Licia, the Sanguine Storm
Commander / EDH*
SCORE: 108 | 54 COMMENTS | 14068 VIEWS | IN 38 FOLDERS
Ixalan Pre-Release Playtesting —Sept. 26, 2017
Whew, after a long while I've finally gotten the chance to do some real playtesting. I purchased a home recently which has made doing anything else tough, but I had a magic binge weekend with the Ixalan Pre-Release events and played some commander in between events and things.
What I noticed playing the deck was that.... It actually works really well! The storm package sets up nicely over time, and all those cantrips really keep your wheels spinning. The one thing that didn't work great were the "Lifegain Matters" effects. Specifically, Cradle of Vitality was just incredibly slow and not the type of hate we want to draw.
In terms of improvements, I aim to streamline the deck more thoroughly now. Greed has to go - I often had a choice to cantrip or draw with it, and the obvious answer was to stock my graveyard with cantrips for a future Past in Flames or Mizzix's Mastery. The 2 life also really hurts, as Licia often gets removed on sight so keeping your life total up really matters. Also, I need to streamline and make more robust the storm package as that was how I typically win. The lifegain is more a "Plan B" or bogie to distract from the long-term GY stock plan. This means I am doing everything I can to add spells as well to increase my storm count when I "Go Off". I also felt I needed some protection, so Glacial Chasm comes in as a nice tutor target for dire situations.
To that end: -Cradle of Vitality, -Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim, -Karlov of the Ghost Council, -Gonti's Machinations, -Greed, -Mountain, -Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion, -Sanguine Bond
+Tendrils of Agony, +Tormenting Voice, +Chaplain's Blessing, +Crash Through, +Recoup, +Clifftop Retreat, +Glacial Chasm, +Pyroblast
Chaplain's Blessing gets back into the deck over Gonti's Machinations as a spell version of the effect. This is key in order to have a way to reduce Licia's cost from the GY during your big turn, acting as a way to up your spell count and really combo off with a Burnt Offering. Tendrils comes in as true storm spell #2, less explosive but more reliable. Recoup goes in as a third recursion spell. Yawgmoth's Will will replace if I ever acquire my brother's copy.
Last note, Sanguine Bond draws too much hate for someone not playing the combo, and it feels a little "Win More" when its actually good. This deck is not focusing on that angle nearly as much as other Licia decks are, so I removed it to fly under the radar a bit better. Pyroblast is a card I had wanted to fit in so it gets the nod as a cheap interaction piece, which the deck lacks.
I'll be adding individual spell explanations soon to make it more "Primer-y"!