fury of Avernus unfortunately only untaps attacking creatures, but could be good for a stompy build.
  • Jaheira, Friend of the Forest is interesting if you have a lot of token production. Turning vanilla tokens (and clues / food / etc) into mana production seems strong.
  • White Plume Adventurer is another initiative card, this time giving Seedborn Muse / Quest for Renewal as payoff. I've cut Quest for Renewal in the past due to it not quite doing enough, but may be worth testing again.
  • Caves of Chaos Adventurer is another haste-friendly initiative card. I think there are better enablers if you're looking for impulsive draw though.
  • Archivist of Oghma looks to be a new format staple, especially at more fetch-heavy tables. Definitely worth consideration for most white decks.
  • Owlbear Cub is very cute. Probably takes a bit too long to come online, but certainly seems fun.
  • Erinis, Gloom Stalker is another haste-friendly attack trigger, this time providing a bit of ramp / land recursion.
  • Ellyn Harbreeze, Busybody is a powerful draw effect if backed up by token production. Looking 3+ cards deep multiple times per turn can provide a ton of digging.
  • Lulu, Loyal Hollyphant is another untap engine, this time contingent on having something leave the battlefield. I think the additional hoop makes it a bit too tricky to support, but could be interesting.
  • Duke Ulder Ravengard looks amazing for a stompy build. Giving Inferno Titan or one of the Ancient Dragons myriad sounds awesome.
Noncreatures
  • Majestic Genesis is mildly interesting as a miniature (but still somewhat expensive) Genesis Wave. I think you want to be casting that spell for more than Samut's 5 though.
  • Noble Heritage is mildly interesting as a way to voltron up Samut into a bigger threat.
  • Raised by Giants is another way to voltron up Samut into a bigger threat. 10/10 double strike is... big.
  • Monster Manual // Zoological Study is interesting. I've considered Elvish Piper for this deck in the past, and it enables running bigger, stompier creatures. Could be fun.
  • Ascend from Avernus is another white mass reanimation spell. I think it's outclassed by Storm of Souls in this deck, given that it values reanimating expensive creatures. Still, a very powerful card, and it provides some nice redundancy.
  • Far Traveler is mildly interesting as a flicker // untap effect.
  • Cut a Deal is mildly interesting as a draw spell. It is symmetric, but three cards for three mana is pretty good.
  • Tavern Brawler is mildly interesting as a draw engine / voltron enabler, assuming you can keep Samut around.
  • Your Temple Is Under Attack is mildly interesting as a protection spell // draw spell.
  • Nautiloid Ship is mildly interesting as a grave hate // reanimation option - exile something spicy from an opponent's graveyard, then crew it and attack with haste to get it for yourself. Vehicles can be a bit tricky to include in this deck though, given that so many creatures want to tap to their own abilities.
  • Mighty Servant of Leuk-o also amuses me - it's annoying to kill and can draw two cards per turn.
  • Patriar's Seal makes me wish I were running more legends. Untapping Samut is certainly an option, but the extra does add up. Still, not a bad option, and amazing if you're running a Captain Sisay package.
  • Baldur's Gate, Gond Gate, and all the gate support cards look very interesting. I don't think this deck particularly wants to convert to a Maze's End build, but Baldur's Gate is definitely a powerful payoff, and there are a lot of ways to fetch it up (with Open the Gates / Circuitous Route / etc). Throw in some land untappers, and I could definitely see it being a legitimate choice.
Overall, I think Ascend from Avernus is the single card I'm most excited by - I'm a big fan of mass reanimation, and it seems like strong support for any self-mill / looting in the deck. Archivist of Oghma seems like a powerful new format staple. Beyond those... I'm once again tempted to finally build a second Samut deck dedicated solely to doing battlecruiser stuff with big beaters - Ancient Copper Dragon and Duke Ulder Ravengard both look like amazing inclusions for a beatdown deck, as does Monster Manual. There are also some interesting support cards for token-focused decks, and a few of the initiative cards could be good if you can keep the initiative and complete dungeons.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Following up on the main set, we also have the associated Baldur's Gate precons. Fewer new cards than normal, but still some interesting options.
  • Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald is mildly interesting as a filter engine / token producer. I'm generally not a big fan of rummaging (or impulsive draw) though.
  • Folk Hero is mildly interesting if you're running a lot of Humans (or Warriors). I think green's draw engines are better though.
  • Stick Together is mildly interesting as a board wipe that Samut lives through. This deck has a few clerics and rogues too (no wizards though).
  • Seasoned Dungeoneer is, again, interesting because Samut is a warrior. Protection from creatures is pretty strong evasion.
  • Deep Gnome Terramancer looks like it could be a new format staple - ramping whenever your opponents do is very strong.
  • Venture Forth is... interesting. The slower your meta is, the better it will be - if you're reliably getting 3+ lands off it, it seems pretty solid... but if games are ending quickly, it looks worse. I suspect this deck is a bit too fast to want it, although I do appreciate that it can hit nonbasics.
Overall, Deep Gnome Terramancer looks like the most likely inclusion from a raw power level perspective. Beyond that... I could see Stick Together being good in some builds.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Dominaria United spoilers out, so time to review!
  • Serra Paragon is Sun Titan lite. You have to actually cast whatever you want to recur, and you can't recur the same thing repeatedly (so no playing the same fetchland over and over), but still a solid value engine if you can fill your graveyard.
  • Sprouting Goblin looks quite nice as a draw engine, particularly if you have some land recursion going. Fetching a nonbasic is also quite nice. Sacrificing lands can obviously be somewhat risky to do repeatedly, but seems like a reasonable card to test out.
  • Silverback Elder is a powerful value engine, turning every creature into a Rampant Growth or Naturalize. I guess Karametra, God of Harvests already exists for the former, and Aura Shards for the latter, but the combination yields a lot of flexibility. The incidental lifegain can also be nice in a pinch.
  • Threats Undetected is interesting. I don't think there are any particular instant-win combos in this deck, but at the very least tutoring up two value creatures seems pretty good.
  • Slimefoot's Survey is another interesting option. Five mana makes it feel a bit overpriced, but adding a bit of additional card selection could make it worth it. I'd probably lean towards Hour of Promise though.
  • Rulik Mons, Warren Chief is a bit inconsistent without card selection (assuming you want to hit lands), but repeatable ramp is nice.
  • Wooded Ridgeline, Radiant Grove, and Sacred Peaks are three more fetchable nonbasics, and feed into additional Hermit Druid shenanigans. I may need to run the numbers sometime to see if I can cut some more basics and still have enough lands to fetch.
As for the commander cards...
  • Torsten, Founder of Benalia represents an absurd amount of card advantage - digging seven cards deep is no joke. Torsten also happens to be another seven-drop for Bag of Tricks (and a human for Angel of Glory's Rise, if I felt like running both), so could be a sweet inclusion.
  • Robaran Mercenaries seems like a card that could be abused in this deck, although I'm not quite sure what I would do with it. Copy it with Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker? Or just use it as another untapper when Samut is out? I'm not sure if that alone is worth it, but seems like it would be a snap-include if I had a Captain Sisay package.
  • Baru, Wurmspeaker is interesting, since this deck doesn't currently have any wurms. Eight mana is a lot for the first one, but two mana to pump out 6/6 tramplers afterwards could be sweet.
  • Ohabi Caleria is very sweet if you have a lot of archers. I've run Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile in the past, and there are a few other good ones out there.
  • The Reaver Cleaver looks like a very powerful piece of equipment to throw on Samut (or anything else) - eight treasure is a ton of mana.
  • The Peregrine Dynamo looks insane... or it would, if I had a Captain Sisay package. As-is, the fact that you can't copy Samut's untap ability means it has somewhat more limited value, since this deck probably doesn't have enough legends. On the other hand, copying Etali, Primal Storm triggers is drool-worthy.
  • Cadric, Soul Kindler is, again, another sweet option if you have lots of legends.
Overall, Sprouting Goblin is the single card I'm most excited about from the main set, and I'd also be interested in running Torsten from the commander cards. Silverback Elder could also be quite strong. Beyond that... I wish I had more legends in the deck, since there are some very nice support cards.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Another tiny update, adding Treeshaker Chimera over Angel of Glory's Rise. I have a number of cards I'm planning to swap in soon (including Halo Fountain), but I want to do a bit more testing first.

On the to-add list: Edit: as a brief update, I played a game today in which I went for the Hermit Druid win for the first time.... and promptly lost horribly due to an opponent having countermagic. Alas! It may have been possible to win if I had played a bit more conservatively, but I was in a mood to meme, so meh. Critically, the lack of Kessig Wolf Run hurt me there - if it had been in, then I could have dredged Life from the Loam, recurred it, and gone for a commander damage kill with Samut (or at least forced my opponent to expend more resources). Will definitely need to add it to the deck ASAP.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Unfinity previews have started, which means it is finally time... for reviewing the 40k precons? Huh, alright then. Green and white are both somewhat underrepresented in the set, but still a few cards worth consideration.
  • Vexilus Praetor is an interesting option for Samut voltron decks - flashing it in to protect your commander from removal or to turn on evasion is pretty nice.
  • Biophagus is a solid mana dork if you're interested in +1/+1 counters.
  • Bone Sabres are a spooky piece of equipment to throw on Samut (or anything else). Also, Moraug, Fury of Akoum says hi.
  • Sporocyst is a sweet ramp option.
  • Bloodthirster is an absurd card for Samut voltron (or any other commander with vigilance, really) - getting 3+ extra combat steps is ludicrous, to say the least.
  • Dark Apostle is mildly interesting, but I don't know that this deck has enough noncreature spells to use it consistently. It's also a bit pricey to activate.
  • Atalan Jackal is a nice ramp critter, assuming you can connect consistently.
  • Purestrain Genestealer is another nice ramp critter, and gets better if you have +1/+1 counters to throw on it.
Overall, I don't think there are any obvious inclusions for this deck, but there are some nice options for voltron builds - Bloodthirster in particular is pretty crazy. Throw on some Bone Sabres, and that's enough to wipe a table in a single turn, which is sweet.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Minor update.

Cuts: Adds: I think I know the other cuts I want to make for new cards, but I'd like to do one more round of testing before I finalize them. For reference, the chopping block is currently: ...I do have some concerns about cutting Dusk, since that would leave Ondu Inversion // Ondu Skyruins as the only board wipe in the deck, and this deck is already feeling a bit too light on interaction. Hmmm... Beyond that, I'd like to do a little more testing of Bag of Tricks - I have yet to activate it despite playing it multiple times, and that feels like a thing I should really do before I cut it.

Update
I was able to do a bit more testing for the deck, and I've noticed a few things. The biggest one is probably that I've done a bit more experimenting with Hermit Druid and come to the conclusion that all-in combo isn't the direction I want to take the deck. I feel like Hermit Druid was more fun when I was playing it relatively fairly, and less so since I've gone on the 'cut all basics and run Turn the Earth' plan. Critically, I don't think the Turn the Earth → mass reanimation plan is actually good - it's extremely telegraphed and vulnerable to disruption, and this deck doesn't have consistent access to the countermagic necessary to force it through. I obviously could run Silence / Veil of Summer / Grand Abolisher, but this deck is already pretty starved for deck slots.

...I also noticed that Rhythm of the Wild technically isn't the same as Fires of Yavimaya and other haste enablers, since it doesn't apply to creatures already on the battlefield. More specifically, you can't recur it with Sun Titan and then attack with it.

...on the plus side, if I'm running more basic lands, then that opens up more ramp options. The printing of Alpine Meadow and other nonbasic plains also opens up Emeria, the Sky Ruin, which seems pretty fun. More broadly, I like the idea of having a nice lands toolbox, and Knight of the Reliquary is already one of the better cards in the deck. I'm probably also going to look into running World Shaper or some other graveyard recursion effects - while I may be de-emphasizing Hermit Druid a bit, I think that using the graveyard as a resource is generally a strong thing to do.

The other thing I've noticed is that I've been wanting a bit more acceleration and a bit more interaction. Two board wipes doesn't feel like nearly enough, and I'm generally pretty soft to Sheoldred, Whispering One and other repeatable removal engines (to say nothing of stuff like Linvala, Keeper of Silence). Maybe I'll look into doing more with deathtouch + pingers? Hmmmm... As always, the lack of strong removal attached to tap abilities is an issue.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Swapping in a few cards in the interest of having a bit more interaction in the deck. As mentioned, I'd also like to increase the amount of graveyard synergy and also add some support for Emeria, the Sky Ruin, but those changes will probably have to wait until my next major update.

Adds: Cuts:

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Brothers War spoilers out, so time to evaluate the new stuff. The set has a heavy artifact theme, which doesn't particularly mesh with this deck, but it does still have some interesting options.

Monocolor
  • Myrel, Shield of Argive is a legendary Grand Abolisher. The soldier text is mostly irrelevant for this deck, but could be an interesting toolbox option for a Captain Sisay build.
  • Awaken the Woods is... interesting. It can represent some pretty degenerate nonsense alongside haste and a mana doubler. Or any landfall abilities.
  • Over the Top is a janky Genesis Wave variant. Its symmetry makes me want to avoid it, but could be powerful if you have a lot of token production.
  • Titania, Voice of Gaea and Argoth, Sanctum of Nature both look solid if you want to do lands-in-graveyard synergies. I think World Shaper is a bit better, but the melded side is pretty strong if you can pull it off. At the very least, fetching Argoth off Knight of the Reliquary and flipping Titania seems strong.
  • Titania's Command can fetch up some nonbasics while also providing a bit of value. Hour of Promise is cheaper, but flexibility is good.
  • Loran of the Third Path is an immediate staple for any white deck, but this deck can also take advantage of her tap ability. Letting an opponent also draw cards is a little awkward, but it does have some nice political implications.
  • Gwenna, Eyes of Gaea is a fine mana critter. This deck doesn't have many beefy creatures to untap it, but could be good in a more beatdown-focused build.
  • Kayla's Reconstruction is an interesting take on Collected Company if your curve is low enough.
  • Visions of Phyrexia is a fine draw engine. This deck doesn't have a ton of uses for powerstone mana, but you could build something with more mana-intensive activated abilities to take advantage of them.
  • Fauna Shaman is a much-appreciated reprint.
  • Tocasia's Welcome is a nice draw engine, particularly if you have a fair amount of token production - tapping to create a token and draw a card on each opponents' turn seems pretty nice.
  • Mishra, Artificer Prodigy isn't a particularly efficient looter, but could be good if you're running a lot of artifacts.
Multicolored, Artifacts, and Lands
  • Sarinth Greatwurm makes me wish this deck had more uses for powerstones, since it can represent an absurd amount of them.
  • Queen Kayla bin-Kroog is an extremely powerful way to dig through your deck while also generating some board presence. You do want to have enough cheap creatures / artifacts for her to generate value, but at the very least she can churn through your deck very quickly to find whatever you're looking for.
  • Cityscape Leveler is pretty expensive, but repeatedly blowing stuff up seems sweet.
  • Platoon Dispenser is a reasonable draw engine that can also generate some tokens if you're low on creatures. Also a good use for powerstone mana.
  • Perennial Behemoth is a bit expensive, but it is another Crucible of Worlds effect if you want it. The unearth mode adds a bit of additional value if you have a lot of self-mill and want to recur something specific.
  • Haywire Mite is an efficient piece of interaction if you're looking for more cheap creatures.
  • Demolition Field is a very nice piece of land destruction. Strip Mine is an effect I keep meaning to play more of in my decks, but I don't like going down on lands. Demolition Field replaces itself, which is quite nice.
Commander / Set Booster
  • Scholar of New Horizons looks quite nice, particularly if you have another source of counters. I don't expect to do much ramping with it in this deck, but it can fetch nonbasics, which is nice.
  • Rootpath Purifier is complete nonsense, and looks very sweet if you have a lot of useful nonbasic lands. Fetching utility lands repeatedly off Thawing Glaciers is durdley and fantastic.
  • Titania, Nature's Force is another piece of land recursion. Only Forests, but you can play nonbasics. Seems good with Knight of the Reliquary.
Overall, lots of interesting stuff. Loran will almost certainly be a format staple, while Queen Kayla looks fantastic for this deck in particular. Demolition Field and Rootpath Purifier make me want to lean more into a land toolbox / recursion strategy.

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