Command and Conquer Episode 1

Features

PhotogenicParasympathetic

1 March 2016

1888 views

Hello everyone! PhotogenicParasympathetic here, bringing you a brand new article series! What is this series about, you ask? Why, it's an EDH-based showdown! Every other week, my friends and I will pick two to four decks, submitted by you, and pit them against each other and against our own homebrews, then report the results right to you!

This began when I was looking through old article series, and I was inspired by Spootyone's Showdown series. I thought to myself, this is great, but I'm not much of a sixty card player. What if I did this for EDH? I brought the idea to my play group, and they agreed to pilot the decks you submit- that way, you get a test run with someone else at the wheel, and we get to keep our meta always-fresh! EDH is a bit of a challenge, given the time games can go on for, so rather than best of three, each week will feature only one matchup, and each player will comment on what worked, and what didn't work for them. In most cases, we will hold four-player matches, but we will on occasion hold two or three player games.

I should provide a bit a background about my play group; we are casually competitive. We aren't always looking to win on turn two, but we certainly don't frown upon someone who wants to combo off quickly. We play slow decks, fast decks, and everything in between. We have no qualms about board wipes, or land destruction, or Blightsteel Colossus victories (although those last two aren't our personal styles). We play the politics game when appropriate, especially in larger games.

Pilots/Decks


Let's introduce this episode's pilots! First up, there's your fantastically talented host- me! My name is Noah, and that is how I'll be referred to throughout the series. I'm a flavor person above all else, but boy do I love stupid combos, glass cannons, and sneaking Cheatyface into play. Today, I'll be piloting my friends Savra, Queen of the Golgari deck:


Death comes to all

Commander / EDH PhotogenicParasympathetic

SCORE: 3 | 7 COMMENTS | 602 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER


This deck has black, my favorite color, and really I don't need any more motivation than that. Having faced off against this deck before, I'm very excited to get the chance to drive it for myself. It plays with the graveyard, forcing opponents to sacrifice their boards, and building up its own at the same time. Key cards to watch out for: Buried Alive, Reanimate, Genesis Wave, Grave Pact.

Next, allow me to introduce my best friend in the whole wide world, Emily! She's a cruel, cruel woman, who loves her some Esper control. She's all about decks that slowly build momentum, and then cannot be stopped. Today, however, she's piloting my own Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim deck:


Homage to the Infinite

Commander / EDH PhotogenicParasympathetic

SCORE: 1 | 295 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER


This deck is built with cheapness in mind. Play small creatures that give incremental advantage as Ayli sacrifices them after chump blocking. For the most part, we're looking at Cleric tribal crossed with just a touch of vampirism. Key cards to watch out for: Debt to the Deathless, Angelic Accord, No Mercy, Felidar Sovereign.

And lastly for today, please give a warm welcome to my OTHER best friend in the whole wide world, Kate! She's a graveyard person through and through. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen her build a deck without Buried Alive. Today, however, we've stripped her of her beloved shenanigans (stupid turn two Sheoldred, Whispering One), and put her in charge of an Oloro, Ageless Ascetic superfriends build:


Endless Agony

Commander / EDH PhotogenicParasympathetic

SCORE: 2 | 1 COMMENT | 439 VIEWS | IN 2 FOLDERS


The design here is simple and brutal; gain life to delay enemy's attacks, while deploying threat after threat after threat until your enemy simply can't answer them anymore. Key cards to watch out for: Drogskol Reaver, The Chain Veil, Inexorable Tide, Archangel of Thune

Without any further ado, let's get into the game!

The Game


A dice roll decides that Kate's Oloro goes first, followed by Noah with Savra, then Emily's Ayli last.

Opening Hands:
Kate: I'm keeping a hand of Island, Godless Shrine, Isolated Chapel, Polluted Delta, Linvala, the Preserver, Tezzeret the Seeker, and Archangel of Thune. While not an explosive start by any measure, Linvala is too good against Ayli to pass up, and I'm just one mana short of Tezzeret and Thune, both of whom can help develop my board even more.

Noah: Swamp, Swamp, Overgrown Tomb, Phyrexian Tower, Ashnod's Altar, Buried Alive, Eternal Witness. I have lands and Buried Alive- what more could I possibly want? I'll keep. Eternal Witness will let me resurrect the cards I hit with Buried Alive if I have to, but ideally it will recycle a resurrection spell, or maybe even Buried Alive itself.

Emily: Swamp, Plains, Mistveil Plains, Mind Stone, Arashin Cleric, Banisher Priest, Soul Warden. Arashin Cleric? Really Noah? I'll keep this, because it's got some early development, and I'm liking the thought of an early Soul Warden, but I hope I get some more power soon...

Turn 1:


Kate: I gain two life. Get used to hearing that, I'm pretty sure that'll be near the top of every single turn I take. I draw a Baleful Strix, which is fantastic. I've got no T1 play, so I'll play a Polluted Delta, then fetch up a Hallowed Fountain tapped on Emily's end step.

Noah: I draw into Black Sun's Zenith. Ouch. Not what I wanted to see yet. I'll play an Overgrown Tomb tapped and pass.

Emily: Syndic of Tithes is my first draw. Looks like I'm the only one with a T1 play- plains, Soul Warden.

(41-40-40)

T2:


Kate: I gain two life. Draw a Gilded Lotus- not much use now, but soon enough. Since it doesn't look like I'll have a T3 play right now, I opt to use the Isolated Chapel. This gives me the option to shock with the Godless Shrine next turn if I have to, or play it tapped if I don't get a 3-drop. I'll play the Baleful Strix, and draw a Narset Transcendent.

Noah: I draw a Forest, and play it. One more turn till Buried Alive...

Emily: I draw Loxodon Warhammer. Initially, I'd been planning to play Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim T2, but Syndic of Tithes is the better option, letting me gain a touch more life if I draw an untapped land, so he comes out first. Soul Warden triggers for Syndic of Tithes, and also for Kate's BullShit (Noah's note: group nickname for Baleful Strix).

(43-40-42)

T3:


Kate: I gain two life, then draw Dragonlord Silumgar. Not bad. I wouldn't have minded, you know, something playable right now, but sure, let's go with that. Godless Shrine tapped, attack Savra for one with the Baleful Strix.

Noah: Kate attacks me, and I've got no blockers. How rude. I draw a Woodfall Primus for turn and play Buried Alive, finding Rune-Scarred Demon, Butcher of Malakir, and Grave Titan. No Sheoldred, Whispering One yet- she'll be in the second wave, thanks to Eternal Witness.

Emily: I draw a Swamp, play it, then play Arashin Cleric and Extort. That's a lot of life- three from the Arashin Cleric, two from the Syndic of Tithes, and one from the Soul Warden. No attacks though. I don't want to provoke retaliation before Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim gets here, because if I'm not sacrificing at least some of my guys in response to removal, I'm missing value. And since I'm apparently playing EDH-staples(!) like Arashin Cleric, I'm gonna need all the value I can get.

(44-38-48)

T4:


Kate: I gain two life and draw Command Tower and play it, then tap out for Linvala, the Preserver. Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim can go cry me a river. I'll attack Ayli with the Baleful Strix, just to spread the love around a bit.

Noah: I draw Dread Return. Hell. Yes. Play a Swamp, call the doctor (Geddit? Dread Return? DR? Eh? Eh?), and get good ol' Rune-Scarred Demon back. A turn 4 flying 6/6? I'll take it. I tutor up a Victimize, planning to sac Rune-Scarred Demon to get Grave Titan and Butcher of Malakir back, then use Grave Titan zombies to flashback Dread Return. Next turn is set up. I pass.

Emily: Well I don't feel safe anymore. I drew a Wall of Essence, which does nothing against the fliers currently being deployed. I play my Mistveil Plains, then the Mind Stone, then the Wall of Essence. Shields up as best as I can. I've got a lot of life though, so at least that's going my way. So far, not having trouble getting a board, but there's no opportunity to be aggressive here.

(46-38-50)

T5:


Kate: I gain two life, then draw Jace, the Mind Sculptor. I don't want to run him out yet though (or the other walkers either). That Rune-Scarred Demon scares me, and I wish I had a counterspell for whatever Noah tutored. I play Gilded Lotus, and pass, hoping he thinks I'm sitting on counter mana.

Noah: Kate's got counter mana up, so I'm hesitant to actually Victimize this turn. I draw Deadbridge Chant, which I guess will be nice later. For now, I'll just keep getting ahead. I play Phyrexian Tower, then Eternal Witness, getting Buried Alive back. Then I sac Eternal Witness to the Phyrexian Tower, and cast Buried Alive again. If Kate counters, I get to Victimize next turn. She doesn't, though, so I add Nezumi Graverobber  Flip, Sheoldred, Whispering One and Nirkana Revenant to my graveyard. I attack Ayli with Rune-Scarred Demon, then pass the turn.

Emily: Draw Serene Steward. Not quite as good as Arashin Cleric, but one does what one must. I play the Serene Steward and the Loxodon Warhammer. Wish I had one more mana to equip the hammer instead of playing Serene Steward.

(48-38-42)

T6:


Kate: I gain two life. I draw a Seachrome Coast and play it tapped. I know I was mocking Dragonlord Silumgar a few turns ago, but now he's kind of good. I'll cast him and take Noah's Rune-Scarred Demon. Linvala, the Preserver attacks Noah, Baleful Strix attacks Emily. At this point, I'm in a dominant board position, but I'm really afraid of Savra's graveyard. The Rune-Scarred Demon MUST have tutored a resurrection spell. No way Noah went for anything else.

Noah: I'm a bit bitter about losing the Demon, until I draw a Mitotic Slime. Perfect. This provides lots of sac fodder to use Dread Return and Victimize. I cast it, then pass turn.

Emily: I draw a Debtors' Knell. This would be fantastic right now, if I only had the mana to play it. Instead, I equip the Loxodon Warhammer to Serene Steward, and attack Kate, who's only available blocker is Dragonlord Silumgar. She won't block, because she'd rather keep control of Noah's demon. I'm keeping pace with Oloro's life gain- but I need to be outpacing him if I'm going to contend into the late game with that deck. Lands would help. Card draw would help. Single low-level Clerics each turn won't do the trick anymore.

(45-38-48)

T7:


Kate: I gain two life. I draw Iona, Shield of Emeria. Hell yeah. I've got nine mana- I slam her, name black. That cuts off every resurrection spell in Noah's deck, and deals with half of that Ayli's cards too. I swing everything at Noah- he takes 13.

Noah: Well. Damn. This is a problem. I draw a Woodland Cemetery and play it, then play Ashnod's Altar while looking morosely at all the black cards in my hand. Pass.

Emily: Hahahahahahaha. I've got an answer, I've got an answer. First things first though, I crack my Mind Stone for an extra card on Noah's end step. It's a Vizkopa Guildmage. Then I draw Skirsdag High Priest for turn. He could be useful next turn. For now, I play Banisher Priest and laugh at Kate's expression as I take Iona, Shield of Emeria off the field, then attack her with the team.

(37-34-57)

T8:


Kate: Turn eight Kate. That's me. I gain two life. Draw for turn is Platinum Angel. Without Iona, Shield of Emeria, Noah's probably going to start playing from his graveyard. I play Narset Transcendent, and +1 her. It's a Temple of the False God. I've got plenty of mana right now, and would rather have a relevant spell, so I play Tezzeret the Seeker, and -1 him for a Sol Ring, shuffling the deck. No attacks this turn- I want those walkers protected.

Noah: Draw and play Tainted Wood. Cast Savra, Queen of the Golgari from the command zone, Victimize the Mitotic Slime, gain 2 life. That Soul Warden on Emily's board is still doing work gaining life, but I'll put an end to that. I get Grave Titan and Butcher of Malakir back, and the Titan brings along a few buddies. Then I sac his buddies, and one of the Mitotic Slime tokens to flashback Dread Return. I gain two, pay four to Savra, Queen of the Golgari, and she and the Butcher of Malakir make 5 total triggers for my opponents to sacrifice. I get Sheoldred, Whispering One back to play. Kate's board is wiped, Emily holds on to Soul Warden but loses the rest. Emily sacs Banisher Priest to the last trigger, so when it leaves, Iona returns, and Kate names black again. No matter. Sheoldred, Whispering One will deal with that for me. Pass turn.

Emily. Sketch. Sketch sketch sketch. I have to sac Soul Warden on upkeep, and draw a Sin Collector. Not gonna cut it. I pass with only black cards in hand.

(39-24-64)

T9:


Kate: I need to deal with that board like, yesterday. I gain two life, sac Iona, Shield of Emeria then draw Consecrated Sphinx. Fantastic card, love it, but worthless right now. Narset +1 reveals Rings of Brighthearth into my hand. Not enough. I need a board wipe. I cast Jace, the Mind Sculptor, and use the 0 ability to brainstorm. Three lands. Perfect. I activate Tezzeret the Seeker -1 for Sensei's Divining Top, and activate it. Jace Beleren, Tamiyo, the Moon Sage and Baneslayer Angel. All great cards. Not gonna cut it. I put Jace Beleren on top, then use Sensei's Divining Top to draw him, cast him (sacrificing Jace, the Mind Sculptor to do so), have everyone draw using his +2. Maybe Ayli can find a wipe. I play the Sensei's Divining Top I draw, and look at the top three again. Merciless Eviction. I excitedly put it on top... Then realize that I don't have the mana to cast it anymore. Damn. Next turn, then.

Noah: Well that was a lot of digging out of Kate. Hope it didn't turn anything up. I drew a Massacre Wurm off Jace Beleren, Swamp for turn. I play the Massacre Wurm to further discourage my opponents from creating a board, then go to combat. Butcher of Malakir attack Jace Beleren. Savra, Queen of the Golgari attacks Tezzeret the Seeker. Grave Titan and the two 1/1 slimes attack Narset Transcendent. Sheoldred, Whispering One and the 2/2 slime attack Ayli. All three walkers bite it, and Ayli takes 8.

Emily: I don't feel safe. Not one bit. I drew a Swamp from Jace Beleren, and a Plains for turn. Great. I'll play the plains and a Sin Collector, exiling Black Sun's Zenith (the only target) from Noah's hand. I don't want to overcommit though. I'm hoping Kate board wipes, and I don't want too much caught in the blast. Also, if Kate can't wipe, I still lose whatever I play to Sheoldred, Whispering One and/or Butcher of Malakir. Pass.

(41-24-56)

T10:


Kate: I gain two life, draw Merciless Eviction. 'Bout that time, eh chaps? Whatev. I slam the Merciless Eviction, name creatures. Noah sacs his board to Ashnod's Altar in response, getting 12 life off Savra, Queen of the Golgari triggers. Not ideal, but better than having those creatures on the field, and two resurrection spells and his Eternal Witness are already gone. Plus, Emily's Sin Collector showed me he's got no more resurrection spells in hand. I cast Consecrated Sphinx and pass.

Noah: Ouch. Owowowow. Oww. I draw Green Sun's Zenith, then play Deadbridge Chant. I mill 6 lands, Entomb, Sword of the Animist, Phyrexian Delver, and Fade into Antiquity. Coulda used most of those, although at least I'm not drawing those lands. Not great, as far as Deadbridge Chants go.

Emily: Cool, now Kate's the scary one. I draw Phyrexian Arena, play a Swamp, Phyrexian Arena, and Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim from the command zone.

(43-36-56)

T11:


Kate: Consecrated Sphinx draws me Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, Baneslayer Angel, Inexorable Tide, and Temple of Deceit, and I get Forbid for turn. Also, I gain 2 life. Cool. I play Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, +1 targeting Ayli, play the Temple, scrying another land to bottom, then attack Noah with the Consecrated Sphinx. This is going well.

Noah: Deadbridge Chant triggers, and hits Entomb. Not great. I draw Decree of Pain. I cast my Woodfall Primus, hoping to clear out Tamiyo, the Moon Sage but that meets a Forbid. Kate doesn't buyback, which makes me think she's got another counter in hand, or just a ton of amazing cards. Neither thought seems good.

Emily: I draw a Thought Vessel and an Angelic Accord. Once I trigger the accord a single time, each Angel will pay for the next one, with Ayli's ability. This is good. I play both. The Thought Vessel brings me to 7 mana, so I can cast Debtors' Knell next turn, and start putting Noah's rather terrifying graveyard to good use.

(45-32-55)

T12:


Kate: I use the Sensei's Divining Top on Emily's end step, putting Avacyn, Angel of Hope on top of Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Akroma's Vengeance. This is gonna be a good couple turns. Consecrated Sphinx gets me Ajani Steadfast, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, Counterspell, and Arcane Sanctum, and I get Avacyn, Angel of Hope for turn. I cast Avacyn, and attack Ayli with Consecrated Sphinx.

Noah: Deadbridge Chant hits Sheoldred, Whispering One. That's more like it. Avacyn, Angel of Hope can suck it. I draw Mikokoro, Center of the Sea though. Really, really bad against a Consecrated Sphinx. I play it, cast Savra, Queen of the Golgari, and end my turn.

Emily: Well. I sack Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim to Sheoldred, Whispering One triggers. Draw a Sun Titan and a Plains. Cast the Debtors' Knell- it's counterspelled by Kate. Shoulda played more conservatively with that, but it's opened up Sun Titan next turn.

(47-32-50)

T13:


Kate: So many cards! Consecrated Sphinx gets me Akroma's Vengeance, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Sorin, Solemn Visitor, and Cryptic Command. My Sensei's Divining Top reveals two lands, and Venser, Shaper Savant at EOT, so I draw the Venser, Shaper Savant for turn. First, though, I gain two life, and sacrifice the Consecrated Sphinx to Sheoldred, Whispering One. It did it's job. After drawing, I cast Inexorable Tide, then Baneslayer Angel and proliferate Tamiyo, the Moon Sage. Tamiyo +1's Sheoldred, Whispering One, and Avacyn, Angel of Hope swings for 8 at Noah. I have to discard Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Ajani Steadfast at turn's end.

Noah: I get a Nezumi Graverobber  Flip to the battlefield. I don't have the mana to empty anyone's graveyard though. Draw a forest, cast Green Sun's Zenith for Avenger of Zendikar, then play the forest. Avenger of Zendikar brings 10 1/2's with it. Maybe just maybe, I can overwhelm Kate.

Emily: I draw a Whip of Erebos and a Shattered Angel. This is becoming progressively more and more bleak. I'll cast Sun Titan, get auto-include Arashin Cleric back.

(49-26-53)

T14:


Kate: EOT, I cast Venser, Shaper Savant sending a Swamp back to Noah's hand and proliferating on Tamiyo, the Moon Sage. I sac Venser, Shaper Savant on upkeep (while gaining two life), draw Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, which I play. Tamiyo, the Moon Sage is at 9, so I activate her ultimate. Cast Akroma's Vengeance. Proliferate Tamiyo, put Akroma's Vengeance back in my hand. Cast Archangel of Thune - you know, that card that's been sitting in my hand the WHOLE GAME. Proliferate Tamiyo. When I send Baneslayer Angel and Avacyn, Angel of Hope at Noah, Archangel of Thune triggers, making Avacyn, Angel of Hope hit for nine. Pass.

Noah: I draw a Mycoloth. This is beyond bad. Kate is threatening a one-sided board wipe every turn. I replay my Swamp, and pass turn. Maybe Emily can pull off a miracle.

Emily: I draw a Terramorphic Expanse. I make meaningful eye contact with Noah, and we both concede the match.

Final life totals: Kate 56, Noah 12, Emily 53


Final thoughts

Kate's final thoughts: This deck is really, really good at digging. It's the card draw that makes this playable- the ability to reliably hit board wipes when necessary, to reliably land threat after threat. Without the draw and dig abilities, I'd likely have been overrun without getting a decent board. Notice, for example, when I played Iona, Shield of Emeria and she was immediately dealt with. One threat at a time isn't so bad, but this deck is monstrous. I've been on the receiving end of its wrath before, so I know- if this deck is to be beaten, it's done in the early game. This deck is VERY slow to start, and with decent disruption, or under heavy aggro, it can fall apart. I like the inclusion of Inexorable Tide. Bant and Esper superfriends should definitely consider running this card, particularly if they can get closer to a decent curve than this deck. Another card that wasn't seen too much was Archangel of Thune. This lady cannot be underestimated. Here, she only got one trigger, but in longer games, she'll be brutal. Things I'd like to add to the deck? Another mana rock. Maybe two. The deck has strong cards, but it's curve spreads long on the upper side, and making mana consistently could be a challenge. Notice the near-absence of basic lands, just to make sure that colors are met. This (and the lack of green) undercuts a lot of ramp options that normally help meet the higher mana costs.

Noah's final thoughts: Well, if not for that one Merciless Eviction, this game would likely have gone very differently. I liked the potential for this deck to get out of hand really fast, and the way in which I could clear an enemy's board while making my own stronger. This deck made me really wish Recurring Nightmare wasn't banned. Playing against this deck makes me really glad Recurring Nightmare is banned. I think this deck could benefit from cards like Living End - any Grave Pact effects would go off after the new creatures are returned, which could be really bad for the opponent. There were a number of ways of getting creatures into the graveyard, and a good number to get them back. But, as we saw, this deck suffers from an inability to recover after a board wipe. Living End would give this deck a way to instantly replenish the ranks after disaster strikes. So would similar cards like Rise of the Dark Realms or All Hallow's Eve or Patriarch's Bidding.

Emily's final thoughts: Well. Edgewalker needs to be here. I can't say I particularly enjoyed this deck, although in fairness it's mostly built for Cleric Tribal Flavor. While both of the other decks had "critical turns" that set them up to finish the game, this deck never had an opportunity to become the dominant player. That said, look at the ending life totals. I could certainly have dragged the game out, perhaps getting Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim out to exile Avacyn... But it would have been a heavily uphill battle, primarily because I didn't have the creatures available to feed Ayli, and because Noah wasn't going to last long enough to provide any help. I think this deck could easily hold it's own against other more casual decks, but I think it's power level was totally eclipsed by the other two decks this game. The creatures are too small to reliably attack, and without Ayli, they can't block very favorably either. It feels more like this deck should be pillow forting than getting aggressive. Adding in Ghostly Prison, Archangel of Tithes, Norn's Annex... These would, in addition to the No Mercy we didn't get to see this game, make this deck much stronger. I'd also like to see more Extort-like effects. Anything that drains life from another player to me is something that should be here. Of course, Exquisite Blood is missing, but that's mostly because the card's impossible to find.


Lessons learned

Beginner Lesson: Don't overcommit to a board state when you're already winning. Notice how Noah played out his Massacre Wurm on Turn Nine. His opponents had clear boards, so the ETB effect was wasted, and he was already in a dominant position. True, the Wurm provided a slightly scarier board state, but Noah should have been aware that he was in danger of being board wiped already. Had he held onto that Wurm, he would have had a new, scary threat to deploy after the Merciless Eviction.

Advanced Lesson: Incremental Advantage. When playing against control, it's easy to get frustrated. Any time that Blue mage has two+ mana open on your turn, it's hard to feel safe. However, there are ways to turn your opponent’s counterspell to your advantage. The trick is to play yourself out slowly. Notice on Turn Five how Kate leaves open her Gilded Lotus, which can generate enough mana on its own for most of her counterspells. Noah notices this, and adjusts his plans. Instead of playing the best card in his hand, Victimize, he's okay playing the Eternal Witness, getting back Buried Alive, and recasting that spell. Does this give Noah the same dominant board state he would have had after casting Victimize? Of course not! But it's a slight, incremental advantage. Kate's caught between a rock and a hard place- she can counter the somewhat-scary Buried Alive, which isn't really worth it to her since it's already been cast once, or she can let it happen and hope to counter a scarier spell later. Either way, Noah’s getting ahead, since he knows he's got a scarier spell available.

Contrast that to turn Twelve, when Emily has a Debtors' Knell and a Sun Titan in hand. The Titan is the less scary card. There are only a few relevant targets for it, and of course, Knell can get back the Titan, but the Titan can't get back the Knell. However, Emily’s frustrated by her own lack of position, and tries for the Knell first- this leads to her getting counterspelled, and when the Titan resolves on the next turn, she's left in a pretty poor state, whereas the Knell could have begun providing her with a strong board had she cast the Titan into the counterspell first.

Expert Lesson: Minutiae of land sequencing. Observe Kate’s land plays on Turn Two. She has a Hallowed Fountain in play, and a Godless Shrine, and Isolated Chapel in hand. The Isolated Chapel is already guaranteed to come in untapped, while the Godless Shrine will cost two life. Ordinarily, one would want to play the Godless Shrine tapped, allowing oneself to protect their life total, while being ready to deploy more mana on Turn Three, or pay the life to the Shrine to get the objectively better land onto the field (since Kate has no “Swamps” yet). However, in this case, Kate knows she has a two-mana spell in hand, and no three-mana spells in hand. This makes it a better play to deploy the Isolated Chapel now- she can play her two-drop, and play her Godless Shrine tapped next turn if she doesn't draw a three-mana spell, or take the two and play it untapped if she does.

Closing: So there we have it!


SPOILER ALERT!

Kate wins the first Commander and Conquer running Oloro Esper Superfriends Deck!

If you have any requests for the next episode, please don't hesitate to ask, and please please please link your decks below, or post them on my wall, to submit them for the next episode. Four lucky winners will be chosen for Episode II! If your deck isn't chosen, never fear! We will continue to consider older submission along with new ones as we move forward, so your deck will gets its chance someday! Thanks so much for reading, and I'll see you in two weeks!

The next article in this series is Command & Conquer - Ep 2 - Attack of the clones!

Awesome job! The only criticism I might have is that it never seemed like the Ayli deck stood a chance when running cards like Arashin Cleric against things like Iona and Grave Titan. Maybe that's just because Ayli could never get online, but even then, as you pointed out, it wouldn't have helped much.

Can you feature Fred though? :)


Let's just call him Fred

Commander / EDH FAMOUSWATERMELON

SCORE: 13 | 21 COMMENTS | 1019 VIEWS


March 1, 2016 8:28 a.m.

ChiefBell says... #2

March 1, 2016 8:36 a.m.

lemmingllama says... #3

This was a fun read. I do agree with FAMOUSWATERMELON's point that the Ayli deck never really got into the game. I'd probably recommend that you try to not run more budget decks against other decks with quadruple the price tag.

Anyways, my submission is because I think it would make a fun game for an article, although it would also be messy.


Some Goats Want to Watch the World Burn

Commander / EDH lemmingllama

SCORE: 66 | 13 COMMENTS | 12348 VIEWS


March 1, 2016 8:52 a.m.

Coinman1863 says... #4

I love the article and agree with all of what the above people said, budget and top end don't mix.

That being said I feel like one of you would love to beat at each other with Cloud Pirates, so here is my submission:


Edric's Flying Men

Commander / EDH* Coinman1863

SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 1 VIEWS


March 1, 2016 9:27 a.m.

This is a cool idea, although I bet it takes quite a bit of time to compose the article!

I have several submissions I would love to see here; I compose challenge forums for deckbuilding, and seeing some use being gained out of them would be awesome. My first one is a mono-red taxes deck.

Kazuul, Tax Collector

Apologies, I'm not entirely sure how to link all the information about the deck like users above me have done.

March 1, 2016 9:35 a.m.

luisserpa says... #6

Great article, I loved it. I really like these type of articles and sure miss the ones that Spooty presented to the comunity. Well done, I look forward for episode 2.

March 1, 2016 9:59 a.m.

Grantley91 says... #7

Here's my deck for your consideration. It's a mostly casual deck with no real combos but it has some pretty rude hate-bears in it that can control the board like nobody's business. If you end up finding more casual-oriented decks this might do well against them. If I'm allowed to suggest two decks I'll tweak my Sliver Queen deck and toss it up here too.


Go Directly to Jail. Do Not Pass Go.

Commander / EDH Grantley91

SCORE: 25 | 42 COMMENTS | 4562 VIEWS


March 1, 2016 10:54 a.m.

Thanks so much for all the feedback and deck submissions! My play group will meet again next Thursday to play the next round of decks, so you all have until Wednesday, March 9th to submit decks- more than one per person is acceptable, but please limit yourselves to two!

March 1, 2016 12:50 p.m.

Entari0 says... #9

I would love to see how my Meren deck plays in a more competitive setting. It should play similarly to the Savra deck that was played in this round, but I think it will be even heavier into the reanimator theme. Graveyard? You mean library 2.0?

March 1, 2016 2:36 p.m.

MrDilliams says... #10

I really like the idea here. Going to look forward to the next ones.

I have been having tons of fun with this Nekusar deck. Would love to see it tried out here.


The Mindrazer's Buffet, Eat Until You Burst.

Commander / EDH MrDilliams

SCORE: 1 | 0 COMMENTS | 342 VIEWS


March 1, 2016 2:38 p.m.

RovkirHexus says... #11

I like this. Reminds me a bit of the Spellslingers series that was (is?) on YouTube.

I'd like to see how my deck stands up against decks other than the two that I play against. Probably won't be too good if Phenax gets countered.

So you thought you had 99 cards in your deck

March 1, 2016 3:22 p.m.

Lanzo493 says... #12


Feldon Never gets any Love

Commander / EDH* Lanzo493

SCORE: 9 | 20 COMMENTS | 1832 VIEWS


This was one of my first commanders. The idea of reanimator intrigued me, not because it was red, but because you could reanimate the same thing MULTIPLE TIMES!!! Only Sisay has ever stood up to my 5-thing-team of Pathrazer of Ulamog. It's my favorite deck so I'd like to see how it does outside of my casual meta (I'm the competitive one).

March 1, 2016 3:42 p.m.

buildingadeck says... #13

I enjoyed this article. As a player who frequently records matches and posts them on YouTube, I thoroughly enjoyed the play-by-play nature of this article.

Here is my submission. The deck is a mid-speed combo deck that tends to combo out between turns 7 and 12, with an occasional turn 6 win. If you want to have counterspell back-up, you may have to wait a little longer, but hey, so is life.

March 1, 2016 3:46 p.m.

I think this concept is really cool! My suggestion is a crazy, crazy Mizzix storm deck!

Mizzix Shenanigans

It storms out a bit late in the game, but has a lot of artifact ramp and uses Propaganda to keep you safe. It can also combo kill in Enter the Infinite + Final Fortune and then Laboratory Maniac + Stroke of Genius or any draw spell. I've had a ton of fun playing it, and if you pick it, I hope you do too!

March 1, 2016 4:59 p.m.

Phaetion says... #15

I enjoyed the read. I'd like to see how one of my personal favorite decks fares.

Forging Suns Out of Skulls

March 1, 2016 5:28 p.m.

You know, since I don't often see artifact EDH decks outside Sharuum, I think I'll put mine forward for consideration!

Jori En's Relics

March 1, 2016 6:03 p.m.

Gattison says... #17

TL:RIA (Too Long: Read It Anyway)

I enjoyed this article, and enjoyed "hearing" the player's thoughts about their card draws, plays and responses. Small details always fascinate me.

I also agree it seemed a bit unfair to Emily's deck, though on the other hand I have seen "budget" EDH decks do very well against more expensive ones. It all depends on the build. If people request that you match their budget decks against competitively-priced decks, then that would be cool. Otherwise, it may not be a good gauge of the deck's actual capabilities.

As for my inevitable submission, I'd love to see your thoughts on all my decks, but I'll start with this one: The Black & Blue Market. It's a Aikido deck with Lazav, Dimir Mastermind at the helm.

March 1, 2016 7:21 p.m.

Nkrautheim says... #18

I liked the article, I have designed, but never built a commander deck, but have always been interested in building one. I have 2 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hungers and I designed an EDH deck for him. I would like to see it played and how it performs before I invest too much into it. The deck basically is an eldrazi tribal ramp deck with a decent amount of card draw built in as well.

The link is here

Don't Worry, How Bad Can Eldrazi Be

March 1, 2016 8:10 p.m.

nayrash5 says... #19

This deck has a lot of power to it, and I'd be interested to see one of you take a swing at piloting it. Animar, the Angry Uncle. Yes, I have way too much time//money to throw at this game.

On the article, it was a fun read, though I think you mislabeled Linvala as the OGW one rather than Linvala, Keeper of Silence.

March 1, 2016 9:46 p.m. Edited.

pdspillm says... #20

Here is a deck I built for fun that would really bring some joy/happiness/anger/sadness/emotion to yourselves and the readers. This was a deck I threw together by reading the list of unhinged cards and trying to decide on a deck "theme", if this deck even has a theme.


Ass Gotcha Tongue?

Commander / EDH* pdspillm

SCORE: 0 | 1 COMMENTS | 254 VIEWS


March 1, 2016 11:36 p.m.

I think I've got a somewhat interesting deck in the works you could run, but it'll take me some time to get it well-off as I only recently started putting it back together. For now, I'll make sure I can find this again for tips and tricks - and post up something that could get really interesting when I've got it ready.

March 2, 2016 1:02 a.m.

Denial048 says... #22

T4 Kate should have gained 5 life from Linvala.

Anyway, excellent idea, I loved the old showdowns, and EDH makes it more fun!

March 2, 2016 5:12 a.m.

Drakon562 says... #23

[http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/bant-lifegain-aka-get-a-life/]

March 2, 2016 7:42 a.m.

Drakon562 says... #24

Sorry for the double post, don't really know how to link decks. Bant Lifegain-aka Get a Life

March 2, 2016 7:44 a.m.

Whoops, Denial048, my mistake- that should have been Linvala, Keeper of Silence, not Linvala, the Preserver.

March 2, 2016 11:40 a.m.

Denial048 says... #26

That makes more sense haha

March 2, 2016 2:10 p.m.

Mastertoa says... #27

Nice article. If you guys want a powerful deck that doesn't draw much hate, and can be stupidly awesome, i present my Mono-Brown splashing U, counterspell-less deck: I have a vision (of me winning)

March 2, 2016 2:59 p.m.

Runlue says... #28

Well this is slowly getting me into Commander now. I made a deck on here, but not sure how it can fair against anything else. It would be a great way to get feedback on it, whilst also seeing someone run it!

Blink... Blink and You Win.

It's an Esper blink deck with Merieke Ri Berit as the commander. It uses Constellation as a mechanic to really abuse ETB effects, and I thought it was a super fun idea.

Nice article!

March 2, 2016 4:16 p.m.

DrLitebur says... #29

I have been playing EDH for a while now, and I have been semi-inactive here for a while. I have a deck I have been tinkering with for a while, one that I won a tournament with not too long ago. Here it is.

Purphoros brings the PAIN!

March 2, 2016 4:36 p.m.

Kala says... #30

My submission is going to be:


Miniature Salads

Commander / EDH Kala

SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 70 VIEWS


March 2, 2016 6:03 p.m.

MagmaArmor0 says... #31

I would like to submit Trostani edh.

Your more lifegain-friendly players may enjoy this deck more, or anyone that enjoys lots of big numbers.

March 3, 2016 1 a.m.

Silber says... #32

Great article. I love play by plays, and look forward to seeing more in the future. In the spirit of trying to get our decks played, please give a recent favorite of mine a whirl


Until Death

Commander / EDH* Silber

SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 68 VIEWS


March 3, 2016 8:09 a.m.

Awesome article guys! I want to submit the first (and currently only) commander deck I have built for the next episode. It has some fun combos and can (hopefully) deal with a lot of things that get thrown it's way. The main reason I wanted to submit this one is because I want to see how it plays irl before going and buying all of the card because I am just a poor 15 year old kid.

Anyways, the deck is here:


Vampire EDH

Commander / EDH K00lDudE1

SCORE: 4 | 19 COMMENTS | 924 VIEWS


Hope you like it and play it!

March 3, 2016 12:36 p.m.

ElendVenture says... #34

Quite a fun read! Here's a deck of mine that I think Emily would enjoy playing.


Five Color God Stuff

Commander / EDH ElendVenture

SCORE: 195 | 40 COMMENTS | 61748 VIEWS


March 3, 2016 3:36 p.m.

btw, I think that either Emily or Noah would enjoy my deck the most as it has some truly evil combos >:D

March 3, 2016 3:42 p.m.

KaedynCross says... #36

I'd love it if other people wanted to play-test this deck, haha. My favorite thing is making things not die, and if they do die, they still don't die.


Athreos' Warriors

Commander / EDH KaedynCross

SCORE: 2 | 1 COMMENTS | 50 VIEWS


March 3, 2016 7:06 p.m. Edited.

GobboE says... #37

You wrote that it is not your style, and honostly: it is not mine either. But I created this land destruction deck to show that it can be done. It has performed reasonably well despite that it is not the most expensive deck, but it was annoying so I (gladly) took it apart a while ago. I am curious to find out how it will fare against other decks.


The Destroyer of Lands (Radha, Heir to Keld)

Commander / EDH GobboE

SCORE: 8 | 21 COMMENTS | 2183 VIEWS


March 4, 2016 9:05 a.m.

nyctophasm says... #38

Love seeing this stuff happen. I hope to have my deck considered, even though the interactions are nowhere near as good as some of the stuff in other people's collections. Here's my submission; a discard heavy, answer depriving win by attrition, or oddly constructed combo.

Mogis Hellbent

March 4, 2016 9:12 p.m.

nyctophasm says... #39

And could someone please post up here how to have my deck show up like everyone else's, with the colour wheel and all that?

March 4, 2016 9:13 p.m.

RovkirHexus says... #40

nyctophasm Use [deck-large:(deck url after tappedout.net here] with double [].

March 4, 2016 11:12 p.m.

Lanzo493 says... #41

You don't need the url. just [deck-large:put deck name here] and you're done. It's a problem only if your deck shares a name with another deck (if the site lets you do that).

March 5, 2016 12:23 a.m.

lemmingllama says... #42

@Lanzo493 You use your deck slug, not your deck name. It's the last part of your deck's URL. You can share a deck name, but your deck will always have a unique slug.

March 5, 2016 8:13 a.m.

You just do [ [deck-large:deck slug (bit after mtg-decks/)] ]

So it comes out like this:


Mogis Hellbent

Commander / EDH* nyctophasm

SCORE: 7 | 13 COMMENTS | 1621 VIEWS


March 5, 2016 8:55 a.m.

Drakon562 says... #44

sorry about the repost, heres my deck


Bant Lifegain-aka Get a Life

Commander / EDH Drakon562

SCORE: 1 | 0 COMMENTS | 66 VIEWS


March 5, 2016 8:59 a.m.

nyctophasm says... #45

okay then, I think I have it. Thanks so much!

March 5, 2016 11:41 a.m.

The only difference between Mogis Hellbent and


Mogis Hellbent

Commander / EDH* nyctophasm

SCORE: 7 | 13 COMMENTS | 1621 VIEWS


is that you put -large after deck.

March 5, 2016 11:55 a.m.

nyctophasm says... #47

Well, I'm going to add one more deck to this list, and then I'll stop. This other one is my favorite deck ever when it goes off, because the whole game stops working according to normal rules. Also, I'm still waiting for that day when I finally get a chance to Hive Mind a Clone Legion and see the chaos ramp up. Best card in here? Warp World, because there's all sorts of great enchantments it might hit.


Winning? Who cares? CHAOS!!!

Commander / EDH nyctophasm

SCORE: 17 | 0 COMMENTS | 2534 VIEWS


March 5, 2016 2:43 p.m.

themindxyz says... #48

Well, I have two decks for you this week.

First up, in the rainbow corner, the fearsom five-color, Yes My Liege. the Promise of Progenitus. This deck relies on the power of shananagans! While it takes a while to get reved up, you will find that each color comes together to be both versatile and synergistic. Plus, who doesn't like one shoting people with Progenitus?

And in the (other) rainbow corner, weighing in at just under a duchebag, is Can You Feel My Huge Comboner? Specifically made to be a dick, this runs as many two and three card combos as could be fit in a single deck. I even decided to try and be fair by making them as fragile as possible without any back up, or protection. But get things feel better than "answer everything or risk the Death of all!"

March 7, 2016 9:26 p.m.

if we're still submitting decks, I'd like to throw in a few options

I'm not sure if this is meant to be competitive or not, so I'll Throw in a bit of both.

competitive: PLEASE LOOK AT IT! I'M SO LONELY! I'M NOT THAT BAD and Cheap deck always wins.

the fun ones: Oros, the infector: a EDH social experiment and "What a dumb commander!" "take 24,624 damage."

March 9, 2016 1:35 a.m.

nayrash5 says... #50

Sorry for the double post, but I wanted to make my list the same as everyone else's in terms of display. There's a lot of lists here, which I suppose means we'll have a number of these. :D


Animar, the Angry Uncle

Commander / EDH nayrash5

SCORE: 5 | 0 COMMENTS | 1225 VIEWS


Note, this is the same deck I suggested earlier, just with an easier to see deck-link.

March 9, 2016 3:12 a.m. Edited.

hyperlocke says... #51

I want to throw my Shattergang Brothers deck into the arena:


I'm Gonna Wreck It

Commander / EDH hyperlocke

SCORE: 33 | 49 COMMENTS | 9902 VIEWS


March 9, 2016 4:14 a.m.

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