Army of One

Commander / EDH Competitive GWU (Bant) Midrange Multiplayer Stoneblade

Hon3yBadg3r

Creature (29)

• 1x Aven Mindcensor
• 1x Baneslayer Angel
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Coiling Oracle
• 1x Consecrated Sphinx
• 1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Gaddock Teeg
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
• 1x Looter il-Kor
• 1x Noble Hierarch
• 1x Oakhame Adversary
• 1x Oracle of Mul Daya
• 1x Phyrexian Metamorph
• 1x Qasali Pridemage
• 1x Restoration Angel
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Scavenging Ooze
• 1x Sigarda, Host of Herons
• 1x Snapcaster Mage
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Stoneforge Mystic
• 1x Stonehewer Giant
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
• 1x Tireless Tracker
• 1x Vendilion Clique
• 1x Venser, Shaper Savant

Enchantment (3)

• 1x Detention Sphere
• 1x Finest Hour
• 1x Sylvan Library

Land (36)

• 1x Alchemist's Refuge
• 1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 5x Forest
• 1x Glacial Fortress
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Hinterland Harbor
• 1x Horizon Canopy
• 7x Island
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 6x Plains
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Wasteland
• 1x Windswept Heath

Artifact (11)

• 1x Batterskull
• 1x Coalition Relic
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Relic of Progenitus
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine
• 1x Sword of Fire and Ice
• 1x Sword of Light and Shadow
• 1x Umezawa's Jitte

Commander (1)

Instant (14)

• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Dovin's Veto
• 1x Eladamri's Call
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Krosan Grip
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Nature's Claim
• 1x Negate
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Voidslime

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Council's Judgment
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Supreme Verdict
• 1x Time Warp

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Oko, Thief of Crowns *f-pre*

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Maybeboard

Land (7)

• 1x Academy Ruins
• 1x Adarkar Wastes
• 1x Brushland
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Yavimaya Coast

Creature (5)

• 1x Ethersworn Canonist
• 1x Looter il-Kor
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Oakhame Adversary
• 1x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Steelshaper's Gift

Instant (3)

• 1x Flusterstorm
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Veil of Summer

Artifact (2)

• 1x Shadowspear
• 1x Sword of Truth and Justice

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The Deck Show

Is this deck for you? Show

- Do you like playing fair magic?

• Do you like cheap efficient Interaction?

• Do you like these symbolW?

• Do you like winning in the combat step?

• Do you like grinding out wins?

• Are you a big fan of commander damage?

• Do you wish that "hatebear" was a creature type?

If you answered yes to any of these I would ask you to consider taking bant stoneblade for a spin because this deck just might be for you.

Should you steer clear? Show

- Are your 2 favorite colors?

• Do you want to make a lot of mana and play big spells?

• Do you want to be the master of the stack?

• Does the thought of winning with combat damage make you sick?

• Do you hate creature based strategies?

• Do you want to play resilient combos?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I'm sorry but this deck just isn't for you.

Why Rafiq? Show

Back during the early 2010's standard cycle I played a deck called "Mythic Conscription" made popular by Josh Utter-Leyton. The deck played the combo of Sovereigns of Lost Alara + Eldrazi Conscription. The deck played the usual array of GWU interaction Path to Exile, Spell Pierce, Bant Charm etc. That's where my love of bant was solidified. When I built this deck, originally it was just so I could play Mythic Conscription in EDH, and for that I needed a General. Enter Rafiq of the Many, an unassuming 3/3 that could give itself +1/+1 and double strike. While 8 damage is nothing to sneeze at, when paired with Eldrazi Conscription plus Sovereign of lost alara's exalted trigger, Rafiq was a 15/15 with Double Strike, Trample, an Annihilator 2. After the first few times I one shotted my opponents I was hooked on Rafiq

What does the deck do? Show

At it's heart, this is a stoneblade tempo deck. What that means is that it uses equipment such as Umezawa's Jitte & Sword of Fire and Ice, and cheap efficient interaction such as Swords to Plowshares, Counterspell, & Nature's Claim to accrue advantage over our opponents.

Understanding Tempo Show

- We want to attack our opponents while disrupting their gameplan for long enough to win.

• We play low cost Threats and use permission and removal to get through for the victory

• While the nature of Commander gives us the ability to grind to some extent, we generally want to close games out as quickly as possible.

• Ultimately we are trying to spend less mana to disrupt our opponents than our opponents are spending to deploy their threats to generate advantage on mana spent.

-Example: Opponent spends to cast Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon & an additional to give him haste. Before combat we cast Swords to Plowshares targeting the blight dragon. With nothing else our opponent passes the turn. We've just accrued mana worth of value and essentially cast Time Walk for one .

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Changes Show

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Possible Underperformers Show

All of the cards I'm monitoring the performance of.

Artifacts:

• Swiftfoot Boots or Lightning Greaves

• Coalition Relic

Creatures:

• Restoration Angel

• Coiling Oracle

• Lavinia, Azorius Renegade

• Baneslayer Angel

Instants:

• Voidslime

• Beast Within

Sorceries:

• Austere Command

• Time Warp

• Kodama's Reach

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Chopping Block Show

All of the cards I'm currently thinking of replacing.

Creatures:

• Venser, Shaper Savant

Instants:

• Cryptic Command

Sorceries:

• Wargate

Lands:

• Boseiju, Who Shelters All

• Alchemist's Refuge

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On Deck Show

All of the cards I think would make a nice addition.

Artifacts:

• Shadowspear
• Sword of Truth and Justice

Creatures:

• Ethersworn Canonist
• Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
• Looter il-Kor
• Mother of Runes
• Oakhame Adversary

Instants:

• Flusterstorm
• Swan Song

• Veil of SummerSorceries:

• Steelshaper's Gift

Lands:

• Academy Ruins
• Adarkar Wastes
• Brushland
• City of Brass
• Mana Confluence
• Rogue's Passage
• Yavimaya Coast

Date added	10 years
Last updated	4 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	28 - 0 Mythic Rares 36 - 0 Rares 10 - 0 Uncommons 8 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.91
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Clue, Elk 3/3 G, Food, Phyrexian Germ 0/0 B
Folders	My Commanders, Commander, EDH Ideas, Rafiq References, EDH, Rafiq of the Many, favorites