Izoni Elves
So many people want to build Izoni as an engine - and rightfully so. She's a great payoff with an attached sac outlet that lets you draw cards! Taking the approach of a well rounded, multi-angled EDH deck (as well as coming back to my roots as the first mtg deck I ever built BG Elves 2010), I decided to make the main strategy to play a lot of creatures with fast mana and fill the board. The biggest issue with mass creature decks in commander though is mass removal. Board wipes are never something you want to see playing a creature deck, as it sets you back so far that it's hard to recover. With Izoni, recovery is much easier, as all the creatures that have now died come back as 1/1 Insects. Instead of focusing on a token based sac deck (I have Breya, Ghave, and Edgar already) or a dredge deck (Karador/Sidisi), I wanted to do something different - but still something that represented Green and Black in a unique way.
Anyone playing magic for a while - or at least who has played EDH consistently for a year or so - knows Paradox Engine is absolutely broken. I've been thinking of interesting ways to play the card always wanting a "Tim style" deck. I've tried forcing Samut, Arcum, Derevi, and even 4 color combinations trying to find the right spot for my single copy of paradox engine - and now I finally have found it.
The goal has 5 main ways to win. The main strategy to play your whole deck via genesis wave, turn things sideways, and smash the faces off your friends by turning puny little elves into what the eldrazi wish they could be. Second is to play a longer game - with board wipes and disruption some of your key pieces aren't available to you. Being able to go wide with Izoni. Beastmaster Ascension is still a very effective way to win. So is Throne of the God Pharaoh. And along with the sac plan of our new friend - Poison-Tip Archer - draining each opponent for 1 whenever a creature dies closes the game real quick and says "Feel free to Wrath again." (NOTE; Mortarpod has also been tested and works well but I've decided to cut it - add it back in for the LOLs. You can also play Jarad for more redundancy if that's the route you want to go). Every creature deck needs a way to beat Fog - Constant Mists, Angus Mackenzie, Spore Frog, or Spike Weaver. Sometimes it's best to have multiples. Fourth is a way to get around infinite lifegain. I have intentionally not put an infinite combo in this deck (although you can pretty much play as if you had infinite mana - NOTE: if you want to go infinite just add Temur Sabertooth), but for those who do like to gain infinite life, here's a way around it - Shaman of the Forgotten Ways. If you want an instant win, just play an In Garruk's Wake before and congrats, you win... And that brings us to #5 - the fun way - the win hard way - the way that should not even be in this deck but is because it's too good of a story not to tell. That's right - Tendrils of Agony. Legacy and Vintage TES staple. But this time no blue - no red - just green - GREEN CREATURES. Play your elves, get mana dorks, find a paradox engine, draw a bunch of cards, and attempt to storm off via Paradox Engine, Thousand Year Elixir, and Cadaverous Bloom. You also generate a ton of value - making elves, drawing cards, pumping creatures, killing opponents creatures, and creating a ton of mana to sink into an Ezuri or a lethal Damnable Pact. But the most fun you can have is playing a Tendrils of Agony with a storm count near 50 and take out some of your buddies. With this gameplan, you get to do all the things listed above - play your deck, pump creatures, sac creatures, reduce opponents lifetotals to nothing, AND tell cool stories.
The only downside to this deck is having to keep track of your floating mana, creature power, tokens generated, decking yourself, and storm count. It's also pretty weak to disruption - but that's what makes it fun. You have all the tools you need to play whatever kind of game you need to in order to get the job done. The goal of this deck isn't to be the most powerful version possible - however it is a unique take on a Commander that is normally associated with graveyard synergies and not looked at as a fantastic elf general that fights through removal and keeps you in the game.
This deck also doesn't have to be expensive! While it's easy to want a Craterhoof, Gaea's Cradle, Concordant Crossroads, and 0 mana rocks - you don't have to have them. You don't have to play tutors. This deck can be as casual or competitive as you want to make it - and that's the beauty of EDH. Play what you can - play what makes you happy - play on the power level of your friends - and HAVE A GOOD TIME. A lot of us don't get to play magic as much as we'd like - so make the most out of every game and play what puts a smile on your face. If this one does - sleeve it up! It's been a really fun approach for me in deck building - hope you give it a try!
elfstorm
Mark
