Apostles and Chimes
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Aug. 21, 2016, 1:09 p.m. by SirFowler
I got the idea for this deck when I saw a standard deck (at the time) using Shadowborn Apostle and Sphinx of the Chimes. I thought that was a great idea, so I decided to try it out for EDH. Of course Sphinx of the Chimes wouldn't normally do anything in EDH, but the apostles get around that EDH ruling. And then naturally I have Laboratory Maniac as a win con. In order to reduce, reuse, and recycle, I add Library of Leng so I would be able to discard the 2 apostles onto the top of my library to draw 4, then repeat this process until I win.
The only problem is, I have no idea what else to include besides that combo. Can anyone help? I currently don't have a full deck list ready since I only have those 4 cards in mind. Also, I'm not sure what commander to use. Can anyone help with that as well? If anyone helps me, I'll give credit to those who helped.
The best commander I can find at the moment is Sygg, River Cutthroat. I would probably add in some demons for Shadowborn Apostle to find, especially Rune-Scarred Demon, as it could then tutor out Sphinx of the Chimes or Laboratory Maniac. Other tutors would be great as well (Demonic Tutor, Diabolic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, etc., depending on budget). Besides that, I would build it as a control deck (lots of counterspells and sweepers).
As for alternate generals, Dragonlord Silumgar might work.
August 21, 2016 1:24 p.m.
Sim_Will_CMcantfindmehopefully says... #4
Bloodbond March Echoing Courage Nantuko Shrine Pack Hunt
Mask of the Mimic is a wincon in it of itself
Other than that any demons that will draw you cards, personally my pet demon is Hellcarver Demon, you'll also want ramp, for your commander I would use Damia, Sage of Stone
August 21, 2016 1:39 p.m.
Sim_Will_CMcantfindmehopefully says... #6
Other cards you may like are Sultai Ascendancy Mulch Forgotten Creation Life from the Loam Treasure Hunt Satyr Wayfinder Consuming Aberration Nighthowler and many artifact/enchantment destruction, board wipe cards, have fun!
August 21, 2016 1:47 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle I'm not sure about the Thrumming Stone because I don't necessarily want to cast the apostles, but discard them to the sphinx. At the same time though, thinning out the deck would help. And the stone does say may, so I could stop whenever. The Trench Gorger might not be a bad idea, but it does have a high cmc. I probably would rather go with something like Mana Severance, Selective Memory, or maybe even Paradigm Shift, but I'll still keep it mind. Thanks for the suggestions.
Remyth I had Sygg, River Cutthroat in mind due to the draw mechanic, but this deck doesn't really have any means of attack or loss of life, so the loss of 3 would have to be from other people. The Rune-Scarred Demon along with other tutors might not be bad ideas though. Thanks for the suggestions.
August 21, 2016 1:49 p.m.
Conspiracy can be used to make every creature in your deck a Demon, thus allowing you to search for Laboratory Maniac and Sphinx of the Chimes.
Additionally, I know many Apostle decks run Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker to bring them back and continually keep doing cool stuff with them.
Other Suggestions are as follows:
August 21, 2016 1:52 p.m.
also run classic rocks like Sol Ring, Mana Crypt (if you can afford), Mana Vault. Possible rocks include Mox Diamond, Chrome Mox, Lotus Petal. And definitely add Dark Ritual, Yawgmoth's Will, bob, snappy, Toxic Deluge.
August 21, 2016 1:57 p.m.
Simon_Williamson I would actually like to keep this a dimir deck, so any green cards are out. The Mask of the Mimic is fine, especially with the new Spy Kit from the new conspiracy, so I'll add that to the maybe pile. The Hellcarver Demon I do like though, so I'm adding that. Forgotten Creation is an iffy for me, the same for Treasure Hunt. And lastly, Consuming Aberration and Nighthowler seem to be a better fit for a mill type deck, which I already have atm. I just kinda want this as a theme/gimmicky type deck.
klone13 I'll definitely add Sol Ring, Reliquary Tower and Thought Vessel. The Mana Crypt, Mox's, and Mana Vault are out of my price range. The same for bob, snappy, and will. The deluge and ritual I have though.
Eiti3 The Conspiracy is a maybe, but I'll have to think about it. The problem with Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker is that it's an instant target since people can see what you're doing a mile away. I do like Skullclamp, Haunted Crossroads/Oversold Cemetery, and Illusionist's Bracers. The only thing is, I don't want this to be a typical apostle type deck since there are plenty of those types of decks out there. I'll put the other cards in the maybe pile.
Sorry for such a long post, I just don't want to have multiple posts. Thank you all for the suggestions, I appreciate it. :)
August 21, 2016 2:43 p.m.
Does anyone know the right number of apostles in EDH decks? Is 42 too many/few?
August 21, 2016 2:59 p.m.
Sim_Will_CMcantfindmehopefully says... #13
Depends on the cards your trying to get to, how often, and how many. Anywhere from 20-40 depending on the purpose.
August 21, 2016 3:01 p.m.
I have an apostle deck, and I have found that with Thrumming Stone, that I am able to get all of my Apostles out with 28 without issue. Very rarely, and I mean very rarely does it whiff. I'd also keep it a multiplier of 6, if you do end up using their abilities. You don't want 3 apostles sitting around and doing nothing if their on the battlefield.
August 21, 2016 3:05 p.m.
You could switch to Relentless Rats over Shadowborn Apostle. Then use Phenax, God of Deception as your commander and you can mill and/or beat people to death if the sphinx plan fails.
August 21, 2016 8:21 p.m.
Or throw in Coat of Arms and do it with the apostles.
Raging_Squiggle says... #2
Thrumming Stone to get all your apostles out immediately. Very much thins out the deck.
Trench Gorger to thin out your lands.
August 21, 2016 1:16 p.m.