Divine Machinations (Cleric Tribal)

Commander / EDH Gadianten

SCORE: 164 | 56 COMMENTS | 33093 VIEWS | IN 97 FOLDERS


Archangel of Thune the Archangel of Beatdown —Aug. 16, 2018

I finally got an Archangel of Thune and taking Managem advice I have added her and it has fit theme beautifully... and been absolutely brutal and one of the best additions to the deck recently. I am currently testing out some anti library tech in Bitter Ordeal and Altar of Dementia and so far Bitter Ordeal has been amusing but needs further testing. I am also looking to get an Arena Rector and if I do I will have to add more Planeswalkers to the deck, shaking the list up quite a bit.

As always feedback is appreciated.

Gadianten says... #1

Stream lined the combo in the deck and found Phyrexian Altar was not nesscary, I used the space to add Caged Sun back in to help with long term mana production.

While I enjoy the idea of the Hedron-Field Purists and Pestilence I do not feel I have the redundancy or sheer volume of tutors to make it happen effectively and it some what nonbos with most of my creatures being low toughness. With that in mind I added Soul's Attendant and Soul Warden to get back closer to the decks first love, life gain and boost the creature count up.

April 25, 2017 4:21 p.m.

Gadianten says... #2

I am focusing the deck further on life gain with the hope of getting Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim online sooner with that in mind I will be making the following changes:

Out: Beacon of Destiny and High Priest of Penance

in: Arashin Cleric and Temple Acolyte

While both these choices are generally underwhelming on there own, they offer 3 life for or 6 life for if I sacrifice them. They also serve as good early blockers helping keep my life total up. I think they synergize better with Ayli overall with their high toughness to cost and is more effective life gain with Lifeline as well.

April 28, 2017 3:05 a.m.

Gadianten says... #3

I am trying to raise the creature count of the deck while maintaining some of the reanimation functionality. I have added Doomed Necromancer back in since he fits in with cleric tribal, synergizes with Angel of Glory's Rise as well and performs a similar role to Corpse Dance.

Out: Corpse Dance

In: Doomed Necromancer

April 28, 2017 5:17 p.m.

Gadianten says... #4

I adjusted the tutors in the deck to better synergize with it, namely attaching bodies to the tutors or lowering their costs. I am hoping to get more value out of them with Lifeline, Volrath's Stronghold and Doomed Necromancer.

Out: Increasing Ambition, Diabolic Revelation and Behold the Beyond

In: Rune-Scarred Demon, Sidisi, Undead Vizier and Diabolic Intent

April 29, 2017 1:27 a.m.

Gadianten says... #5

Out: Cabal Ritual, Dark Ritual, Doomed Necromancer, Ancestor's Prophet, Mentor of the Meek, Caged Sun and Boseiju, Who Shelters All

In: Ravos, Soultender, Academy Rector, Phyrexian Arena, Edgewalker, Tymna the Weaver, Caves of Koilos, and True Conviction,

I am experimenting in reducing mana costs in creatures abilitie as the deck tends to be mana hungry. Also, I have tried to shift closer to having it as cleric heavy as possible. True Conviction was put in as a secondary target for Academy Rector and general bad news for opponents. I will also be looking to reduce the amount of colorless in the decks lands to help speed it up.

April 29, 2017 3:12 a.m.

Gadianten says... #6

In: Dusk / Dawn, Liliana, Heretical Healer  Flip, Anointed Procession, High Priest of Penance, Angelic Accord, Luminarch Ascension, Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, Arashin Cleric and Temple Acolyte

Out: True Conviction, Reliquary Monk, Devout Chaplain, Test of Endurance, Austere Command, Ancestor's Prophet, Alhammarret's Archive, Beacon of Immortality, Heliod's Pilgrim and Gift of Immortality

Got rid of Test of Endurance and Beacon of Immortality since my current combo tends to make it redundant. Ancestor's Prophet always seemed to disappoint since by the time I could activate him I had either won or lost.Alhammarret's Archive seemed like a win more kind of card in the deck and I was unable to always get value out of it. Devout Chaplain and Reliquary Monk got seldom if any use. Gift of immortality tended to be difficult to set up quickly enough to matter. I am not sure about Austere Command but wanted to test Dawn/Dusk.

I have attempted to increase the decks token generating theme and increase gain life ETB's to hopefully improve pre combo game play. I have also added more spot removal as I face Kalia often.

May 2, 2017 4:02 a.m.

Gadianten says... #7

May 3, 2017 1:36 a.m.

Gadianten says... #8

In: Wrath of God, Day of Judgment, Dictate of Erebos, Dictate of Heliod, Dark Supplicant and Scion of Darkness

Out: Utter End, Luminarch Ascension, Anointed Procession, Temple Acolyte, Arashin Cleric and Diabolic Intent

I was found I generally lacked the token creation ability to make Anointed Procession consistent. I also wanted to boost my board wipe count to deal opponents getting out of hand and since most of the issues in my meta are creature based I felt it was okay to cut utter end for more board wipes. I switched out the two clerics for Dark Acolyte and Scion of Darkness in hopes of increasing combat effectiveness and fun.

May 4, 2017 1:48 a.m.

NV_1980 says... #9

Fun; I've never seen a Cleric-tribal before. Have you not included Eight-and-a-Half-Tails because her ability is relatively expensive (compared to the ability of say Mother of Runes? And no Kambal, Consul of Allocation in a cleric deck? He's sooo strong! Frontline Medic could fit into this deck as well, especially since Ravos can return it to your hand after you've countered a spell with it.

June 14, 2017 5:05 a.m.

Gadianten says... #10

Thank you for the input NV_1980 for your input. Your observation about Eight-and-a-Half-Tails cost is accurate and his casting cost can be a hamper at times as I want to cast my creatures rapidly, although I have been tempted to add him for spot removal denial and ensuring evasion of blockers for end game plays and card draw using my commander. Previously, if I am honest his lack of the human sub type has generally kept him out of the deck but I guess all I really need are the combo pieces to be human so I will see if I can find a spot for him.

Frontline Medic has been in and out of the deck several times; it was cut last time for lower CMC clerics to help speed up the deck for powering up the main combo, oddly enough I have found that X spells are not what get you in my meta or even generally inconvenience you. I have toyed with putting him back in and if I do I will probably replace one of the more expensive token generators with him.

There is only one reason Kambal, Consul of Allocation has not found a spot in the deck and that is his lack of the cleric sub type. It makes me very sad that some of the best Orzhov creatures are not clerics as he would be primed to be a star in the deck otherwise; as it stands he is not a cleric and does not support the main combo or interact with the tribe like most of my non cleric creatures do.

Thank you again for the input and suggestions.

June 14, 2017 5:05 p.m.

Enral says... #11

Very cool deck +1 from me

June 25, 2017 11:17 p.m.

PrimalSurge says... #12

I know it's not a cleric and all, but Ranger of Eos seems really good in this deck.

June 26, 2017 6:48 a.m.

Gadianten says... #13

PrimalSurge thank you for the observation about Ranger of Eos; I am not sure if I will stick him in due to trying to stay close to a tribal theme but he does seem pretty good at fetching toolbox clerics. However, the more I think about the more the idea seems to grow on me; I may have to pick one up and revisit that in the future as it seems pretty interesting and powerful. If you have any other ideas I would be happy to hear them.

June 29, 2017 8:57 p.m.

PrimalSurge says... #14

If you are going to add Ranger of Eos, you might want to add Nova Cleric for more toolbox options if your meta demands it and Proclamation of Rebirth because you will have your 1 drops out more often which might make it less situational.

The fact that Restoration Gearsmith returns artifacts to your hand doesn't seem all that relevant to me, so you could maybe look into Entomber Exarch as an on-tribe replacement for that one.

June 30, 2017 4:56 p.m.

Gadianten says... #15

Welcome back PrimalSurge, I have Restoration Gearsmith in there to grab Elixir of Immortality to avoid getting decked although if I were to remove her I would probably replace her with Entomber Exarch. I am currently looking to put Nova Cleric back in but I am not sure what to cut, at the time I had cut her she was among the most expendable as my meta is kinda light on enchantments. I also want to add Strionic Resonator but again I am deciding cuts. Most of the one drops are also there to serve as early attackers to draw cards with Tymna the Weaver and sacrificial fodder for Dread Return flashback cost but also have utility for later in the game.

July 1, 2017 12:03 a.m.

Ravos is such a weird card...he is extremely powerful, but still i forget about that all the time.

You should try Emeria, The Sky Ruin. Could be really fun in here.

July 16, 2017 2:41 a.m.

Gadianten says... #17

Sorry for the late comment on your feedback seshiro_of_the_orochi, my work tends to keep me away from reliable internet and a computer for days at a time. I had thought about using Emeria, The Sky Ruin and it was in one of my earliest drafts of a cleric tribal deck but I found it to hard to turn it on even when I had 17 or more plains in the deck, now its especially hard with only a paltry 10 plains run currently. If they ever print a white version of Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth I would add it in, as it currently stands its almost always a come into play tapped mono color land. I like the card but just have a hard time making it work in non mono white decks. Thank you for the comment and if you have any other ideas on improving the deck please let me know.

July 18, 2017 3:56 a.m.

I understand that.

How about Celestial Gatekeeper then? It's a terribly less powerful reveillark for birds and clerics only...there is no other limitation on what to reanimate though.

July 18, 2017 4:21 a.m.

Gadianten says... #19

While I like Celestial Gatekeeper the part where it exiles itself is pretty inconvenient especially when I am geared to be able to reoccur creatures with Ravos, Soultender, the irony is he would have a place if he was less tribal and could target Angel of Glory's Rise as she is really one of the only targets worth a one shot reanimation effect. If I were running Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim as the commander I think I would add it as he makes good sacrificial fodder. Thank you for the suggestions and please keep them coming.

July 19, 2017 3:48 p.m.

Dnonymous says... #20

Looks good! It's not exactly on theme but I am running Mentor of the Meek in my cleric tribal deck, he is a great source of card draw and works well with all the cheap low power clerics!

August 9, 2017 3:20 p.m.

Gadianten says... #21

Thank you,

Mentor of the Meek was in here in earlier versions of the deck, I have found that my commander USUALLY supplies my card draw needs sufficiently that I then used his slot to add more clerics to the deck, however, he was always nice when allowed to live.

August 9, 2017 10:31 p.m.

Managem says... #22

Must be a mere coincidence, I was thinking last night of making a partnered EDH deck, and thought Ravos, Soultender and Tymna the Weaver immediately, the access to lifegain, removal, and reanimate between white and black is superb. It would fare well against a lot aside from Aunt Ani aka Animar, Soul of Elements being pro black and white

I have to say I'm impressed with what I just saw in this deck, looks like a blast to pilot. If I may make potential suggestions, or future upgrades it would be the following;

Cavern of Souls choosing cleric obviously

Land Tax This can easily help filter/thin out your deck, while providing potential ramp, not that you necessarily need it much, but still.

Rotlung Reanimator despite the fact you have an Angel that wipes zombs. Rotlung could net you bodies for board presence which can help cushion against attacks, or play offensively if need be...

High Priest of Penance removal

Mikaeus, the Lunarch pumps your clerics well enough

Bishop of Rebirth

Sanctum Prelate Stellar control, if it dies you can always play it anew and choose new numbers with Ravos

True Conviction definitely high cmc but can turn tides easily!

Auriok Champion

Archangel of Thune

Debt to the Deathless

Righteous Confluence

Custodi Soulbinders

Felidar Sovereign not a cleric and somewhat high cmc but another alt win con similar to Test of Endurance

Athreos, God of Passage not a cleric but great reanimator and swinger if online.

Just some examples, there are many variations that can be made of this deck. Especially zombie or spirit token generation that can stabilize the board and propel Tymna the Weaver, anything that has ETB effects are great for Ravos such as

Ashen Rider

Sin Collector

Hope this long list of good junk may help you!

December 20, 2017 8:21 a.m.

Managem says... #23

I may have gotten lost/confused when reading the infinite combo. So let me try to reiterate - Cast Morality shift, then you flashback Dread Return it get's exiled, but bringing back the Angel, which brings all your humans to the board. Then you target angel with fiend hunter, then use priest of gix's mana to sac. fiend hunter and itself unto cabal archon. With everything on the stack, since you sac'd fiend hunter, Angel comes back, bringing back fiend hunter and priest of gix along with it anew - allowing you to rinse and repeat at this point unless someone had a dismantling response... Sick combo dude!

December 20, 2017 9:06 a.m.

Gadianten says... #24

Hey Managem thanks for comment, you seem to have the combo down. An amusing thing to note is that if Grand Abolisher is in play then there is really nothing anyone can do to stop it.

I have managed to shut down Saskia the Unyielding and friends with Battletide Alchemist, Master Apothecary and a four other clerics... he was not amused. He was much less amused when Mother of Runes ran interference against spot removal.

December 21, 2017 2:40 a.m.

Managem says... #25

I actually overlooked Grand Abolisher as we were discussing the combo going off. That makes him so OP in this type of combo. So the real threats that the deck poses is seeing Morality Shift and Dread Return resolve. It seems there are a lot of combo decks I've been coming across lately, on here and my local meta. I enjoy combo decks, but that's why I intend in putting Jester's Cap in nearly every EDH deck I run. It seems people have forgotten about it tbh.

That's awesome shutting down Saskia, I bet they were slightly annoyed - Mother of Runes is such a powerful one drop. Being able to protect a creature or herself is ridiculous. Great card for making your opps. expend their singleton removal. It doesn't protect against board wipes tho. because things aren't "specifically targeted" by some board wipes. This deck is expensive but man it looks fun!

December 21, 2017 6:03 p.m.