FRF Khans
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Aug. 29, 2015, 3:39 a.m. by ComradeJim270
I've gotten it in my head to at some point (in the future, no list I put together will be done anytime soon) try building a deck with one of the Fate Reforged khans at the helm. I am not sure which one and am interested in other peoples' thoughts. Here's my analysis of them so far.
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death seems awesome. I like those colors, I like playing lots of weenies, I like combo potential. But she's probably the most popular of these. She's been "solved" to some extent and that limits her appeal to me. Still a promising candidate.
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest screams "voltron". I think if voltron wasn't a known archetype and someone were to design a new deck to be as unappealing as possible to me, voltron is what they'd end up with.
Daghatar the Adamant is in great colors, has combo potential and some good synergy possible. His ability is also overcosted. Actually supporting it seems like a huge challenge. I'm really not sure I can build the deck to be anything but pure jank.
Yasova Dragonclaw is... meh. Don't like the colors so much. Yasova decks seem to just be purely built around steal/threaten effects and sacrificing the stolen creatures for value. Too linear. That sounds like it would get old really fast. But doing more interesting things in addition or instead does sound appealing. Maybe run some chaos?
Tasigur, the Golden Fang makes me a bit nervous. I feel like it's more skill-intensive than I can handle. I also tend to dislike giving my opponents choices I can't easily manipulate to go a certain way. How would this work? If I understood it better maybe I'd be more excited.
I'm interested in hearing ideas for which of these commanders I could build around. Opinions on which ones are worth pursuing would be great. Creative ideas for what to do with them are also good. And seriously, what the hell to I do with Taz?
ComradeJim270 says... #3
Oh no, I'm aware of that. That would be amazing if not for the fact it's three mana to move just a single counter.
August 29, 2015 3:53 a.m.
yes, but with things like Hardened Scales or Doubling Season you can turn that 1 into 2. Also, like I said if you can find something useful (such as being able to steal creatures in my example) then that 3 mana really is a small investment. Especially for something that is repeatable and doesn't cost you a card out of my hand. I guess it really depends on what you find to do with the counters your moving. If your just moving counters from creature to creature so your 1/1 becomes a 2/2 then it can be underwhelming. However, if you can find some advantage from moving a counter onto a creature that didn't have one then it can be worth it.
Anyways, like I said, I know its something that can be easy to overlook so I was just making sure you had a heads up. Just in case.
August 29, 2015 4:05 a.m.
EpicFreddi says... #5
With Taz you put things into your grave, delve the stuff away you don't want and then give your opponent the choice to give you one of the cards you want. The only "random" factor here are the two additional cards he gives you, but mostly you get what you want.
August 29, 2015 4:06 a.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #6
@abenz419: Sure, I appreciate that. It is a very easy thing to miss.
I agree that going for maximum value off of cards that do stuff based on having counters or removing them would be the way to go. You can get more value with something like Doubling Season, but keeping that on the field for more than a turn is a challenge. Even resolving the damn thing is hard if anyone's playing blue (and in my playgroups, someone will be playing blue). Daghatar begs the question of why I wouldn't play Ghave, Guru of Spores instead.
I suppose I could ramp for the ability. I don't see mass LD too often so it should be safe. But protecting things like Cabal Coffers, Crypt Ghast, Magus of the Coffers, etc. is a real challenge too.
August 29, 2015 4:10 a.m. Edited.
ComradeJim270 says... #7
@EpicFreddi: Yeah, that's how I've seen him played. It's not random by any means, but it still gives opponents a choice. It also means the deck needs to be carefully constructed to provide me only with things that will be useful in that situation.
Also, seems like it'd be an expensive commander to build well! But that's less of an issue since this isn't a deck I'd be building right away.
Don't get me wrong, I think he could be awesome fun. I'm just not confident in my ability to make him work for me. If that changed I'd strongly consider choosing him.
August 29, 2015 4:16 a.m.
MagicalHacker says... #8
Tasigur is perfect for infinite combo, as you can dump infinite mana into him to get a real mana dump wincon from your deck, like Goblin Cannon or Magma Mine.
August 29, 2015 6:51 a.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #9
Oh... oh that's fun! Now I'm quite interested in Tasigur.
August 29, 2015 1:45 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #10
Ok, I've narrowed it down. Shu Yun was never really in the running and Daghatar is kind of just a crappy version of Ghave, Guru of Spores.
That leaves:
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death has some nice potential for the sort of gameplay I enjoy. She's the most obvious choice... which is why I want to explore the other two options to make sure I'm not missing out on something else good. I'd also need some way to make it stand out a little from other Alesha decks.
Yasova Dragonclaw, who could be fun if I made the deck more than just threaten/sac. Some sort of chaos subtheme could give it a bit of a unique character. The obvious route is also the least interesting, here.
Tasigur, the Golden Fang could be a lot of fun. He could be a reanimator commander, but I don't feel he's the best candidate for such a deck. A combo strategy would be a lot more fun, using his ability to help assemble the pieces. The challenge is making the deck more than Sultai goodstuff.
If I can overcome the challenges for these, I'll be able to make a decision.
August 30, 2015 6:24 a.m.
Alesha- Tiny leaders aggro with scrifice,leave and Enter the battlefield effectsShun Yun - Why Don't you use Narset instead?Daghatar- Abzan WarriorsTasigur- Titania, delve, and loam.Yasova -Literal control with conjurer's closet.
August 30, 2015 10:35 a.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #12
@SpadesFTW: I've already ruled out Daghatar and Shu Yun. There are better options, plus I don't want to play voltron so even Narset isn't a commander I'd want to play.
Alesha is fun, but I think I'd run her as aggro/combo. Not infinite, but there are so many value creatures with 2 or less power. Tasigur with Titania and such could be a lot of fun, that's one I haven't seen before and I'll check it out!
I'm intrigued by your Yasova idea. Could you explain more?
abenz419 says... #2
I just want to point out that Daghatar the Adamant moves counters from TARGET creature to a SECOND TARGET creature. That means you can steal +1/+1 counters from opponents creatures. It also means that you can move counters onto them if that matters. For example, maybe you have a way of stealing creatures with counters on them so putting counters on whatever creature you want may be useful.
I just know it's not uncommon for people to read that quickly and think the counters can only move on creatures they control so I thought I'd point that out just in case. It may open up new ideas for ya.
August 29, 2015 3:51 a.m.