INTRO:
This deck is my response to people who say mono-red is never viable in a competitive meta. When I saw Etali, I knew it would lead to some insane gameplay. The problem with it is the mana cost. At 6 mana, it's a little slow for a competitive commander. So, what I decided to do is create a deck that slows down the game enough that I can actually play with Etali, thus leading to the birth of a very effective stax deck.
When creating your own list, it's important to note that you need to tune it to your meta. The decks I frequently play against are General Tazri Food Chain combo, Selvala, Yisan, Nin, Thrasios/Tymna breakfast hulk, and Sidisi hermit druid combo. My list contains cards that are effective against those cards and strategies. If that list of decks changed drastically, I would update my deck accordingly.
You should play this deck if:
-You're tired of games that end in a few turns-You like using a commander that generates insane value and leads to a different game every time-You either play in a meta of mature adults who can handle having their lands blown up, or you're the kind
of person that doesn't really care how people feel when you do that anyway.
You shouldn't play this deck if:
-You can't handle the heat
Strengths and Weaknesses
This list is very effective in a fast meta full of efficient spells and creatures. I've successfully shut down a lot of very powerful decks with some of the cards in here. It's interesting to note that this deck's biggest weakness is big splashy Timmy decks that are slower and less dependent on having certain resources immediately. Those decks also tend to run a higher basic land count, rendering a lot of the hate in this deck ineffective. If you want to play a staxy-styled Etali deck in a slower meta, you're going to want to include more creatures and stax effects that limit attacks. You just have to change the deck to suit the meta.
Game Plan
Since we're playing a heavy resource-denial deck, I'm going to assume you're playing in at least a semi-competitive meta.
Opening Hand
What you keep really depends on who you're playing. For example, if you're playing against a fast combo list that has multiple colors, prioritize blood moon and land destruction effects, as well as cards that neutralize key elements to a strategy, i.e. Phyrexian Revoker for Food Chain. You can pretty much safely keep cards like Revoker and Spyglass in almost any matchup, honestly. If you're playing against a strategy with lots of small creatures, like Yisan or Selvala, prioritize board wipes.
Despite the amount of ramp in this deck, you shouldn't keep a super fast mana hand that doesn't have interaction unless you're playing against slower aggro lists. One or two rocks is good, but what you should actually do is shut your opponents down before shooting for the moon yourself.
Early Game
As stated above, what you should be doing above all else is shutting other players down. If you don't, they're going to combo off quickly and you're going to lose. If it's not absolutely imperative that you shut things down right away, you can afford to sneak in some mana ramp or card advantage before doing so, putting yourself in a better position. This balance will depend on whether you can afford to give your opponents an extra turn or so. If you're playing against a deck that combos off turn two or three, you probably can't, so shut that shit down.
Mid Game
Once you've either got a good stax hold on the board or have a strong tempo advantage over other players, you should play Etali. As a general rule, a stax deck seeks to create a hostile environment in which only the player piloting it can survive and flourish. So once you've crafted your table's special hell, you should play one of the deck's best tools of moving and grooving in that environment: your commander. With one swing, Etali can generate a lot of card advantage. It isn't really necessary to have lands once you have a giant elder dinosaur that casts a bunch of spells for free, so it's safe to say your opponents will be worse off than you once you destroy those lands. Cards like Wildfire, Impending Disaster, and Boom//Bust are all generally better after Etali is on the table. You should really only cast them before if it's an emergency, or if you have enough rock ramp that you're ahead in resources.
Closing the Game
This deck doesn't play any infinite combos, so you generally win by swinging, like in Blood Pod. There are a few ways to make this happen more quickly. If you somehow get Possessed Portal on board once Etali is out and your opponents don't have a response, you will probably win. You're basically enclosing them in a giant dome with an ancient bloodthirsty monster that can continue to generate advantage even though no one can draw answers. Ultimating Chandra also quickly leads to people dying from the emblem's damage. Otherwise, win with commander damage. Steel Hellkite and Inferno Titan can also help finish a game up, and occasionally you can steal something with an Etali swing that can help win, too.
Important note: When you start playing this deck, you may be tempted to spread out damage with Etali and other sources evenly, but what you should actually do is eliminate players as quickly as possible by focusing on them one at a time. Attack whoever is the least neutered by your stax pieces until they're gone, and then turn to the others. More people being alive means it's more likely that your hold on the board will be broken. People may not like that at first, but it's how this deck wins in a high pressure game, so just explain. You have to be able to handle that heat to play this deck.
Conclusion
Etali, Primal Storm is not a top-of-mind commander for high-tiered play, but if you can craft the right list for your competitive playgroup, your deck can be a force to be reckoned with and win very often. I hope you enjoy it.
Notable Exclusions
Wheel effects: Red generally doesn't have a lot of card advantage, so most heavy red decks use wheel effects to refill once their cards are spent. I have opted not to do this, because the goal of this deck is to neutralize our opponents, and giving them a new hand of cards has not proved conducive to maintaining control of the board.
Maybeboard
Winds of Change - This would disrupt combo decks without increasing anyone's card count, so I may add this at some point.
Tormod's Crypt - Once and a while it would be nice to be able to shut off someone's graveyard shenanigans
Eldrazi Titan - There are arguments for both Ulamog, The Infinite Gyre and Kozilek, Butcher of truth, but whichever I'd pick, I'd do it for a number of reasons. 1., It would add a faster finish to the deck. 2., Card draw and exiling permanents are both effects this deck could use. 3., My friend plays a Tazri deck and shuffling my graveyard into my deck is a great way to avoid dying to Halimar Excavator, one of his win-cons, which could at least slow him down some of the time. I'd probably swap out Inferno Titan for one of these.
Karn and Ugin - These are both great and if they're not in the deck yet, it's only because I'm experimenting with how many high CMC cards I can play given what the deck does. Once I've playtested this latest update, what you currently see, I may add one or both of them, depending.
Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!
Gr8Gonzales
