Judgment Day: Avacyn the Purifier EDH [PRIMER]

Commander / EDH Daedalus19876

SCORE: 808 | 602 COMMENTS | 97475 VIEWS | IN 304 FOLDERS


Revisions and Changes —April 14, 2016

So, this deck has been performing wonderfully recently. It is powerful in both of its modes, and often takes people by surprise: it plays so smoothly and aggressively. Also, several of the people in my playgroups have tried to make their own variations on Avacyn decks since seeing mine, but none have had much success.

I have decided to keep this page up-to-date with what is currently in the deck, rather than what the final form of the deck will look like. In particular, the Academy Rector/Eldrazi Conscription combo will return to the deck as soon as I can dredge up the money to acquire the cards.

readerrw07 says... #1

Sun's champion is a decent option for making tokens to sac to flip Avacyn. Thats why I kinda reccomend the Flip-Blink strategy, since you can build an army, sac one to something like Skullclamp, then blink Avacyn back to her Archangel side and make your army indestructible. Just food for thought

March 27, 2016 midnight

Daedalus19876 says... #2

readerrw07: I see your point, and you're correct that Elspeth is a good choice for a certain build with this commander. However, I decided to build this deck in a different way (being willing to kill my own creatures, rather than trying to prevent Avacyn from flipping in the first place), and for that strategy, I don't think that Elspeth is extremely helpful.

I understand my deck description has not entirely been clear on this point, so I'm in the process of updating it now :)

March 27, 2016 2:04 p.m.

hannibal6 says... #3

I like the Eldrazi Conscription, also Wear / Tear is a nice versatile card to interact with your opponents, also Frontline Medic is a good way to preotect all your creatures before wiping the board

March 27, 2016 8:16 p.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #4

hannibal6: Wear / Tear is a good idea, especially since I can cast it off of Sunforger (can I cast both sides?). I'll get an Eldrazi Conscription when I can find one; I have convinced myself it's good as well. However, Frontline Medic only allows me to protect them after combat, while my commander transforms during upkeep, so I'll have to pass on that one :(

March 27, 2016 8:48 p.m.

iBleedPunk says... #5

I have a question about your Sunforger. Is it Mained just for the +4/+0 buff or do you actually get to consistently utilize its ability to freely cast any or Instant in your deck with CMC 4 or less?

March 28, 2016 8:47 p.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #6

Pokemaster325: The +4/+0 is really nice, but it definitely gets used when I have nothing better to do with my mana. It can actually hit every instant in my deck, but Overblaze and Boros Charm are especially common (the former to double the transformation damage, and the latter to protect my stuff against a board wipe). Opponents will often cast a Day of Judgment and forget I can use Sunforger to tutor for an answer :D

Any other questions? I love to talk about my deck construction lol.

March 28, 2016 8:53 p.m.

iBleedPunk says... #7

Great! I see some folks use Sunforger for just the buff (which is totally fine, +4/+0 is crazy good) and it confuses me at times. Since you actually use the Sunforger might I suggest Brave the Elements for endgaming and maybe Tempest of Light for play against heavy enchantment decks?

March 28, 2016 9:09 p.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #8

Pokemaster325: Good suggestions! I slightly prefer Bathe in Light over Brave the Elements, though, because often Avacyn is red instead of white. For now, my meta doesn't have too many enchantments, but I'll keep Tempest of Light in mind. Do you have any ideas for good instants to deal with artifacts, though?

March 28, 2016 9:18 p.m.

iBleedPunk says... #9

Instants in / for Artifact hate is rare, but in my Aurelia, the Warleader EDH I use Isochron Scepter + Smash to Smithereens to get rid of Artifacts. Vandalblast is a thing but the Overload is above 4 CMC hence my not suggesting it yet and Smash to Smithereens gives the extra "Bolt" damage so its my go to card

March 28, 2016 9:31 p.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #10

Pokemaster325: Return to Dust and Into the Core also do work (though they cannot be Isochroned). Also, can Sunforger cast something for its overload cost? I didn't think it could...

March 28, 2016 9:40 p.m.

iBleedPunk says... #11

The card reads

Mana cost: R

Type: Sorcery

Card text: Destroy target artifact you don't control.

Overload 4R (You may cast this spell for its overload cost. If you do, change its text by replacing all instances of "target" with "each.")

I assumed its possible as the reminder for Overload says "you may cast" instead of "as an additional cost to cast" but I may be wrong :)

March 28, 2016 9:51 p.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #12

I should probably go ask a judge...I'll do that tomorrow, when I test this deck for the first time.

March 28, 2016 9:53 p.m.

iBleedPunk says... #13

Awesome. Let me know as well so im not playing Overload wrong! Haha

March 28, 2016 10:12 p.m.

jwe94 says... #14

Have you considered blink effects to reuse Avacyn like Cloudshift, Otherworldly Journey, and Flicker

March 28, 2016 10:29 p.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #15

jwe94: I have considered them, yes. Of those three, Cloudshift is the one I would most likely play (along with Eldrazi Displacer), but I cut them because they reset summoning sickness and, more importantly, strip all of the equipment off of her. If there were a card that transformed her without exiling her, it would be amazing :/

March 28, 2016 10:37 p.m.

readerrw07 says... #16

What you'll want is Flickerform, which is repeatable, or Eldrazi Displacer aka Deadeye Navigator with tentacles. Sadly there isnt a way to keep the equipments on her (that I know of) but these are repeatable and Flickerform will keep any auras, including itself, attached

March 28, 2016 11:10 p.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #17

readerrw07 and jwe94: I do appreciate the suggestions (and the fact that "Deadeye Navigator with Tentacles" is my new appellation for Eldrazi Displacer), but I've decided to not use blinking as a strategy in this deck because it acts against my plans (by removing equipment and auras). Flickerform might be worth including in the future, but at the moment I'm going to leave it out.

March 29, 2016 12:07 a.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #18

Pokemaster325: The rules forum has informed me that you cannot cast an overloaded spell without paying its mana cost, and that you could only cast one half of a fuse card with Sunforger. So that dream has died :( Oh well.

March 29, 2016 12:16 a.m.

iBleedPunk says... #19

Time to go listen to Adele and cry. Its good to know though

March 29, 2016 12:46 a.m.

nobu_the_bard says... #20

I like the deck, minor thoughts here. I only skimmed the other comments and saw you weren't interested in flicker and had people suggesting Sunforger primarily. (Everyone always suggests Sunforger for every Boros deck)

March 29, 2016 2:14 p.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #21

nobu_the_bard: I'm glad you like the deck :) I included Sunforger immediately, and I've never regretted it, haha. Re:City of Brass - possibly, but I had one lying around and was having a little difficulty with color-fixing, so I threw it in. Slayers' Stronghold and High Market are already both in the list, but I'll consider Flamekin Village! Kjeldoran Outpost has such a steep cost (loss of a land), Moonsilver Spear is too expensive, but Luminarch Ascension isn't a bad idea. Thank you for your comment!

March 29, 2016 2:50 p.m.

nobu_the_bard says... #22

Sunforger's great I'm just a little jaded by having it suggested all of the time. My keeps moving around to different decks because it keeps not quuuuite fitting (I have every EDH combination of white/red possible as a deck or a deck in progress). I might actually finally use it in my red/white/black deck but I've said that before...

Anyway I just meant the token generators as examples - three different non-creatures so you aren't put out when Avacyn goes red, and they can consistently generate tokens to feed your outlets (plus the latter two's tokens survive Avacyn's tamtrums). There's a lot of others around like Mobilization and Captain's Claws that I felt were less-good alternatives, but it was something worth looking into I felt. You could even use something like Bonehoard (equipping it to Avacyn would kill the germ token, transforming her, haha).

Anyway! Any deck that seriously includes Fanatical Devotion deserves a +1.

March 29, 2016 3:41 p.m.

iBleedPunk says... #23

nobu_the_bard you could always use Sunforger in a Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest EDH

March 29, 2016 3:49 p.m.

nobu_the_bard says... #24

I actually did use it for awhile here: Shu Yun, Silent Storm EDH (list could use an update actually)

The problem was I had trouble paying the 5 mana every time on top of the 2 mana Shu Yun needs for his ability. It does work wonderfully with Punishing Fire. I'll try to use it in Zurgo next time.

But enough about my stuff on someone else's deck :P

March 29, 2016 5 p.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #25

nobu_the_bard, Pokemaster325: I've actually played Sunforger in Shu Yun Voltron before too, and it's nuts lol. I don't mind the comments on my deck at all, don't worry. Also, Bonehoard is actually an amazing idea here, and I'll add it when I find space!

March 29, 2016 11:22 p.m.