Budget Sram Voltron

Commander / EDH* Jank Voltron

SpelllingChamp

Enchantment (32)

• 1x Angelic Gift
• 1x Angelic Renewal
• 1x Armored Ascension
• 1x Battle Mastery
• 1x Cartouche of Solidarity
• 1x Cho-Manno's Blessing
• 1x Conviction
• 1x Darksteel Mutation
• 1x Eland Umbra
• 1x Ethereal Armor
• 1x Felidar Umbra
• 1x Flickering Ward
• 1x Hyena Umbra
• 1x Karmic Justice
• 1x Mask of Law and Grace
• 1x Mortal Obstinacy
• 1x Myth Realized
• 1x Pentarch Ward
• 1x Prison Term
• 1x Sage's Reverie
• 1x Shielded by Faith
• 1x Sigarda's Aid
• 1x Sigil of the Empty Throne
• 1x Soul Tithe
• 1x Spectra Ward
• 1x Spectral Grasp
• 1x Sphere of Safety
• 1x Spirit Link
• 1x Spirit Loop
• 1x Spirit Mantle
• 1x Unquestioned Authority
• 1x Ward of Lights

Artifact (22)

• 1x Accorder's Shield
• 1x Bone Saw
• 1x Cathar's Shield
• 1x Cultivator's Caravan
• 1x Darksteel Ingot
• 1x Everflowing Chalice
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Flayer Husk
• 1x Helm of the Gods
• 1x Inquisitor's Flail
• 1x Livewire Lash
• 1x Loxodon Warhammer
• 1x Marble Diamond
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Paradise Mantle
• 1x Pearl Medallion
• 1x Spidersilk Net
• 1x Strata Scythe
• 1x Surveyor's Scope
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Worn Powerstone

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Open the Vaults
• 1x Phyrexian Rebirth
• 1x Retether
• 1x Tragic Arrogance
• 1x Winds of Rath

Commander (1)

Land (31)

• 1x Ghost Quarter
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 26x Plains
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Secluded Steppe
• 1x Temple of the False God

Instant (5)

• 1x Comeuppance
• 1x Emerge Unscathed
• 1x Rebuff the Wicked
• 1x Reverent Mantra
• 1x Scour from Existence

Creature (4)

• 1x Eidolon of Countless Battles
• 1x Fabled Hero
• 1x Knight of the White Orchid
• 1x Kor Spiritdancer

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Sideboard

Enchantment (4)

• 1x Empyrial Armor
• 1x Lifelink
• 1x Shield of Duty and Reason
• 1x Vow of Duty

Artifact (3)

• 1x Hedron Archive
• 1x Mask of Memory
• 1x Sigil of Distinction

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Maybeboard

Artifact (7)

• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1x Caged Sun
• 1x Extraplanar Lens
• 1x Hammer of Nazahn
• 1x Inspiring Statuary
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine

Land (3)

• 1x Command Beacon
• 1x Serra's Sanctum
• 1x Strip Mine

Sorcery (2)

• 1x Open the Armory
• 1x Steelshaper's Gift

Instant (2)

• 1x Orim's Chant
• 1x Teferi's Protection

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Angelic Destiny

Creature (1)

• 1x Heliod's Pilgrim

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Reasons to play Sram:

• Plays a lot of unusual cards that you don't see in EDH, e.g. Auras.

• Budget friendly because Auras are bad in every deck except Bogles.

• Commander damage makes EDH games end.

• Fairly consistent due to Sram being a card draw engine.

• Powerful.

Drawbacks to Sram:

• The deck is all-in on the commander

• Voltron wincon is somewhat non-interactive. The deck has multiple ways of giving Sram protection against most things as well as unblockable.

• Few ways of policing a table against degenerate infinite combos.

The aura-centric Voltron build of Sram happens to be very powerful for a budget deck. Auras give Sram protection against most things, unblockable, and enough power to take out opponents in 1 or 2 swings. Sram's card draw allows you to repeatedly re-assemble Sram into a killing machine, making the deck reasonably resilient against disruption.

This take on Sram leans towards the casual side, so I run less powerful cards like Myth Realized (Sphere of Safety, Livewire Lash, etc.) so that Sram has more angles. Those strategies aren't great compared to killing opponents via commander damage. This build's power level is still a little high for my playgroup; the deck is around the "75%" deck in terms of power level. Aetherflux Reservoir can be added for additional jankiness.

Piloting the deck

Your main win condition is making Sram big and unblockable to kill off players one by one. That's straightforward.

The somewhat tricky part is making sure that Sram doesn't die repeatedly. If he does, you won't have access to your commander and the deck does nothing. Where possible, leave mana open to protect Sram. There may be situations where it is correct not to cast Sram so that he avoids the next board wipe. Flayer Husk and other creatures in the deck (e.g. Cultivator's Caravan) can protect against Diabolic Edict effects.

Budget cuts- cards to cut first

The super budget version can be found here: Super budget Sram Voltron

Sword of the Animist

Prison Term - monowhite has other good answers like Unexpectedly Absent, Oust, etc. etc.

Shielded by Faith - nice to have but not a must-have. Indestructibility costs 1 more.

Karmic Justice

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

Substitutions and non-budget additions

• One of Voltron's weaknesses is lands like Kor Haven. Instead of using Scour from Existence , you can run cards like Strip Mine and Tectonic Edge.

• Command Beacon - not being able to pay the commander tax is how you lose games with Sram.

• Add in tutors like Open the Armory, Heliod's Pilgrim, Steelshaper's Gift, etc. I personally don't play with tutors in this deck because it's less shuffling, leads to more variety, and lowers the power level. Flickering Ward is one of the strongest cards to tutor for- card draw, evasion, and some protection all in one card.

• Add in Sol Ring for more explosive starts. The card is overpowered.

These cards aren't that good

Umbra Mystic: Unlike a totem armor like Hyena Umbra, she doesn't draw a card and costs more. She's also vulnerable to board wipes and spot removal.

Vehicles: They are slow and durdle-ey. Cultivator's Caravan is worth running though.

Date added	6 years
Last updated	6 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	27 - 1 Rares 27 - 3 Uncommons 20 - 3 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.38
Tokens	Angel 4/4 W, Phyrexian Germ 0/0 B, Horror */* C, Warrior 1/1 W w/ Vigilance
Folders	Possible EDH decks, Voltron