Assault Strobe vs Temur Battle Rage
Scion of Primal Hunter, 7 hours ago
Last night I played some pretty serious matches in the store, I have to say that despite Assault Strobe allowing me to do 10 damage on the second turn (T1 Goblin Gaveleer T2 Assault Strobe, pray that it does not get removed and then any of the flash equip)... I've found myself wanting Temur Battle Rage instead several times. This because my Tramplers may not always remain on the battlefield and sometimes I found myself ahead with Goblin Tomb Raider but could only get through with Apostle's Blessing. That said, the advantage is also replacing a sorcery for an instant, yes, it costs one more mana... But I think that in the long run it is a more flexible option.
It has been a while...
shadesofraven, 20 hours ago
Updated removal + Added Profane Tutor (grabs anything you need, and your opponent can't suspend it once it's exiled by shared fate).
Results for event #2
ZoomZoom, 1 day ago
The second iteration of playing Snowmain has concluded. While the deck did not do as well as I'd hoped it would, the games were invaluable in helping me learn more of the intricacies of 1v1 constructed, and learning the deck better overall (more on that later).
Note: I swapped out Brainstorm for Worldly Counsel, as during goldfishing Brainstorm just wasn't as impactful as I'd hoped. Worldly Counsel barely saw any play this time, so judgement on that will have to wait for future games.
Note #2: I was really busy over the past 2 weeks, and didn't have time to finish this writeup. Just finished another event now, so working to finish this review, and will try to get that one done as quickly as I can.
Match 1 -- vs Mono-Red Burn (0-2-0)
Game #1: I had to mulligan twice, unfortunately. They were on one land, so it sort of evened out? Regardless -- my opponent started with an Epicure of Blood, later following up with a Goblin Tomb Raider, while my hand was slow. They eventually played Clockwork Percussionist (two different times), which I killed, as I decided the tradeoff of them getting card advantage was negated by turning on metalcraft for Galvanic Blast. Might have been a mistake -- either way, they got a Kessig Flamebreather down, and in short order I got Fireblasted, Lightning Bolted, and finished off with a Lava Dart.
Sideboard changes:
- +3 Weather the Storm
- +3 Ancient Grudge
- +2 Prohibit
- -2 Exploding Borders
- -2 Mulldrifter
- -1 Nylea’s Presence
- -1 Writhing Crysalis
- -1 Thraben Charm
Game #2: I made a vital mistake which cost me the game. I was on the play, and after a mulligan (had Weather the Storm, but no lands), kept my next hand, which had only one land (Arctic Treeline). I had reasoned that it might work, as I had draw another copy of Weather the Storm and if I'd just draw one more land I'd be able to last long enough. Unfortunately, I did not draw into any lands, and I lost very quickly.
Match thoughts
Mono-Red Burn is one of the top decks in the format for a reason. I'm not convinced that the deck is incapable of grinding its way out, but it is definitely one of the toughest matchups for the deck to face. It might be worthwhile to play lots and lots of matches against it, to learn the best way to last against it.
Match 2 -- vs Altar Tron (1-1-1)
(its been two weeks and the memories aren't quite as fresh, but I'll do my best to relay what I remember)
Game #1: Don't recall how it went, but it was shorter than I had liked.
Sideboard changes:
- +3 Ancient Grudge
- +2 Prohibit
- +2 Thraben Charm
- -2 Exploding Borders
- -2 Mulldrifter
- -2 Skred
- -1 Nylea’s Presence
Game #2: This was a long game, with a lot of back and forth. I made a mistake -- I had both Prohibit and Thraben Charm in hand, and he cast Temporal Manipulation. I considered using Thraben Charm, but decided to counter it instead, thinking that he couldn't have a second Temporal Manipulation in hand, could he?
Well, he did! And there went my charm. Thankfully, I managed to draw a second one soon after, and was able to exile his graveyard (a considerable setback for him. Eventually, he tried to burn me out Pactdoll Terror -- luckily, I had accidentally left in a copy of Weather the Storm from the previous match, and managed to stablize with it. He churned through his deck, and I managed to time Ancient Grudge correctly, taking out Ashnod's Altar and something else. His deck got pretty low, but I managed to land some Meria's Outriders, and ended the game with my win.
Game #3: We had 5 minutes left on the clock, but we eventually went to turns. The game went well for both us, and on Turn 4 (his turn) I managed to destroy his sideboarded combo piece with a well-timed Ancient Grudge. Sadly, time ran out, and things ended in a draw.
Match thoughts
Altar Tron requires really tight play, but it can be beat. Might take a long time though, enough that I'm not sure you can do more than draw.
Match 3 -- vs Elves (0-2-0)
(its been two weeks and the memories aren't quite as fresh, but I'll do my best to relay what I remember)
Game #1: I forget if I was on the draw or the play, but elves came out on the quick. I misjudged taking out a Priestess of Titania (I should have), and lost quickly to an unblockable River Boa (had a Rimewood Falls out, which meant landwalk was online).
Sideboard changes:
- +2 Arms of Hadar
- +2 Prohibit
- +2 Thraben Charm
- +1 Weather the Storm
- -2 Exploding Borders
- -2 Mulldrifter
- -1 Nylea’s Presence
- -1 Brainstorm
- -1 Writhing Chrysalis
Game #2: Turn 1 (on the play), I played a Snow-Covered Mountain. My opponent started with an Elvish Mystic, and on their end step, I Skreded the bastard. It really screwed with my opponent's plan for a bit -- I was playing better, taking out proper threats like Priestess of Titania. Unfortunately, I missed an opportunity in a lull while my opponent was building back up, to do some ramping. I thought that it might be better to use Shadow Prophecy to dig for more removal, but it ended up being my downfall. Two turns later, when my opponent was properly set up, I scrambled for answers, but just did not have the mana to dig and cast what I needed. I lost thereafter.
Match thoughts
Elves are scary, but oddly enough I think the deck, if played very tightly, could hold its own. Having playsets of both Skred and Tribal Flames means there is a lot of removal in the deck for the pesky pestering pieces.
Final thoughts
I did enjoy the deck, and felt that tighter play would have resulted in somewhat better outcomes. Still, I do think it plays a little too slowly to be able to really complete in the current Pauper meta; Mono-red burn is near impossible matchup, and both Elves and Tron require very tight play with little room for errors. The list as played in this event was just not up to par, at least as a properly competitive deck.
On the way home from the event, a friend of mine (seriously good player) and I were talking about the deck, and he thought that the deck actually wants to be midrange combo, and got really excited about it. He drafted a version of the list which I gave some input on, and over the next two weeks we discussed changes/additions/etc, which culminated in this:
Added:
- 1x Snow-Covered Mountain
- 1x Farseek
- 3x Nature's Lore
- 3x Writhing Chrysalis
- 3x Ardent Elementalist
- 4x Goblin Anarchomancer
Removed:
- 1x Snow-Covered Forest
- 1x Nylea's Presence
- 1x Thraben Charm
- 1x Ephemerate
- 2x Worldly Counsel
- 2x Mulldrifter
- 2x Exploding Borders
- 2x Stickytongue Sentinel
- 3x Wood Elves
I hearby rebrand this deck into Snowmain Ephemerate. I look forward to seeing how it plays!
(spoilers for next results update: there is definitely what to improve upon, but I think the core of the deck is pretty solid)
New direction for deck - no more stax
AaronMosh, 2 days ago
Been a while since I've updated this. Pulled out all the Stax pieces, it wasn't fun to play and didn't align with the deck's original Dromoka tribal focus. Switched commander to Dromoka, the Eternal
since she actually buffs dragons, including herself. Still prioritizing utility lands for answering board threats and substantially reduced CMC.
Card Update
SeraphinEveles, 2 days ago
Swapped out Syr Ginger for Lotus Blossom
Slowly coming together
teabard, 2 days ago
I've been doing well integrating my pride and joy, Riku, into the new Iroh deck. Please, any advice or thoughts are appreciated.
Avatar update
ehuez, 2 days ago
Thank you very much for your support, comments and +1! I updated the deck list, sideboard and description. If you have a suggestion please write a comment below. I appreciate it and I will respond as soon as possible.
Mainboard Updates v.2
Andramalech, 3 days ago
Per the recommendation of capwner, I have opted to increase my count of Urza's Saga from three-of to a full playset, and leaving only one copy of Urza's Cave.
Otherwise, Luxior, Giada's Gift comes out of the sideboard in favor of a spare copy of Not of this World.
Not of this World also feeds Ugin's Labyrinth and provides "free counterspell" utility in the mainboard.
So far I've really enjoyed the feedback from the community and I can't wait to push this boulder as far up the hill as it will go! Cheers!
other replacements
elementalmachine, 3 days ago
-Replaced Mystic Monastery with Raugrin Triome -Replaced Boros Garrison with Glittering Massif -Replaced Desert of the Fervent with Perilous Landscape -Replaced Akim, the Soaring Wind with Thopter Fabricator -Replaced Lightning Rift with Magmakin Artillerist -Replaced Savai Thundermane with Monument to Endurance -Replaced a Mountain with Training Center -Replaced Violent Impact with Price of Freedom but it could also be Skycrash
Further changes
ArchFline, 3 days ago
Cut Land Tax for Deep Gnome Terramancer
Cut Saw in Half for Dawn's Truce
Cut Victimize for Desperate Plea
All of the cuts made were toward giving the deck more upside and fewer dead draws by expanding the flexibility of our choices.
Deep Gnome gives more upside in this deck, compared to land tax due to how few basic are being run and it’s added upside of being more tutorable, reanimatable, and useful as a blocker.
Saw on Half often felt like a dead draw at times due to it being more of a win-more card that did not often do much more than provide snap protection from a targeted removal given the combo strategy we are running. So I switched things up for Dawn’s Truce. It’s a solid low mana cost card that gives wider protection for our board while giving us some politicking levarge with gift a card.
The cut of Victimize I was on the fence for. Some times it just came up as a dead draw that simply did not further my combo plan. But when it’s good it’s really good. I think ATL brings a nice in between option with Desperate Plea. Now i will have a mid tier removal spell with upside of bringing back most any of my creatures given that they all have fairly low power anyways. This way the slot feels less situational and instead more widely applicable.
Mainboard Updates v.1
Andramalech, 4 days ago
Per the recommendation of user Cloudy2024 I will be making Kozilek's Command a non-zero inclusion in the list.
I will be removing 1 copy of Inscribed Tablet and 1 copy of Genesis Chamber in order to add two copies of the Command.
In my sideboard, the additional copy of Karn, Scion of Urza is removed in favor of an additional copy of the command.
Cheers to Cloudy2024 for the recommendation and such a clear, thoughtful explanation as to why the card is so powerful within the format.
Deck fusion
teabard, 4 days ago
Looking to add elements of my old Riku Copy deck to this new Iroh storm deck. The maybe list is cards from my old deck so if you see any obvious changes or trade outs let me know
Tentatively added Shifting Woodland
Balaam__, 4 days ago
Shifting Woodland is here on a trial basis. Solid card with good potential, but this current iteration isn’t set up to pitch Westvale Abbey Flip to the graveyard and even if I could I’m unsure if I can reliably trigger Delerium. Running 3 copies for now so as not to interfere with Utopia Sprawl or Arbor Elf but may adjust or remove after review.
airbender ascension
BABIILABUX, 5 days ago
November 2025 Update
EscapingBurger, 5 days ago
In: Aura of Dominion, Lightning Greaves, Krark-Clan Ironworks, Essence Anchor, Wurmcoil Engine, Tolaria West, Secluded Starforge
Out: Thoughtcast, Swiftfoot Boots, Network Terminal, Thirst for Knowledge, Duplicant, Island, Phyrexia's Core
This is a pretty big update, including a few cards I've finally gotten my hands on (notably Krark-Clan Ironworks), and some more experimental stuff I happened to pick up recently and wanted to try out. Aura of Dominion is another way to untap Emry and use her ability again, and Essence Anchor should be able to make a token nearly every turn. I like that Tolaria West can find a couple combo pieces (e.g. Urza's Bauble) as well as a third Urza's land when I need it.
This is an old deck and could probably use more adjusting--the land count is pretty low, for one--but I think I need to spend more time really focusing on it to feel out what it needs. Someday!
November 2025 Update
EscapingBurger, 5 days ago
In: Rings of Brighthearth, Reckless Bushwhacker
Out: Goblinslide, Chimney Rabble
I've had my eye on Rings of Brighthearth for a while as a way to get more activations out of Krenko. Goblinslide is neat, but maybe too slow: By the time I have that out, and am casting a noncreature spell, and have the extra mana, I can also just tap Krenko. Reckless Bushwhacker is mostly a stand-in until I get hold of a Goblin Bushwhacker, which is a little more flexible.
In Go Some Flavor Wins
DreadKhan, 5 days ago
I pulled out Knight of the White Orchid (it's an actively bad card if it doesn't find a land, and even with my low land count I couldn't count on it), as well as Cartographer's Hawk (ditto), and I put in The Sound of Drums (which seems like a really solid dual purpose buff/removal option that has plenty of flavor) as well as Treasure Nabber (Kye (Gye? I always heard Gye, but I looked online and it suggest Kye) Boon Ok seems like a superb fit, and her consequence is Curse of Opulence).
None
Gerard_molendijk, 5 days ago
Monumental Changes
DreadKhan, 5 days ago
I threw in the 4 Shrines that are just statics, I don't think the two Avatar ones would fit in, but these will feel sweet whenever I can get two or more out.
I also added a Tangle Wire and a Jacob Hauken, Inspector Flip, the idea behind which is being able to hide key cards from my own discard effects, only to later cast them for free.
I pulled some weenies (they felt too inconsistent/an example of the deck trying to do too many things at once), some weenie payoffs (with less weenies these got even worse, and they were already pretty hard to trigger), Tergrid (begone foul Game Changer, maybe this is a 2 if you squint really hard?), and Dreamscape Artist, mostly because I don't usually want to dump cards into a Harrow effect that can die to removal or wipes.
