Judgment Day: Avacyn the Purifier EDH [PRIMER]

Commander / EDH Daedalus19876

SCORE: 809 | 602 COMMENTS | 97606 VIEWS | IN 315 FOLDERS


+200 Upvotes! (and update for AER) —Jan. 31, 2017

Thanks to many insightful suggestions and much support by the community here, this deck has reached a score of +200 upvotes, making it the 17th highest rated EDH deck on all of T/O!

I've also made adjustments to incorporate new cards from Aether Revolt, and although I'm still on the fence about one or two cards (particularly Quicksmith Spy vs Inspiring Statuary), the deck is nearly in its finished form now.

Thanks again to everyone who's helped me with this deck!

I've also cleared the comments that were accumulating below the deck.

Love-in-Theory says... #1

Have you considered any of these?

Idyllic Tutor - Enchantment tutor

Terminus - Miracle cost Hallowed Burial

Faith's Reward- Bring back the things you sac'd to flip Avacyn

Armageddon- once you establish your board presence, this can definitely win you a game

Grafted Exoskeleton - <--

Static Orb- <--

October 19, 2016 11:08 a.m.

Love-in-Theory says... #2

Emeria, The Sky Ruin- It requires 7 plains, which is kinda heavy, but it can recycle those sac guys

October 19, 2016 11:16 a.m.

Love-in-Theory says... #3

Nahiri, the Harbinger?

She may not have much synergy with the rest of the deck, but her -2 is great spot removal, and her -8 can grab and artifact, or creature you need for a turn (before it enters your hand again)

October 19, 2016 11:27 a.m.

PartyJ says... #4

I have been reviewing the deck once again and I think that Grafted Exoskeleton is a risky but bald move for your games. If you manage to keep it for the endgame you could possible secure the win with it. It's basically all or near nothingness...

The Umezawa's Jitte is not in the mainboard? This equipment deserves a mainboard place. The counters placed on the Jitte can even be removed if the creature died. So having 2 or more countes on it, even when its not equipted, gives you a versatile removal AND threat on the battlefield. Only the threat gives you an advantage, as they will focus on this threat. And they should..... while you play your other stuff.

Get it in....

October 21, 2016 4:01 p.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #5

Love-in-Theory: Thanks for the comment and sorry for the late response. In order:

Idyllic Tutor: I don't really have any enchantments I want to tutor for after the early game. The $20 price tag is also a little high for something I'm uncertain about.

Terminus: I don't think I have enough top-deck manipulation to make it reliable. Plus, I want my board wipes to not hit indestructible things, for obvious reasons (hence why Blasphemous Act is my MVP).

Faith's Reward: Interesting, I forgot about this one! I might play this alongside Armageddon (or to counteract an opponent's). It'll go into the maybeboard (for future consideration when my meta changes).

Armageddon (and in some cases Ruination): Yeah, I don't like these cards on principle, but I might add them when I'm playing for keeps.

Grafted Exoskeleton: It's a little all-in for my tastes, but it's something I've considered before. Still undecided...

Static Orb: This is now in the deck IRL (as a masterpiece, no less!) and it's playing wonderfully. 10/10 would recommend.

Emeria, The Sky Ruin: I don't think I have enough plains consistently enough. A slower build could go Sunforger-->Tithe-->Mistveil Plains to build them up, though...

Nahiri, the Harbinger: Her -2 is tempting (more so than her ult, eugh), but I'll wait until she's less than $20.

PartyJ: To be honest, I just don't own a Umezawa's Jitte yet. That's literally the only reason it's not included.

October 27, 2016 5:59 p.m.

Deepstriker29 says... #6

Avacyn Voltron is certainly an interesting concept. What inspired you to choose Avacyn over more traditional tron commanders like Zurgo Helmsmasher or Rafiq of the Many?

And also, a copy of Refurbish might be a good idea against decks that are hard teched against artifacts, like Shattergang Brothers.

October 27, 2016 11:11 p.m.

Triton says... #7

Perhaps some of the artifact lands, such as Great Furnace and Darksteel Citadel? I think they'd be helpful for triggering Metalcraft of Jor Kadeen and Reforge the Soul. At worst, they are just another plains/mountain.

Also, Hellkite Charger perhaps? It can go infinite with Sword of Feast and Famine.

Some food for thought, hope these suggestions help!

October 27, 2016 11:28 p.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #8

Triton: I think I'll pass on the artifact lands for now, only because Bane of Progress and Vandalblast are running around my meta at the moment. Also, how do they play with Reforge the Soul?

Hellkite Charger seems too conditional and slow for the deck TBH. I used to play the similar Aurelia, the Warleader/Eldrazi Displacer/Sword of Feast and Famine combo (because each piece was amazing alone), but eventually the Displacer got dropped.

Deepstriker29: With regards to Refurbish, I'd probably go with Open the Vaults or Faith's Reward in that slot, to be honest.

And several things are good about Avacyn as a voltron commander! :)

-- She gives access to the best voltron colors (well, for artifact-based voltron) while only requiring a single color to cast (making the land-base more consistent).

-- She (especially with deathtouch) is stapled to a board wipe (which can also discourage your opponents from removing your other creatures). Even without deathtouch, she usually clears the air (and gives a huge life swing if she has lifelink).

-- She has built-in evasion and vigilance. She has also flash, so it's as if she has haste (because you can attack almost directly after you cast her).

-- The indestructibility is more handy than one would think, especially since I can dodge board wipes pretty easily.

-- And finally, I like her because she's a very unusual voltron commander!

Every time I pull the deck out in a new playgroup, people decide to enlighten me about how terrible she is as a commander. They inform me (condescendingly) about how Standard cards are bad in eternal formats, and I should consider picking up a "real" commander (Rafiq gets mentioned a lot).

Then I beat their face in, and their reactions are very entertaining :)

As I mentioned in the deck description, I have about an 80% win rate in 1v1, and perhaps 65% in 4-player (because I'm quickly the archenemy).

You're welcome to leave a +1 if you like the deck ;)

October 28, 2016 4:18 a.m.

ershall84 says... #9

I didn't think Avacyn could be arrested. As a Commander, she's not technically a creature but a permanent. Meaning song of the dryads one of the few spells that could lock her down, no?

October 30, 2016 9:07 a.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #10

ershall84: She's still a creature - a commander's type doesn't change. Arrest hits her, as does Swords to Plowshares etc.

October 30, 2016 1:27 p.m.

Javak says... #11

This is perhaps one of the most fun looking (piloting and fighting) EDH decks I've seen that's actually fairly competitive. No infinite combo twelve minute turn 3 bullshit. It earns a +1 from me.

November 8, 2016 12:15 p.m.

HowlingFoxGPH says... #12

November 18, 2016 4:51 a.m.

Pyruscreed says... #13

Got to say, I love Archangel Avacyn  Flip and think this a sweet deck. Would like to build it but don't have the money, any advice on a budget version?

November 23, 2016 7:53 p.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #14

Javak: Thank you for your +1! This deck is indeed super fun, and can viciously overpower many high-level decks. It's also pretty interactive for a non-blue deck, which is a plus.

I have tried to explore most archetypes in my EDH decks, and while I do have a fondness for non-interactive bullshit combo decks (cough [[PRIMER]] I Call Her Vera: Sidisi EDH cough) this deck is my most competitive non-combo deck :)

HowlingFoxGPH: They've both been included at points in the past. I've found that I can reliably flip Avacyn, so I don't really need High Market (the life gain isn't relevant obv). And although Inventors' Fair is useful as a tutor, I eventually got frustrated by its high cost (5 mana and a sacrificed land to tutor) and inability to find answers after a board wipe. The other issue is that having access to early colored mana is very important to this deck, so I've intentionally included relatively few colorless-only lands. Thank you for your comment!

Pyruscreed: My comment to you will be rather long so I'm putting it in a separate post :)

November 23, 2016 8:49 p.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #15

Pyruscreed: Thanks! I think this is a sweet deck too, lol - I'm proud of it. People keep telling me that Archangel Avacyn  Flip is bad in commander, hehe. I disagree.

I usually love building budget EDH decks (a few of them are on my profile). This one is something of a tricky case, though, since many of the expensive cards are relatively essential to the deck's function. Let's give it a shot, though!

What's your price limit? I would say that you could cut all of the cards above $20 immediately. The most important of those are Sword of Fire and Ice and Scroll Rack, but the deck functioned fine before I originally got my hands on my copies. I would then also cut Land Tax (since it's lost its synergy with Scroll Rack). This immediately reduces the price by about ~$300 - we've already halved the price.

Several of the cards in here are foily, or promos of some kind. That somewhat artificially inflates the price of the deck. In particular, I would still include Sword of Feast and Famine and Swords to Plowshares, but use non-foil versions. That should cut the price by another $40.

Of the $5-$20 category, most aren't strictly necessary. You could probably cut Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Command Beacon, Hero of Bladehold, Land Tax (as mentioned earlier), Mana Vault, Monastery Mentor, Path to Exile (use Oblation instead), and Rugged Prairie.

You might get away without Serra Ascendant (I didn't have it in the first draft), but I'd strongly recommend against removing it (he's freaking sweet and probably should be banned). If you do cut him, though, you can probably remove Recruiter of the Guard and maybe Ranger of Eos (Ranger can also grab other utility creatures, though, so I might keep her in).

You could move the mana base to mostly basics. If you did, you might as well add in Ruination if you're okay with MLD.

In terms of things to add back into all of these now-open spaces, I'd recommend Grafted Exoskeleton, Grafted Wargear, Overblaze, Quest for Pure Flame, Leonin Abunas, Mask of Avacyn, Duelist's Heritage, Blood Mist, Scythe of the Wretched, and some self-sacrificing creatures to taste. I've also had people suggest Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, which I could definitely see. Most of these have been in some version of the deck and performed admirably.

Overall, these changes should probably cut down the deck from the $700 range to maybe $200. I'm sure you could cut it further with a little thought :)

Thank you again for your comment! I'm glad you liked the deck, and you're welcome to leave a +1 :) I'm trying to push this to +200 upvotes haha. Happy deckbuilding, and feel free to ask if you have any further questions!

November 23, 2016 9:01 p.m.

TzickyT says... #16

question how does this deck run vs other decks - do you win often with the deck ?

November 24, 2016 7:12 a.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #17

TzickyT: Definitely, I win a LOT with this deck. In my current playgroup is has maybe an 85% win-rate in 1V1 and maybe a 50% win rate in 4-player?

But it very much depends on the meta, as do most magic decks. There are some key decks (particularly ones with large amounts of artifact removal or very fast combos) that I struggle against. But I can usually smash any midrange or tempo or control deck without too much trouble.

November 24, 2016 10:47 a.m.

Pyruscreed says... #18

Daedalus19876: Thanks a bunch man. I will defiantly give this deck a try in the future.

November 24, 2016 11:23 a.m.

Temerities says... #19

have you thought about Relentless Assault for additional attack phase

December 1, 2016 5:26 a.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #20

Temerities: I have considered it before, but it's never made the cut yet. I'm already playing three cards that give extra combat phases. However, it's a good idea, since it goes infinite with SoFaF...I'll try it in a future draft!

December 1, 2016 11:51 a.m.

Ocelot44 says... #21

Have you considered running Conqueror's Flail yet? It poops on control decks and unlike Grand Abolisher it doesn't die to Wrath of God

December 1, 2016 12:42 p.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #22

Ocelot44: I am considering it, actually. I have a copy on my desk. I'm just wondering whether the +2/+2-max boost is good enough to play it...

(And incidentally it does fold to Wrath of God...somewhat. When the creature it's attached to dies, the effect falls off. I can play another creature to get the effect back, though.)

Have you tried it? What are your experiences with it? :)

December 1, 2016 12:49 p.m. Edited.

Ocelot44 says... #23

So far, it does as advertised! You are right, however, you do need a creature alive and attached to it in order to have the effect, which can pose a slight problem. If you do have it equipped to something, then it completely shuts off counterspells and turns your opponent's removal into sorcery speed, which is really good in a deck full of equipment. They can't just blow up your shit in response to equipping

Also! The max boost you can get is actually +3/+3 because the germ token that Bonehoard makes is black! Cool, right? Anyways the extra damage is just a bonus as far as I am concerned. I'd run it even in a colorless deck it's so good

December 1, 2016 12:57 p.m.

I love those Masterpieces, I'm a sucker for foils

December 1, 2016 1:06 p.m.

Daedalus19876 says... #25

Love-in-Theory: T/O shows more masterpieces than are actually there as it turns out. I only own two in this deck: Scroll Rack and Static Orb, alas.

Do you have any masterpieces in your decks? I also have Cloudstone Curio in my Rashmi build.

Funny story: I originally only stuck Static Orb in here because it was pretty. Turns out, though, that the card is SUPER good and it's become a staple in the deck.

December 1, 2016 1:17 p.m.