Kytheon in EDH? Brainstorming a Deck
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on July 15, 2015, 7:45 p.m. by Phaetion
Following today's UR, Gideon has now become my favorite planeswalker in recent history.
And he has his own card that's legal to be at the helm: Kytheon, Hero of Akros Flip.
I want to go ahead and build a deck using him, but I'm not quite sure where to begin. I know a token/weenie aggro strategy might be the best plan, even if it's hard in EDH. But I'm not certain.
Any ideas? What would you do or what cards would you include in Gideon's deck?
Wow...I forgot Glowrider existed. Into the cart that goes.
I know there's better generals/commanders, but I'd rather use Kytheon.
As far as weenies are concerned, I'm aware it's not that good in the format, but it's how I roll. Nothing I can really do about that. shrug I know the Heliod-related stuff and Tragic Arrogance should go in, because flavor.
July 15, 2015 7:58 p.m.
All right then, I like a challenge. Well, you might want to try cards like Cataclysm and Restore Balance if you want to have a similar theme to Tragic Arrogance. Though it may be a bit counterproductive, seeing how you need creatures in order to flip, but you could cast them after you decide to flip so you could be the only one left or something.
I would also suggest cards like Archangel of Tithes, Grand Abolisher, and Knight of the White Orchid to help control the board while providing a bonus for your side. Let's not forget the fan favorite Avacyn, Angel of Hope for obvious reasons. Lastly using cards like Sun Titan and/or Seance would mean that even if your stuff is destroyed, it wouldn't matter because you can just bring them back.
If you need any specific help, just ask.
July 15, 2015 8:13 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #5
I think there are two ways you can go about this deck.
Mono white aggro. Probably a strong reliance on tokens and anthems with some fatties mixed in.
Mono white taxes with the above mentioned
I think you're going to want the aggressive strategy considering kytheon is better suited for it
I'm talkin stuff like Crusade Captain of the Watch ect with stuff like heliod and Sun Titan
July 15, 2015 8:16 p.m.
You could do a mono white soldier tribal. Those are actually really good decks with cards like Field Marshal, Precinct Captain, Champion of the Parish, Brimaz, King of Oreskos, Soldier of the Pantheon, and maybe even Boros Elite.
July 15, 2015 8:25 p.m.
I could run Anafenza if I'm going soldier tribal. Except tribal isn't my forte.
MLD and infect are stuff I'd avoid, but I'd still run the likes of Akroma's Vengeance or Wrath of God.
I'm trying to avoid expensive cards, so Avacyn and Elesh Norn are problem cards based on that alone. Would something like Spirit of Endurance (my only W deck right now) work? I know it uses more +1/+1 counters than regular weenie decks, but it's possible to use it as a base...maybe?
July 15, 2015 8:33 p.m.
Your deck actually seems pretty solid. I feel like it would do pretty well.
July 15, 2015 8:38 p.m.
I solitaired it and I had promising results. I mean, I tested Kytheon at the helm, but it flopped because of the whole double-faced card mess and the +1/+1 counter thing not doing so good with Gideon. Mind you, it could work. It could work as a pseudo-voltron sort of thing.
July 15, 2015 8:46 p.m.
GreenGhost says... #10
I like a isamaru hound of konda style build for him where you go for commander damage. Think about it, a one drop commander that is indestructible once it becomes important for him to stick around and could flip to do four a turn.
July 15, 2015 10:03 p.m.
I don't like voltron so much. I don't mind general damage as a win con, but I don't want to be reliant on it. I had an epiphany hours ago (which led to this post) that any +1/+1 counters Gideon's planeswalker side has will stay on it when the third ability is used. That would be a more reliable way to win via voltron without scrapping the original theme. Cathars' Crusade + Hero of Bladehold comes to mind.
July 15, 2015 10:06 p.m.
If you read Kytheon, it says that you exile it and return it to the battlefield, removing all counters, equipment, ECT.
July 15, 2015 11:28 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #13
Yep, I thought about this too and definitely feel like aggro is not the way to go. I think SirFowler has a good idea with the hatebear idea.
My other thought was a deck centered around "You're going to attack me, but it will suck." Janky as hell, but also hilarious.
July 16, 2015 12:28 a.m.
GreenGhost says... #14
No what he means is that in creature mode as a planeswalker the 1/1 counters will stay on.
July 16, 2015 7:36 a.m.
I know the counters will be removed when Kytheon's removed. I'm talking about the planeswalker side and Gideon's 0 ability (See Gideon Jura, Gideon, Champion of Justice, and Kytheon, Hero of Akros Flip to see what I'm trying to say...and Green_Ghost understood me.
I'm not going full on hatebear. Just a few cards, but not all of it.
July 16, 2015 9:19 a.m.
question....how would you be getting those +1 counters on Gideon in the first place
July 16, 2015 5:08 p.m.
Citadel Siege (choosing Khans), Mikaeus, the Lunarch, the occasional Bolster, and a few others, like Cenn's Tactician. They're all in the deck I linked earlier.
SirFowler says... #2
I would suggest using some sort of hatebear strategy. Cards like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Vryn Wingmare, and Glowrider so you can slow down your opponents while adding extra heat. With that being said though, Eight-and-a-Half-Tails might be better for that type of deck as a commander.
Weenies is kind of difficult in EDH because a lot of people use high power creatures because they can afford to do so. There have been successful decks using this strategy, but it's difficult without knowing your playgroup on how this would do.
July 15, 2015 7:53 p.m.