[cEDH] Krenko Combo [[Primer]]

Commander / EDH mariowen

SCORE: 127 | 62 COMMENTS | 56909 VIEWS | IN 93 FOLDERS


Competitive EDH League —Feb. 16, 2019

Competitive EDH league at Alpha Games, with 30 players, went 2-1. Lost the last game to a Protean Hulk as used all my interaction leading up to the card being played.

KayneMarco says... #1

Consider Snow-Covered Mountains for your basic lands so when you bring out the Extraplanar Lens your opponents wont be able to take advantage of the lens.

January 1, 2019 10:57 a.m.

xaarvaxus says... #2

You could probably cut 2 mountains for Great Furnace and Darksteel Citadel for Goblin Welder swap targets. Both would also make Mox Opal more consistent once you get it.

I use Scroll Rack in my Aminatou deck and it performs well there but its a control deck that sits on cards so has more ammo to swap and dig deeper into the library. I suppose it could be good following a wheel effect or right off the draw but in general a Krenko deck dumps its hand quickly and that any benefit from Rack is probably pretty spiky. It'd either be another wheel or a much worse Seer's Lantern.

Have you tried Experimental Frenzy for additional card draw? I run it and Dark-Dweller Oracle and I've liked how they've worked. With the quick mana you run [I have not splurged for Mana Crypt and the like] I would think they'd perform well for your deck as well, probably a little better with the additional resources to fuel them.

Ogre Battledriver could add to the number of haste effects. I may have to include Fervor and/or Mass Hysteria in my own Krenko deck as no matter how many you have, it seems there are still times you can't buy one when you need it.

And not sure how you feel about the card but I've liked Hellrider as you don't even have to worry about if your attackers can all get through or having the combat fogged as they're just dead.

Overall I like the deck, I think I will be making some changes to my own version based on your list. Happy combo-ing!

January 6, 2019 11:57 a.m.

mariowen says... #3

KayneMarco thanks for your suggestion! I will definitely be upgrading to these in time - not quite ready to splash out just yet! My playgroup doesn’t have much red running around, so it is normally just me benefiting from the ramp that Extraplanar Lens provides.

January 6, 2019 4:41 p.m.

mariowen says... #4

xaarvaxus, thank you so much for your comment.

Experimental Frenzy is something I hadn’t even considered - I will be playgesting it for sure. I think it will take the place of Memory Jar just to keep the cmc of the deck down.

I will be putting the two lands Great Furnace and Darksteel Citadel when I can get my hands on a reasonable priced Mox Opal - I have my fingers crossed for a modern banning lol.

I like your reasoning on Scroll Rack, it would only be of benefit when I have a full hand, at which point I should have enough gas to be advancing the game.

Hellrider is a cool suggestion, but I think it would have suited more when it was a goblin tribal/attack deck. I like how this deck is solely focussed on the combo plan, even with jank like Thermopod for redundancy.

Ogre Battledriver is going in, I think probably in the place of Goblin Piledriver.

Some great suggestions, thanks mate!

January 6, 2019 5:01 p.m.

I like some of the stuff you’re doing but I feel like you’re partly combo, partly Aggro, and partly control, and over time it’ll make the deck inconsistent. If you’re strictly going combo, try trimming the fat off of the other themes to tighten up the deck.

Also, my Krenko is goblin focused but I’m sure it’ll spark some ideas. +1!

January 11, 2019 6:51 p.m.

mariowen says... #6

TheGeneralAdvisor, thanks for your comments, I really appreciate it! This deck was originally built as a tribal/aggro deck and as my playgroup became more competitive, the deck evolved with that meta. It is now a fast combo deck that has interaction if pushed to the mid-game.

Do you have any particular cards you would pull? I would be really interested in hearing your thoughts?

I’m pleased you found it useful!

January 13, 2019 12:58 p.m.

I think I would speed the deck up. You have a lot of control here, and if your meta needs it that’s fine, but cards like Stranglehold , Blood Moon and the like are all very slow. It’s basically skipping a turn to play them and hope that nobody deals with it, and they don’t actually advance you winning the game. Wheel of Fate is way too slow as well. As a personal opinion, I also find cards like Extraplanar Lens very clunky and vulnerable, and they rarely speed the game up faster than a Gauntlet of Might . Power is a fine substitute although I think it’s probably too slow for what you’re doing.

Sword of the Paruns is a slow combo piece that I probably wouldn’t run over the other options you’re already running. Goblin Bushwhacker , Goblin Ringleader , and Moggcatcher can be cut as well. You don’t have enough gobos unless you recruit them and it’s not worth a slot in the deck for that synergy. Finding another card draw would be much better. Bushwhacker isn’t necessary; you just have more efficient ways of winning. I think even Boggart Shenanigans could be cut as it’s somewhat redundant and slows the deck down.

If you find yourself going infinite pretty quick (which is the goal obviously) Apex of Power will get you there. It’s easy to cast (sometimes just with a ritual or hymn) and should finish the game for you. Aggravated Assault is pretty standard for Krenko combo as well.

You already have most of the cheap rocks aside from Grim Monolith , so I’d probably add that one. Also Final Fortune and Last Chance are essentially Time Walk for a deck that really just wants another turn to finish the game. Anger is a better haste enabler than Ogre Battledriver and you can add Cathartic Reunion to give you another discard outlet.

I think as a guideline for straight combo decks, a card should answer a few basic questions:

  1. Does this card help me win, and if so, how fast is it compared to the rest of the deck? (ramp, lands, tutors, card draw, turns)

  2. If this is a combo card, is it the most efficient one I can run? If it’s not, is it worth having the redundancy?

  3. If it’s not a combo card and it’s not helping me win faster, why is it in the deck? (Meta, utility, maybe some recovery)

I’m sure there’s something I missed but hopefully this is useful to you.

January 13, 2019 3:58 p.m.

mariowen says... #8

TheGeneralAdvisor thank you very much for your considerations, you have given me a lot of food for thought.

I agree with your view that Wheel of Fate probably doesn’t earn the place. The more tuned the deck has become, the more suspend has been situational (need to cast it in the first few turns otherwise it’s a dead card). This might be a good cut to try Apex of Power . My only reservation is ten mana is a significant investment as would normally be expecting to win (or have been knocked out) by then. Certainly worth trying though!

If I could afford a Gauntlet of Might I would definitely swap out Extraplanar Lens . I have lost count the number of times that it has ramped me to a win when the early game had been thwarted. I also plan to pick up a Grim Monolith just to tune/speed the deck up a bit.

Goblin Bushwhacker is always cast for its kicker cost as a 2-mana, single turn haste enabler to combo off. Goblin Ringleader is a holdover from when it was more tribal based deck, and your probably right it needs removing. Moggcatcher is there to tutor up Skirk Prospector or one of the haste enabling goblins. With this list’s lack of tutors, I would definitely think she earns the spot to stay.

I used to run Aggravated Assault , but took it out to lower the curve. Now that the deck has lots of ways to produce infinite mana, I think it may be worth testing again.

I have tried Anger but could never consistently get it in the bin and don’t have space to dedicate for it to work. Hopefully a more efficient haste enabler than Ogre Battledriver comes in time and I will drop it.

I love the idea of extra turns, it’s not something I have given any thought to. I have picked up both Final Fortune and Last Chance and will start playtesting!

Thank you so much man, your comment was awesome!

January 15, 2019 10:38 a.m.

SamsWrath says... #9

I know they're pet cards but, Extraplanar Lens and Gauntlet of Power are actually not very fast but rather, kind of clunky. I'd toss in Mox Opal and potentially more red ramp spells such as Lotus Petal , Simian Spirit Guide , Rite of Flame , Desperate Ritual , Pyretic Ritual and Seething Song .

Torch Courier is another good way to give Krenko haste and doubles as a body for Krenko if he doesn't need the haste.

Putting Krenko into play ASAP is the most important thing in this deck so you may want to consider these lands: Crystal Vein , City of Traitors , Dwarven Ruins and Sandstone Needle .

For all-around spell reduction Helm of Awakening is an excellent option!

If you add in more ramp I think you can reduce your total land count to 30-31 without issue.

January 25, 2019 3:19 a.m. Edited.

mariowen says... #10

SamsWrath thanks for your deck advice! Mox Opal is going in as soon as I have enough spare cash. At the moment it doesn’t benefit to remove Gauntlet of Power and Extraplanar Lens , but once I’ve included the artifact lands (for metalcraft) and some of the quick mana you have suggested, the benefits of those cards will be eroded sufficiently.

I will be keeping the ramp spells you suggest in mind. I am currently testing extra turn cards Last Chance and Final Fortune , and once I have decided if to keep them I will move on to those. What’s your thoughts on Treasonous Ogre to pay life for ramp?

I couldn’t warrant City of Traitors but Dwarven Ruins and Sandstone Needle are going in for sure. Crystal Vein I am going to pass on as I have never been left wanting more colourless as the deck has numerous ways of producing it.

Helm of Awakening would not work in my meta, the benefits given to the other players make it far too risky. Given this is a mono-coloured deck Ruby Medallion does the trick.

Torch Courier doesn’t give this deck enough benefit to earn a slot. I would typically play the haste card when I am all set to win. As this is targeted haste, the goblin army can’t swing out, requiring more pieces to win. Also, it doesn’t synergise with sacking Krenko back to the command zone and recasting with infinite mana.

Some great suggestions dude, thank you!

January 26, 2019 2:45 p.m.

XVicarious says... #11

Nice to see another serious Krenko player here. Mine (that is currently being rebuilt) is Krenko 2.0.
Treasonous Ogre is a serious card. I don't know if your deck supports it, but a couple of years ago I was doing some testing and serious combo searching and found a magical Christmas land turn 1 win utilizing it. I didn't end up including it because I was pretty hell-bent on the "tribal" thing. But, I've since made some concessions so maybe I'll try it out again.

February 3, 2019 7:27 p.m.

mariowen says... #12

XVicarious he’s in there dude! I picked up a foil one when they were a few bucks. There is a turn 1 win that I describe in the combo section, but I am yet to pull it off (I set it up to show others when they don’t believe it’s possible).

I have given your deck an upvote. I am currently playtesting extra turn cards Last Chance and Final Fortune and am liking the results so far - with Treasonous Ogre , turns 2-3 wins become possible.

February 4, 2019 2:25 a.m.