Harsh Mentor

Creature — Human Cleric

Whenever an opponent activates an ability of an artifact, creature, or land on the battlefield, if it isn't a mana ability, Harsh Mentor deals 2 damage to that player

Discussion (50)

Hexaflexagon on The most violent Ogre to ever have existed

2 weeks ago

Hey man!

Have you considered taking out some lands? Your land count is quite high, imo. If you are going to take out some lands or just need cards in general, you might want to consider these cards:

• Etali, Primal Storm

• Soul-Scar Mage

• Things that prevent your opponent(s) from gaining life, such as Tibalt, Rakish Instigator and Sulfuric Vortex .

• Ruby Medallion

• Harsh Mentor

• Ashling the Pligrim

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Good Luck with your deck, I hope my suggestions will help you.

Hexaflexagon

kamarupa on Feel the burn

4 weeks ago

I hope at least some of this is helpful!

First of all, 1x Bojuka Bog can be a mainboard land that fulfills the same utility as Tormod's Crypt. An additional 1x Scavenger Grounds can supplement the Bog and add flexibility. If you're planning on shelling out crazy cash for shocks and fetches, you might as well add 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth , too.

I second UndeadxPenguins in moving the Leylines to the sideboard. I might go even farther and say that Leyline of the Void might not be worth it. Generally speaking, I prefer spells that apply to all opponents - IE - I'm excluded from the effects.

Multiplayer burn is basically impossible. I totally understand wanting to make a Rakdos burn deck instead of a Boros one. I, too, feel a seemingly innate desire to break convention. Additionally, I've had the fortune of pulling a full set of Dragonskull Summit s from booster packs, so I've trying to build a multiplayer Rakdos deck. That said, neither red nor black are colors I use regularly or primarily and I'm sorry to report my efforts have yet to yield any results I'm particularly pleased with. For reference, my most recent attempts are: Tainted Aria and Forgotten Elements. One take-away from those decks Aria of Flame and Priest of Forgotten Gods - each says "...any number of target players..." or "each opponent" - there aren't hoards of cards that have language like that, so any spells that strike your fancy that have language like that are going to be good. All that said, I doubt you'll ever be able to deal damage fast enough to more than one opponent with any consistency. That doesn't mean you can't make a darn mean deck, but that perhaps it would be better to forego the goal of speed in favor of broader, repeatable effects.

I think one way around the obvious limit of trying to deal out 40 or even 60 damage with a burn deck in a multiplayer format is to include more passive threats - dropping some instants in favor of creatures and enchantments - I'm thinking spells like Eidolon of the Great Revel , Harsh Mentor , and Manabarbs . While, like spells that say "all opponents," there aren't a ton of these sort of spells out there, there are some good ones.

Since you're running so few creatures, perhaps it would also be worth considering board wipes as a means of dealing with multiplayer threats. Blasphemous Act comes to mind, as well as the eternally popular Damnation .

Outlying spells to consider: Exsanguinate , Crypt Ghast / Basilica Screecher (for the extort ability), Fire Servant , Finale of Promise .

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Additional thoughts:

Angrath, the Flame-Chained seems like a possible fit, though I question the CMC viability.

I think Lightning Skelemental is a great card, but I also think it belongs with the rest of the Elemental Crew ( Flamekin Harbinger , Nova Chaser , et al, which offers little room for creativity.)

I suggest you add "Multiplayer" to this decks hubs.

I don't put any stock in TappedOut's "Competitive Meter." I showed with my deck, 100% Competitive, 100% Loser that the Meter does not take into account the interaction between cards. So if you make changes and the Meter says it's less competitive, I wouldn't worry at all.

Sideboard: Everlasting Torment , Dismember - deals with indestructibles, Extirpate / Surgical Extraction , Geth's Verdict - deals with Hexproofs and Shrouds, Pithing Needle , Ratchet Bomb , Elixir of Immortality .

Zaina on Burning lifegain - Boros spell slinging

4 weeks ago

The main reason I have Rest in Peace in there is because my LGS runs a bunch of grave decks, same with Cleansing Nova for enchantments. cometstorm I do have, it was in the deck originally, but it always felt too expensive to cast. Landtax I just find sorta nice to have for opening hand and so I can thin quite a lot.

I'm curious how Strionic Resonator would help me too, i'm not quite sure how it works in regards to what i'm building. I could definitely see Rhox Faithmender working well and i'll pick that up and replace maybe Harsh Mentor As every time i've played it, he doesn't seem to do much. Ive been meaning to pick up a Smothering Tithe too, so that's definitely going in there.

Digirono

clayperce on Serious Hogaak

1 month ago

UnderworldFiend,
Yeah, those certainly seem like reasonable choices. The deck is very weak though to Creature-based hate cards (e.g., Harsh Mentor , Goblin Cratermaker , and Yixlid Jailer ) and Creature-based Combo (e.g., anything with Devoted Druid ), so I definitely like some sort of removal there.

Thanks!

BoneclockHarmony on Mono Red Taxes (aka Bomat Red)

1 month ago

So I've played a bit more, so far

3-0 Izzet Phoenix

3-1 4c Saheeli

1-2 Pyro Prison

1-1 Mardu Pyro

My current creature package is:

4x Monastery Swiftspear

4x Bomat Courier

3x Soul-Scar Mage

2x Ash Zealot

2x Harsh Mentor

4x Eidolon of the Great Revel

3x Rampaging Ferocidon

2x Goblin Chainwhirler

With the rest of the list mostly same as yours (although, I accidentally played a few games with my sideboard searing blood's in my mainboard, and kind of liked it a lot?)

Some thoughts (still very new to modern so there's a lot of interactions I might just be completely un-aware of):

I see why we'd have Relic over Ravenous Trap now, didn't really want to bring in ravenous trap vs mardu pyro but Relic would be sweat, so I'll probably make that change too. Also saves me the hazzle of finding non-proxy ravenous traps, which are completely impossible to buy where I live.

I was thinking if we could replace ratchet bomb with mainboard Blast Zone , until I realized that it 1) Gets blanked by Blood Moon 2) Starts with a counter on it so we can't even hit chalice 3) Probably screws up our RR on turn two too badly.

Oh well, it sounded good in my head before I remembered about those minor details.

What do you think about Pillage vs Molten Rain for the sideboard? Doubling as artifact removal is nice, one of the main decks we'd bring land destruction in against is Tron right? Which makes it pull double duty.

The new canopy cycle of lands, I almost want to go UP in lands a little bit if we include them? Flooding is less bad since we can sac it to draw, more lands -> more reliable mana for our 3 drops. Not sure if it opens up any interesting sideboard options at all on its own, but with some RW fetches maybe?

Speaking of 3 drops, tried Scab-Clan Berserker at all?

SideBae on Gas Powered Stick (Complete)

1 month ago

Yo! RG decks are interesting. Here's what I think -- feel free to disregard it:

The main attraction of running green is having access to one-mana mana-dorks. Llanowar Elves , Birds of Paradise , Fyndhorn Elves , Elvish Mystic and Orcish Lumberjack will all speed up your deck tremendously, while giving you bodies for Overwhelming Stampede or similar finishers. Exploration is a good accelerator, though it can be expensive; search for tomorrow is similar. There are some two- or three-mana dorks you might also want to consider, like Priest of Titania , Shaman of Forgotten Ways and Somberwald Sage . Having dorks ramps green faster than any other color is capable of.

Overwhelming Stampede is an excellent card; in that vein, Overrun and Triumph of the Hordes are both good finishers. If you want to put money into the deck, Craterhoof Behemoth is a great card in Legacy Elves that also works here. Grabbing Craterhoof with something like Natural Order can produce a really fast win. Green Sun's Zenith is another good tutor-spell, which can also fetch Dryad Arbor turn one.

I see you're running Nature's Lore . Farseek is a great card to fetch a mountain, especially if you choose to run Stomping Ground , Sheltered Thicket and/or Cinder Glade . Taiga is good, too, but that's pushing $200 these days... effing OG duals.

Growing Rites of Itlimoc  ^Flip is a good card, and an affordable version of Gaea's Cradle . Similarly, Slate of Ancestry is a very underrated EDH card that would be a powerhouse in this deck. In the line of card-draw, Beast Whisperer and Harmonize are worth considering.

Karplusan Forest , Spire Garden , Command Tower and Grove of the Burnwillows are four excellent non-basic, ETB-untapped lands for your colors. You should run these, if at all possible. I think they're better than Jund Panorama and Naya Panorama , as well as Rogue's Passage . You should consider Kessig Wolf Run , as well as cutting one or two lands from the final list.

Depending on how sadistic you are, you may also want to consider running some stax pieces. Thorn of Amethyst is an excellent card in most green decks, as these decks tend to produce oodles of mana and not cast too many non-creature spells. Pyrostatic Pillar and Eidolon of the Great Revel are excellent ways to keep low-curved decks in check. Harsh Mentor varies with meta calls, though it can be very strong. Stranglehold can ruin some strategies, and Price of Glory can nuke counter-heavy decks. Similarly, Vexing Shusher is useful to avoid getting countered, especially since you don't have to activate it until after an opponent casts a counterspell. Scab-Clan Berserker is worth considering.

I suggest Gamble . It's the best tutor in your colors. Eternal Witness is another pretty good card you may want to consider to get you back in the game after a board-wipe. I suggest running Grim Flowering or Nature's Resurgence for the same reason.

Your spot removal will be dependent on how hard you want to lean into Ruric Thar, the Unbowed . If you want to keep him, Reclamation Sage and similar effects are the way to go. Without him, or while thinking of him as a secondary creature, you should run Nature's Claim and/or Krosan Grip . Chain of Acid is an interesting card I've been wondering about recently, so you may be interested in experimenting with it. Hull Breach is similar to Decimate , and is often a two-for-one. Shattering Spree , By Force , Ancient Grudge , Vandalblast and Fiery Confluence are good as well.

Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion is an efficient, powerful creature that helps cycle away dead cards in your hand, all while generating mana. Huntmaster of the Fells  ^Flip is another super-efficient creature. Boartusk Liege is valuable for its anthem effect and not-insignificant body. Siege Behemoth is another recommendation, for obvious reasons.

Depending on your meta, Sunder Shaman , Choke , Carpet of Flowers , Flashfires and Boil are options. If you keep your mana-base with only a few non-basics, Blood Moon , Magus of the Moon and Ruination are good cards. If your meta is super aggressive, you should consider Loxodon Warhammer or Basilisk Collar in order to recoup life points. Runic Armasaur is another good consideration if your meta has a lot of fetch lands and the like.

Using Sylvan Tutor can let you stack your deck for Lurking Predators , and you can cast Worldly Tutor in response to it triggering to just fetch whatever creature you want from your deck for .

Strionic Resonator is a way to copy your general's trigger, and may be tremendously helpful. Resolving them in succession on the same creature results in quadrupled power.

From Modern Horizons, Collector Ouphe and Throes of Chaos are worth considering.

Alright, that's all I got for now. I hope you found these suggestions at least a little helpful. Good luck with deck building!

SideBae on Rise of the Underworld

1 month ago

As with most Rakdos decks, I advise a reanimating package with Sire Of Insanity as the target. Animate Dead , Reanimate and Necromancy are all rather good when paired with Entomb or Buried Alive . In Rakdos, you’re generally the king of top decks. So embracing it with Sire is typically a good play.

One mistake I find in a lot of EDH decks is the prevalence of one-for-one removal. Cards like Demolish , Roast and Necrotic Wound are alright if you’ve only got one opponent, but in EDH you’re already facing 2x-3x as many cards as you have in your 2-3 opponents. This is why I suggest more efficient spells, like the Ritual of Soot I see you’re already running. Fire Covenant , Ashes to Ashes , By Force , Toxic Deluge / Damnation / Blasphemous Act and Syphon Mind are all good ways to regain card advantage when you’re facing down multiple opponents.

Another thing I suggest is that you run more mana rocks. In any non-green deck, artifact mana is the main form of ramp available. I’ve noticed there’s a tremendous difference between 2- and 3-mana ramp; cards like Mana Geode and Rakdos Locket are generally worse than Rakdos Signet and Talisman of Indulgence . Mind Stone , Coldsteel Heart , Fire Diamond , Charcoal Diamond and Thought Vessel are also options. Treasure Nabber is a good way to disrupt opposing mana.

Hand-in-hand with what I’ve been talking about is card draw: You need cards to cast with your mana, as well as powerful spells in the first place. Phyrexian Arena is an excellent source of card advantage in black, as are Night's Whisper and Harvester of Souls . Faithless Looting , Magmatic Insight and Cathartic Reunion are ways to filter your cards from red, as well as ways to get creatures you want to reanimate into your graveyard from your hand.

Fighting counter magic is something red does very well. I advise cards like McToters suggested: Price of Glory is one of my favorite cards to run in red. If you want to go deeper on disruption, his suggested Stranglehold is good, as well as Blood Moon , Ruination and Magus of the Moon (though you’d have to craft you land base to accommodate these last three). If your meta is blue-heavy, Boil is good; white-heavy means Flashfires and Dread of Night may be helpful. I don’t know your meta though, and that’s what will dictate if the color-hate cards will be good. If your meta is filled with pesky dorks, Blast Zone is a good consideration.

Harsh Mentor is a card I like landing early, as is Scab-Clan Berserker . Because your curve is relatively high, Pyrostatic Pillar and Eidolon of the Great Revel might be helpful as additional repeating burn effects. If their life-loss becomes too great, a Whip of Erebos can help you survive.

At least consider Necropotence if you decide to run life-gain. It’s typically only found in combo-decks, but in my experience it’s a powerhouse across the board. Getting a card for one life is typically a good deal.

Alright. That’s all for now. Good luck building your deck!

Rolska on learning to build

1 month ago

To be upfront, I don't claim to be a Boros expert so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Boros Charm should go into your sideboard at the very least. Its the ability to protect your board from board wipes such as Damnation that will come in handy against removal decks or those decks that make use of wipes such as white.

Aurelia, the Warleader is a fun card, but you shouldn't run 2 copies in my opinion. Running one copy allows you to draw this sometimes, but you also don't run the risk of getting two in your hand or drawing into it, which with that mana cost is going to be a dead draw more often than not. Though I have seen a lot of decks run 2 of these. I haven't seen them run as many legendaries as you have, which leads to my next comment.

You're running too many legendaries but more importantly, duplicates of legendaries. Just like the aforementioned, you may run into two and it becomes a dead card in your hand or a dead draw due to the legendary rule.

Some fun cards in Boros colors that I like:

• Temur Battle Rage : An amazing card for the CMC and monetary value.
• Awaken the Ancient : A one-off card if you ever use it, mostly for the fun factor and novelty, not exactly a competitive choice.
• Legion's Initiative : Good for dodging wipes and giving a passive buff to all your Boros creatures.
• Harsh Mentor : Effective at tables where fetch lands are common.
• Iroas, God of Victory : Speaks for itself.
• Swiftblade Vindicator : A solid for a 1/1 that's loaded with offensive capabilities.