Heliod's Emissary

Enchantment Creature — Elk

Bestow 6{W} Whenever Heliod's Emissary or enchanted creature attacks, tap target creature an opponent controls. Enchanted creature gets +3/+3.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (7)

eliakimras on Menacing Aura

11 months ago

Hello! May I step in to give you some recommendations? Since you're on a budget, all cards suggested are 2 dollars or less.

Part 1: Ramp

In: You probably want aura ramp and cost reducers over standard land ramp: Wild Growth, Transcendent Envoy, Hero of Iroas, Jukai Naturalist and Stenn, Paranoid Partisan (choosing Enchantment). These will allow you to storm through your deck casting Auras ad nauseam.

Out: Elvish Mystic, Farhaven Elf, Arcane Signet, Nature's Lore and Cultivate are all great ramp cards, but you can do better (and more thematically) with the cards I mentioned above.

Part 2: Card draw

Just as important as ramp is card draw: Galea won't always be available to you.

In: Sage's Reverie, Enchantress's Presence, Satyr Enchanter, Mesa Enchantress.

Out: Coiling Oracle, Curious Obsession (unreliable), Curse of Verbosity (unreliable), Eel Umbra.

Part 3: Removal

Swords to Plowshares is GREAT, no doubt. But, in this kind of deck, you can spice it up with the great Auras that {W} has for removal.

The objective is, then, to use the cheapest Auras that can hit more than one permanent type, with emphasis on "loses its abilities" in the text box.

In: Mortal Obstinacy, Ossification (synergy with your basic land fetchers).

Out: Reclamation Sage, Swords to Plowshares.

Part 4: Boardwipes

In: I believe you should run more boardwipes that leave your board mostly untouched. Austere Command is one such example. You almost always will clean all artifacts and the half of creatures that are more dangerous to you. Curse of the Swine is another selective wipe.

Out: Time Wipe (not one-sided), Plains.

Part 5: Protection and Evasion

In Voltron, tempo is crucial.

• In: Negate and Delay are inconditional and cheap counters mana-wise.
• Out: Calculated Dismissal and Frilled Mystic aren't.

Now to the Auras:

• In: Spirit Mantle, Unquestioned Authority and Mask of Law and Grace are protection and evasion at the same time (protection also means it can't be blocked).
• Out: Favor of the Overbeing, Observant Alseid and Leafcrown Dryad.

Following the same logic as with removal, I'm using auras over instants to protect the Voltron.

• In: Shield of the Oversoul, Alpha Authority, Canopy Cover.
• Out: Benevolent Blessing, Shielding Plax, Karametra's Blessing. (I believe proactive protection goes miles farther than a reactive one.)

Part 6: Tutors

Without Hammer of Nazahn, Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith is just a more expensive Open the Armory.

In: Open the Armory, Heliod's Pilgrim, Moon-Blessed Cleric, Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice and Invasion of Theros  ^Flip (bonus that all those tutors also change your library's top card).

Out: Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith, Celestial Archon, Heliod's Emissary, Hypnotic Siren, Curse of Unbinding (7 mana is a lot for an Aura).

Part 7: Win Conditions

In: Since you're going all-in with auras, All That Glitters and Ethereal Armor do wonders.

Out: Bruna, Light of Alabaster is slow and telegraphed in this build. People won't let her stick to the field. Nissa, Steward of Elements is tough to protect in a Voltron build, while she only offers scry, which your lands can already do.

Part 8: Lands

In:

• You might consider more lands that fix your colors and manipulate the top of your library at will: Terramorphic Expanse, Temple of Plenty, Temple of Enlightenment, Temple of Mystery, Cabaretti Courtyard, Brokers Hideout, Obscura Storefront, Naya Panorama, Esper Panorama.
• Rogue's Passage is great evasion on a land.

Out:

• Thriving Grove, Thriving Heath and Thriving Isle are neat fixing, but the Temples are superior since they play into Galea's strategy.
• Path of Ancestry is great if you're in a 5-color deck or in a tribal-heavy creature deck. This build is neither.
• Lumbering Falls is good for suiting Equipments on, but Auras will just go to the graveyard when this land stops being a creature.
• Azorius Chancery, because you don't run the other two bouncelands.
• Razorverge Thicket. You'll soon realize that the later turns are more important than the early ones in EDH. This land is a beast in Modern, but it is far from worth it in Commander unless you're playing a turn-3 win deck.
• Forest and Forest to give room for the two remaining Panoramas. (With all the land searching above, you're probably more likely now to have a target for Utopia Sprawl than before.)
• Seaside Citadel. I know, I know: tri-lands are great and all, but, in this build, I'm trying to bake the top-of-library manipulation into the manabase so you have more free spell slots for your Auras, similar to what I did with Yennett, Cryptic Oddity (to a great success): each land in it has to either enter untapped somehow or change the top card of the library.

If you read this far, congratulations! Here is the list of the deck with all the suggested alterations, in case you want to test it: Galea, Menacing Aura. Good luck and have fun!

BahamutPRME on Casual Greek Deck

4 years ago

So I'm trying to make a deck for my friend for his birthday and he likes Greek Mythology, specifically Poseidon, Hades, and Zues in this order. I'm wanting to stay in the Theros block and have 3 deck ideas but I need some advice and criticism because I don't want to make him a weak deck.

Here are what I've made:

The first one is using Heliod because I made this first and forgot there is a god that looks like zues but in MTG Heliod is the "Leader" or Highest ranking or whatever.

The second one is using Keranos and white humans so its 4 colors instead of 3.

The third one is sticking to the block and theme but also sticking to heroic and scry.

I have always been bad about including a safe amount of land in my decks so that is something i really need help with. I also wasn't sure if this was the best way to show the decks or if i should've just copy and pasted each text.

Thank you!

Greek Deck 1

Greek Deck 2

Greek Deck 3

Sorry for the long post. Wasn't sure how to do this.

Lagaffe212 on Enchanted horde

6 years ago

-37 lands in a bit short for EDH : advice is 40 to avoid issue plus aprox 10 carads for card advantage. In your setup, i would recommand more creature cards that ramp lands and that you can sac like Yavimaya Elder and Wood ElvesExplore cards migth also be very usefull to pull out more lands from the deck and filling your Graveyard.Deadeye Tracker, Jadelight Ranger, Merfolk Branchwalker, Path of Discovery, Tomb Robber

Cards to cut :Grim Guardian , Heliod's Emissary, Leafcrown Dryad : not impactfull enoughHermit of the Natterknolls  ^Flip : Not an enchantement, does not do a lot for the deck

Sheoldred, Whispering One & Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger : Those guys are dangerous, Not sure if your deck can manage to show them in play or in the graveyard and survive the focus tou'll get. I personally stoped playing them for this reason.

Bear Umbra, Curse of Bounty -> What do you do with the untaps ???

Exsanguinate, Genesis Wave, Profane Command -> You dont have mana to make those game-ending, would replace with fixed cost spell or creatures

Overwhelming Stampede -> Quite situationnal, Craterhoof will do a better job beeing a creature you can bring back. If you are looking for a lethal finished, Triumph of the Hordes is more effective

Candidate to add :

Aegis of the Gods

Celestial Archon

Doomwake Giant

Skybind -> retrigger ETB

Strength from the Fallen

Celestial Ancient

Helm of the Gods

Punishment

Rofellos's Gift

Starfield of Nyx

thebourquins on Attack of the.. Elk?

6 years ago

Heliod's Emissary is cool, I like this deck

Hexcimal on Let me guess - Another Enchantment

6 years ago

Thank you for the upvote!

What is your definition of a "budget" build? When I began building decks I tried to keep them within a $20 range, but now that my income is more generous "budget" for me is ~$100. I understand that "budget" is different for everyone, so that would be a good starting point. That being said, here are a few suggestions.

Long Post Show

Cut:
1. Guardian Idol - It doesn't feel right in this deck and opens room for better cards.
2. Heliod's Emissary - This card is far too expensive for what it accomplishes and again opens up slots for better cards.

Consider:
(These are definitely going to depend on your definition of "budget.")
1. Graceblade Artisan - Creature gets beefy with Auras, budget version of Kor Spiritdancer.
2. Mesa Enchantress - Provides card draw if you can't find the budget for Spiritdancer.
3. Hyena Umbra - Totem armor is amazing for keeping creatures alive, and alleviates the card disadvantages that Auras bring. Alternatively, Umbra Mystic will give all Auras Totem armor.
4. Daybreak Coronet - Amazing Aura. Enough said.
5. Spirit Mantle - Another amazing Aura.
6. Authority of the Consuls - Similar to Blind Obedience but can be played Turn 1 to slow creatures down immediately, and prolong your life.
7. Nevermore - Excellent card for Pillow Fort as it slows down several decks.
8. Archangel of Tithes - Instead of Windborn Muse, it will also help you get damage through and delay blockers.

At the very least, I would recommend increasing the number of lands being played. 19 is really low for the average CMC of the deck and you don't want to run out of mana when needed. Additionally, include a full play set of Ghostly Prison, Ethereal Armor, and Hopeful Eidolon. They are great cards.

I hope you were able to find some of this useful!

madmartigan95 on Uril the Miststomper

7 years ago

Cards I think could easily be cut:

Web- worst of the reach cards

Auramancer- Better options, see below

Heliod's Emissary- not worth the mana

Nyxborn Rollicker- not useful

Restoration Specialist-have to sacrifice only hits single one

Angelic Gift- flying worse than anything else, draw is unnecessary

Brilliant Halo- nice recursion, but not that great

Eternal Warrior- doesn't do enough to include

Forced Adaptation- too slow

Gift of the Woods- too niche, point is to not be blocked

Instill Energy- haste is eh, untap is basically vigilance, not really necessary

Knightly Valor- CMC too high

Mammoth Umbra-

Ordeal of Purphoros- slow for what it does

Regeneration, Savage Silhouette, Serpent Skin, Trollhide- Most wraths get around the regeneration anyway, you can afford to lose anyone to spot removal except your commander... which is already hexproof.

Venomous Fangs- your chump blockers don't need it, Uril's gonna be huge already

Vigilance- not enough in this deck

The Three Vows- Irrelevant as they can still block your guys. Maybe one if you do a lot of multiplayer.

Nyxborn Shieldmate

Entangler- high CMC

Vigilant Martyr- same issues with regeneration, at the very least replace with Dawn Charm

Venom- meh all around

Open the Vaults- replace with Retether/Second Sunrise

Cards that are on the verge:

Auratouched Mage-higher CMC, but it does open up more expensive auras

Conviction- Better than Brilliant Halo, still not that great

Fists of Ironwood- Superfluous

Hammerhand- meh card

Lifelink- Nice art, unless you're getting a lot of direct damage, not that helpful

Lightform- Looks okay, too many non-creatures though

Murder Investigation

Oath of the Ancient Wood- Faster than the ordeal cards, no other benefits though

Shape of the Wiitigo, Shield of the Oversoul, Hyena Umbra, Glaring Aegis- You have to cut something

Indrik Umbra-Keep if you can find something else to go easily.

Cards you should consider adding:

Retether- Bodiless Auramancer but better

Second Sunrise- Get passed their wrath effects, not a first choice though

Lightning Bolt- Spot removal is nice

Dawn Charm- See above

WizardOfTheNorthernCoast on "Balancing the format" says WOTC...

8 years ago

CanadianShinobi : I'm 2 months late but I don't give a damn. As I said I mainly wanted to have the opinion of more people on the subject (I've read a ton about it already). Now I've got yours. An a new debate is born. See? :)

And since you like to quote people, you didn't answer those questions : "The real reason I'm creating this thread is that I want to have your opinion on the format and where you think it's going? If you ever played Eldrazi, do you enjoy it? Or did you just join the dark side of the force because "if you cant beat them, join them" ?" ;)

ninjaclevs13 forgot to include that good ol' Simian Spirit Guide in there, thanks! :)

kanokarob "Yes, WotC likes to make its customers miserable by intentionally printing unbalanced cards.". I never said that was their intention. Ever. All I said is their first objective is to make money (it's a company you know, stakeholders and stuff...).

You can't deny the fact that Magic is mostly a game of money. You cant have a 15 dollars Restoration Angel or a 10 cents Heliod's Emissary. 4 mana each, both white, but well... So if they print cards that fit so well together that they can own in standard, in modern and be decent in legacy, I kinda think there is a slight lack of balance somewhere, don't you think? :)