Pride Guardian

Creature — Cat Monk

Defender

Whenever Pride Guardian blocks, you gain 3 life.

Legality

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

Discussion (50)

wallisface on Life gain cat deck

1 year ago

Some thoughts:

• I'm not sure why you've defaulted the view of this deck to be by "TCG player high price" - almost all of these cards can be acquired for well-under $1 (most under $0.50).

• One thing to note is that Mentor of the Meek won't be doing much of anything while King of the Pride, as the King will make almost all of your creatures enter with more than 2 power. I'd suggest probably ditching Mentor.

• Cards I'd suggest ditching are Pride Guardian (cards that only gain life and do nothing else are pretty universally bad), Ordeal of Heliod (its really slow and doesn't really do a lot), Cosmos Elixir (its a really bad effect for such a high mana cost), Revitalize (cards that only gain life and do nothing else are pretty universally bad), and maybe Scout's Warning (you don't really to be flashing-in any of your creatures, though I can see this is maybe just useful as a cantrip if you have nothing else to play).

lespaul977 on Mirran Leonin

1 year ago

I’m digging the theme of this deck! Leonin are super cool. Since you have so many creatures that benefit from being equipped, you may want to consider adding some more equipment artifacts. I think you’ve got all the Leonin-based artifacts from Mirrodin, but if you want some other great options from the various Mirrodin sets, I would suggest Loxodon Warhammer, Darksteel Axe, Strider Harness, or Livewire Lash.

If you are looking for additional cat-like creatures, Pride Guardian is a solid one-drop blocker.

Best of luck with the build!

Idoneity on Life Drain - EDH

3 years ago

Alright, I have some suggestions. Now, never have I dipped in the complot of nocent life-gain, but I do see some follies withal the current decklist.

So, ramp and card draw are necessities of any commander strategy. I typically play decks that dump their hands aggressively, thus I have far more draw than normal. Around 34 slots grant me card advantage and 11 slots are for ramp. Here, you have four cards of ramp and five cards of draw. Granted, one of the draw engines is your commander, but that's six-mana afore it does so.

Furthermore, there are plenty of cards in here that just lack reach. Ajani's Sunstriker is horrid to draw turn 8 and onwards. It may be aggressive betime in the match, yet it is outclassed far too quickly.

So, what I'd cut due to card quality: Agent of Masks, Ajani's Sunstriker, Drana's Emissary, Fog Bank, Goldenglow Moth, Grim Guardian, Night Market Lookout, Oreskos Sun Guide, Pride Guardian, Servant of Tymaret, Wall of Essence, Elixir of Immortality, Fountain of Renewal, Narrow Escape, Spell Pierce, and Mana Leak.

Alright, same drill but I wish to offer some substantiation afore I denunciate these.

1. Coastal Piracy is a very potent card in decks possessing cheap, evasive creatures. This deck does not, thence I would advise ablating it; merely too inutile.

2. Sinister Possession and Stab Wound, no matter how much I love the Wound, are easily removed. A sacrifice outlet just negates this effect. The Possession in particular doesn't seem to do anything against certain creatures. Chainer, Dementia Master or Oracle of Mul Daya just don't oft attack or block. Even if, it is a mere two damage. Sure, it may stack quickly, but there are better ways to do so.

3. Condescend is just outclassed so quickly. Counterspells above two mana must do something potent, and this is potentially more. Scrying 2 is fine, but that also doesn't do much.

4. I have never seen Dramatic Rescue ere now, but I know not why it would be run. Just put in a Swords.

5. Dismiss into Dream is sweet, but this deck cannot deem to hent much from it.

Lovely! Now upon what I would add.

Given that the curve is rather high, I'd add Pristine Talisman; Arcane Signet; the talismans of dominance, progress, and hierarchy; Orzhov, Azorius, and Dimir signet; Mind Stone; and Worn Powerstone. This should grant you later plays far earlier in any match.

Unto thee, benison in card draw. Painful Truths is one I much enjoy. Sign in Blood or Night's Whisper are cheap and efficient. Phyrexian Arena and Underworld Connections go in quite a few decks. Well of Lost Dreams is just splendid. Fact or Fiction is never bad. Dawn of Hope is slow but on-theme. Erebos, God of the Dead seems all too perfect due to its static and activated abilities. Dream Trawler is awfully enticing for gameplans such as this. Lastly, Unfulfilled Desires is a hidden gem that I play in any deck that produces blue and black mana.

Of course, just some efficient engines and finishers. Debt to the Deathless and Exsanguinate are each nocent once resolved. K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth could also be fine, but lacking depending on your hand, for it cares only if the cost is black. Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord fetches fallen utility creatures from the yard and proffers much in life-gain. Aetherflux Reservoir does much in murdering everyone, too.

I'd recommend some more wraths in this deck. Fumigate is perfect, Merciless Eviction or Austere Command deal with those pesky artifacts efficiently, Elspeth, Sun's Champion is never bad, Supreme Verdict is fine though pricey, or Kaya's Wrath is always lovely. Take your pick.

Okay, now for some other upgrades on the basics of the deck. Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Abolish, Return to Dust, Murderous Rider, Anguished Unmaking, Despark, Hero's Downfall, Reality Shift, Generous Gift, Pongify, Rapid Hybridization, and Heliod's Intervention all remove permanents efficiently and at instant speed. Vindicate is fine but a sorcery.

As options for better counterspells, Absorb, Counterspell, Negate, Countersquall, and Dovin's Veto are all cheap whiles bearing value at all moments in the game.

Finally, some more life gain payoffs as consideration: Authority of the Consuls has oft shut down my strategies, Ajani's Pridemate gets far too large, Blind Obedience does something similar, Divinity of Pride and Serra Ascendant are giant threats in their own right, Bloodthirsty Aerialist does the same, Propaganda and Ghostly Prison make opponents pay to deal damage, Soul Warden and Soul's Attendant are early drops that allow for quite a bit of life to be gained, Archangel of Thune is always potent, Vona, Butcher of Magan is spicey, Angel of Vitality bolsters your engine, Boon Reflection doubles it, Twilight Prophet can get out of hand, Beacon of Immortality puts you heavensly ahead, Ajani, Strength of the Pride can win games on its own, and Felidar Sovereign demands an immediate answer.

That's all from me! Have a lovely day.

Oh, and I suppose I'll put a deck of my own here. Let the Nightmare Go On.. is a constant favourite of mine and The Lands Restored offers commensurate enjoyment.

Thank you and farewell.

king0fclubs on Steal From the Rich, Give to the Poor

3 years ago

Things I like:

I think it is a good idea that you have a good number of things to dissuade being attacked. Propaganda effects will be big for keeping people off your back.

The Sabotage section seems solid and you should be able to put the pressure on the problem player as needed.

Treasure Nabber is a great ramp card for this deck and with the bonus of being able redistribute afterward, should be solid.

Starke of Rath-I've always been curious to see him at work and he will be interesting here. Might need to be careful how you use him, but as far as removal goes, the guy is going to kill a fair bit of stuff, should be fun.

Smothering Tithe-great way to get tokens to give away and perfectly on theme! Only shame is they go away once used so it won't help your permanent count too much, but people are probably only going to use them when they really need them so who knows.

Humble Defector-Great card draw especially if you can work out a deal with whoever you give it to. Overall, I think you are going to be able dig pretty deep into your deck which is always nice.

Things I'd replace:

Pride Guardian-likely only going to get you 3 health and die, not particularly worth a slot

Viridian Longbow-a good card in a combo deck but i don't think you will get much from it here, a lot of man to equip makes it tough to use well

Goldmeadow Dodger-not likely going to impact things much

Longbow Archer-not likely going to impact things much

Reckless Cohort-this guy is gonna get himself killed or get someone mad at you

Somberwald Vigilante-not likely going to impact things much

Felidar Sovereign-Sovereign is interesting, I haven't seen it ever win someone the game, but I have seen it turn everyone at the table against the player. The other side (and this is probaby personal preference) is it might feel a little anticlimactic winning this way, but again I've never seen it. I'd say try it out and see how you feel though, it is 100% a legitimate way to win especially in a Zedruu deck

Sword of Vengeance-Not sure on this one. The stats it gives are good, but I don't think there are ton of creatures in your deck that will use it super effectively. The highest power you have right now is 3 I think, so at most they are going to be 5 power, which isn't bad but compared to some of the things they will be up against. However it is hard to know what things you are going to be taking, so maybe it will come in handy. Might need to playtest.

Suggestions:

Sol Ring-it is too good to ignore. Between Zedruu eating 3 mana with that ability and some of your cards hitting 7 CMC you are going to want this extra 2 mana.

Illusionist's Bracers-when equipped to Zedruu you can give away double the stuff. Also works with Bazaar Trader, Humble Defector (you get 2 cards when your opponent uses it too!), Starke of Rath

Chromatic Lantern-having the right colors will be important to using zedruu's abilities and this will free you up from having to worry about that too much

Cultural Exchange-a pretty quick way to re-balance the board, pricey manawise but pretty worth it, especially if you use it give your opponent a ton of things you own (for the same amount of mana Zedruu can only give away two things. If you do this for even 3 creatures are being more effecient and it is a decent jump up for your next Zedruu draw/lifegain)

Well of Lost Dreams-Double the number of cards you get on your Zedruu upkeep effect.

Cradle of Vitality-Put the lifegain to work to make your creatures increasingly large each turn.

Debt of Loyalty-not the best way to take control of things but not a terrible one either especially for only 3 mana.

Blatant Thievery-expensive but you get the best stuff the table has

Chamber of Manipulation-I like this on because for the cost of one mana you can take a creature and then have Zedruu give it away permanently (it won't be given back because Zedruu's ability overwrites that part of the Chamber's ability). At 4 mana total and the ability to continually do this each turn I think this is the most consistent and cheap way to steal stuff and give it away

Ajani, Caller of the Pride/Ajani Goldmane/Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants-Potential Little John? Quarterstaff weilding A-John-i is in line with your lifegain strategy and suitably strong for being your right hand man(cat)

Generally, I'd also say take a look at more tokening effects:

Elspeth Tirel/Elspeth, Knight-Errant-Another potential Maid Marian? I like Elspeth since she gives you tokens which you can give away, and she is can potentially win you the game if she sticks around. Livinia is comparatively not as useful in this deck (it shuts down Rakdos, Lord of Riots, but that is about it in our meta I think?)

Crested Sunmare-Gotta give Robin and Co. mounts and it doesn't get much better than a 5/5 indestructible horse

Griffin Aerie-Similar to Sunmare but maybe a little to fantasy for the theme, not sure how you feel

Last notes, I'd say some things to consider would be some of the fancier lands (shock/check lands) to make your colors easier to get, a little more enchant/artifact removal, and a board wipe or two because sometimes it all must go.

All in all, looking good!

BigKnockOut on Arcades' Walls with Feet

3 years ago

Well, nospamspam722 in terms of removals, I'd honestly recommend removing a few of the smaller creatures you've got, such as Arboreal Grazer (who actually isn't a defender and wouldn't benefit from Arcades), Wall of Wood, Wall of Vines, Consulate Skygate, Pride Guardian, and Portcullis Vine. I'd also recommend cutting down the number of lands from 40 to at most 38. This deck can tend to get mana flooded more often than mana screwed, so having a lower number of lands will be fine.

Nemesis on White Tiger Kingdom

4 years ago

If you're looking to make this decent in Modern you'll have to bring the cmc down a little bit. unfortunately, Raksha Golden Cub is too slow for modern, seeing as you won't be able to get its effect before turn 8 at the earliest. Here are my recommendations -

Cut:

Raksha Golden Cub - too expensive

Spirit of the Hearth - could be a sideboard card, still probably too expensive

Bond of Discipline - other cheaper options

Godsend - not useful without raksha

Ancestral Blade - not useful without raksha

Pride Guardian - Defender really goes against your plan here, and I feel like the only reason it's in the deck is because of the life gain

Cards to add:

Leonin Vanguard - gains life every turn for your pridemate, good if you have multiple creatures

Path to Exile - a modern removal staple

Brimaz is already in your maybe board, he's a monster

Sacred Cat - this coooould be an option, but it's pretty weak.

Leonin Arbiter - pairs nicely with path, slows many decks down.

Metallic Mimic - does this count or is this cheating?

Adaptive Automaton - same as above

austintayshus on Orzhov, Vizkopa, Obzedat: Death & Taxes

4 years ago

Love lifegain!

Ajani's Pridemate could help you add some power to your board.

Radiant Fountain is another lifegain land you could use.

I would also recommend adding some 1-drops to the deck. I know it doesn't seem like much but having something to do on each turn can make your deck much more powerful. For this I would recommend Soul Warden and Soul's Attendant and Ajani's Welcome and Children of Korlis and Genju of the Fields and Goldenglow Moth and Leonin Vanguard and Nip Gwyllion and Pride Guardian and Soulmender .

Hope this helps!

Coyotl on Arahbo's Band of Cats

5 years ago

Alms Collector Qasali Pridemage Brimaz, King of Oreskos Ajani's Pridemate Pride Guardian