Sac lands
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on May 31, 2017, 5:48 a.m. by Geralf_Cecani
I'm trying to throw together a Maze's End alternate win con deck with the Child of Alara as the commander. The commander is pretty much wrath on a stick, and his (her? its?) effect destroys everything BUT gates, so he/she/it does provide a purpose other than chromaticnesslessness. However, the creepy kid needs to die in order to wrath, and most traditional sac engines, such as Ashnod's Altar and Culling Dais, are wiped along with everything else. So I'm looking for lands that can provide the same effect. Thus far, the only reasonably priced candidate that I have found is High Market. I know of Phyrexian Tower and Miren, the Moaning Well , but they are outside my price range. Also, if you know of any copy lands other than Thespian's Stage and Vesuva that could copy Maze's End that would also be great.
DISCLAIMER: I know that this deck will suck. Its meant to be a kooky deck with an alternate win con that's fun to play :)
PlattBonnay says... #3
Bontu the Glorified and Greater Gargadon arent lands, but they are sac outlets that would be reasonable replacements for the lands you cant afford. Angelic Purge is another way to sacrifice Child that also cleans up annoying permanents like Ulamogs or Gods.
And before you go believing the deck will be bad, one of my favourite decks is a non-budget version of exactly what you have described: Child's Eternal Garden
May 31, 2017 9:25 a.m.
the.beanpole says... #4
Grim Backwoods does the job, though it is expensive for the effect. Note that Child of Alara has to go to the graveyard to get the Wrath effect, not the Command Zone. If you want to have access to it's effect repeatedly, you'll probably want ways to 'exile' it from there to put it back into the Command Zone.
May 31, 2017 9:39 a.m.
I dont know about other saclands than the one you mentionned, but you could include something like Soul of New Phyrexia to make your stuff indestrutible before wiping the board.
May 31, 2017 11:06 a.m.
Also, Boros Charm and Heroic Intervention are other ways to preserve your field.
May 31, 2017 12:13 p.m.
I also found Keldon Necropolis. You could also copy Child with Mirrorpool and sacrifice one to the legend rule. Westvale Abbey
Flip require more creatures, but you get a great, indestructible demon.
You do need to send the Child to the graveyard. Enchant it with Gift of Immortality if you want to lose your friends.
May 31, 2017 1:49 p.m. Edited.
PookandPie says... #9
There are only six lands that function as sac outlets that don't require multiple creatures on board, and those lands are:
High Market, Phyrexian Tower, Miren, the Moaning Well, Grim Backwoods, Keldon Necropolis, and Diamond Valley. Of those, only the first three and the last one are worth mentioning. If Miren is out of your price range, then lands that only require one creature to function as a sac outlet, in general, are out of your price range.
The only lands that copy other lands are Vesuva and Thespian's Stage. Your best bet to copy something like Maze's End would be to turn it into a creature and then use a variety of copying spells on it. A kicked Rite of Replication would speed along your plan pretty well I guess (assuming you have the 9 mana, that'd be 3 more Gates on field with 2 Mazes leftover. Kind of a waste of Rite, but you're aiming to be cute and quirky, here, I'm assuming). Nature's Revolt, among tons of other spells, would accomplish the land animating aspect. Kamahl, Fist of Krosa would also do it and hopefully not leave your land as open to board wipes or removal.
May 31, 2017 2:16 p.m.
You can also run the one drop spells that coloured permanents.
Hydroblast, Red Elemental Blast, Dark Betrayal, etc. There are a lot of them, and they also work on your opponents' stuff if the colour matches.
May 31, 2017 7:44 p.m.
Geralf_Cecani says... #11
Thanks everyone for your input!
PlattBonnayI love the idea of Bontu the Glorified, he's a bit expensive money-wise, but he is a Standard staple and the combo is hilarious so I'll consider buying him. Greater Gargadon is just amazingly OP (I would probably put in a one drop that could only help me wrath a couple times, but I also get a free 9/7? Sweet!) I'll also consider Angelic Purge for one of the 99. It's definitely sideboard worthy, in case I come up against a Avacyn, Angel of Hope deck or something.
the.beanpole Thanks for mentioning Grim Backwoods, the deck is focused around mana ramp so the 4 mana won't be a problem, and hey I get a free card. However, I don't think that the Child of Alara has to go to the graveyard for it's ability to trigger. My reasoning is that stuff like Kokusho, the Evening Star has "when put into the graveyard from play", which is the same as dying, except the graveyard bit is specified. I'll have to check with my playgroup, however.
Chandrian and cklise: thanks for the idea, but I'm planning to focus heavily on the Maze's End win con, and thus pretty much the only permanents I have are lands, my commander and things like Expedition Map and Sakura-Tribe Elder, which aren't gonna stay on the battlefield long. But still, thanks for your input!
Ohthenoises... I have no idea what's going on there, but thanks anyway!
Iron_Cube: Keldon Necropolis, is definitely usable. As i said earlier to beanpole, the deck has a shit load of Explore and Urban Evolution effects, so mana won't be a problem. Granted, the two damage will be effectively useless, with the wipe happening immediately after and the win condition not being damage related, but it's the sacrifice bit that's important. Mirrorpool isn't the best sac ability, as it can only trigger once, and is mildly expensive mana wise and has no additional effects. I would rather play Morbid Curiosity or Disciple of Bolas to get something out of the solo sac. Westvale Abbey Flip would just take too long and use up too much mana to pump out the clerics, and I don't have my one creatures to supplement Ormendahl, Profane Prince Flip's diet. And I would swear the creepy kid didn't have to go to the graveyard... but I'm running lots of recursion to get back stuff like removed gates or Expedition Map so even if it does so I should be fine. Gift of Immortality would however mean that I don't have to pay the casting cost ever again, command zone or no, so it's a definite addition.
PookandPie: Thanks for going to all the trouble of getting the list of all those lands together, now I know that all you guys haven't missed anything. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Grim Backwoods and Keldon Necropolis, the entire deck is built to getting lots of land out as fast as I can, so mana shouldn't be a problem. As for copying, I would rather not turn my lands into creatures, simply because they would be that much easier to remove: I don't to lose my Izzet Guildgate to a Doom Blade lol. But yeah Phyrexian Tower and co. are too expensive for a little edh player like me lol.
Epidilius: The idea is sound, but there are instant/sorceries out there that have sac a creature as an additional cost, and thus their CMC is really low too (eg. Culling the Weak or Abjure). As for removing opponent's stuff, the commander is literally wrath on a stick that (effectively) doesn't effect me. If I were to use removal, I would probably use exile effects, cos destroy may not cut it.
June 1, 2017 2:54 a.m.
Winterblast says... #12
Abilities that trigger "when creature X dies" do not Trigger when you put the creature in the command zone. putting the commander there is a replacement effect and it goes in the command zone INSTEAD of the zone it would go otherwise. I would recommend a lot of Reanimation spells to get the commander back out of the graveyard, either to play or to the Hand. For example Animate Dead, Reanimate, Shallow Grave, Dance of the Dead, Necromancy, Goryo's Vengeance, Karmic Guide, Unburial Rites, Oversold Cemetery, Haunted Crossroads
Another thing that has to be said is that very specific requirements for a card aren't often found on a lot of cards. When you want a certain ability on a certain card type for an interesting or funny but also rare strategy, having to pay between 5 and 20 dollar for a card that fits isn't unusual. It also has to be noted that buying cards from the reserved list is always interesting when you can make a good deal because if something won't ever get reprinted, the prices won't ever drop much and if the card happens to become an important piece in a legacy or vintage deck sometimes in the future you might even be able to sell it for a lot more.
Vman says... #2
i dont have the answer you seek, but just wanna say i think the deck is an amazing idea XD i love it, and if i ever were to play commander maybe id take a page from your book
May 31, 2017 7:56 a.m.