Hero's Path Commander Chellenge
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on May 18, 2015, 1:08 p.m. by BenjiRed94
Wassup magicians!!
Today I bring to you an idea I've been working on for the past few months, involving the Theros block Challenge decks [Face the Hydra, Battle the Horde & Defeat a God] and a fun, interactive way to play against all 3 in a single sitting.
Recently I got hold of these 3 decks after missing the game days and my LGS running out of stock and beung unable to order any more in. But I got them eventually, and I love them. The idea of a self playing deck is brilliant, just you, your deck and the creature you're facing.
But that got me thinking. "How can I play all 3 of these decks in a single sitting without needing to shuffle my deck again and start over from the beginning..." And then it hit me..... COMMANDER!!!
I adore the commander format, the large decks, the ridiculous combos, the insane game times from 3 turns to 300 turns, and best of all the fun and freedom of the format.
So this is my challenge, a fun, challenging way to complete the Hero's Path in one single sitting using a regular commander deck.
---RULES---
Obviously, the standard commander rules apply;
One commander
99 other cards
40 life
Commander tax applies
Start with the Hydra. It's a vicious start, and if you pull a bad hand, then you're gonna have a bad time. This is meant to be a challenge, so you've gotta beat it on hard. That's 4 heads on the first turn, and it'll just grow and grow from there.
Then the Horde. A set of vicious Minotaurs ready to tear through you limb by limb. These guys are all out force and if you aren't quick enough after the hydra has got to you, then damn, you're gonna get ripped apart!!
Last, but certainly not least. Xenagos, the newly ascended got of revels!! He's untouchable while the party rages on!! He's a literal god, ready to beat the ever-loving heck out of you!!
Simple enough, right? WRONG!!!
This is meant to be a CHALLENGE!!! Of course there's a catch!!
---SPECIAL RULES---
--HYDRA--
You've gotta beat this wild beast on hard mode. 4 heads to begin with, slay one and it'll possibly grow two back, and they'll be even more vicious!!!
But that's not all. This guy, is a beast, a myth made real!! Instead of the simple 4 regular hydra heads, this beast starts with 2 Hydra heads, 1 Ravenous Brute head and your choice of the 3 other elite heads;
Savage Vigor - Give the hydra the chance to grow to ridiculous sizes
Shrieking Titan - Lose a card every turn, slowing your assault way down
Snapping Fang - Take extra damage every turn, meaning you NEED to play fast. Super fast.
--HORDE--
You've just wiped out the Hydra, now it's time to pass through Deathbellow Pass... And there's an army of hungry Man-Bear-Pigs!!! You've done it before, but never like this!!
You've only got 1 turn to prepare for this ambush, it is an ambush after all... Oh, and the Horde reveals 3 cards on it's first 2 turns....
That's a potential 6 creatures coming at you, not something everyone desires on their first few turns.
--GOD--
At last. The Hydra has been slain, the Horde slaughtered, and it's time. The toughest challenge is here. Xenagos awaits.
That lovely commander you have there? You can only cast them AFTER Xenagos has attacked.... So you've gotta take a HUGE hit before you're big boss can come to town.
As for the party, this thing is massive!!! There isn't just two simple Throngs awaiting you; 2 Rollicking Throngs, 1 Maddened Oread and of course, Xenagos himself.
Similar to the Horde, this party is just getting started, with 1 turn to prepare and 3 cards revealed on Xenagos' first turn!!!
--PLAYER--
Oh? You thought this was going to be EASY!? Not. A. Chance!!!
Your massive army of tokens & all those enchantments buffing them to the moon, yeah, you can't keep them...After (if) you successfully pass the Hydra, you're graveyard gets exiled, that's right, no flashback spells for later on. And your army of Elves? Off to the graveyard. In fact, all your non-land permanents? They're ALL going, but they've just taken on a HYDRA! They're gonna need a rest after that!!
But this is a challenge, so of course all that work you did building up 40 lands wasn't worth it. You've gotta sacrifice half your mana production. Yes. Half... Well....Half of single colour producing lands, rounded up.
For example, let's say you beat the hydra and happen to have 6 Mountains, 4 Plains, 9 Forests and a Temple of the False God. When you get to the Horde, that'll be down to 3 Mountains, 2 Plains, 4 Forests and your Temple - so be wary about playing your land EVERY turn. Oh and this counts for the Horde as well... So you'll end up with an empty battlefield with just 1 Mountain, 1 Plans, 2 Forests and your Temple...
If you had your commander on the battlefield and managed to pass each challenge, they go back to the command zone. Commander tax applies as if it would have been killed, exiled or anything else. So even if you only cast it once, you're gonna be paying the extra.
That's my challenge. I'll be uploading a sample gameplay to YouTube for you all to see, hopefully I'll last.
Check out the deck I'll be using -HERE-
BenjiRed94 says... #3
@jandrobard some of those look quite good :) Just remember that none of the decks can perform illegal actions, such as drawing cards. Also, Skittles probably won't work too well as infect wouldn't work against the challenge decks (since they have no life total and probably can't get poison counters)
May 18, 2015 2:04 p.m.
BenjiRed94 says... #6
@jandrobard looks good, feel free to post a video response if you want :) Mine shall be up in a few days, been rather busy
May 19, 2015 3:55 p.m.
BenjiRed94 says... #8
Link to the video promo MTG Hero's Patch Commander Challenge
May 29, 2015 12:23 p.m.
TheChurchIsHere2 says... #10
I'm thinking of trying this out, but instead, doing it Emperor-style with the Xenagos deck as the Emperor, hydras on one side, minotaurs on the other. I'll play around with it, do some tweaking, and let you know how it goes.
July 3, 2015 1:21 p.m.
BenjiRed94 says... #11
Sounds good, could be very difficult though, but keep me posted. I'll be uploading my video of my first attempt soon enough, just back from holiday
jandrobard says... #2
I'm thinking Azusa, Lost but Seeking (insert large amount of lands).dek, Borborygmos Enraged land toss, Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief aggro, Hisoka, Minamo Sensei (I think all the hero's path challenges' cards have CMC 0), Korlash, Heir to Blackblade, Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero, Memnarch, Nin, the Pain Artist (no drawback), Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker instakill, Patron of the Moon, Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon, or maybe Ashling the Pilgrim. Most of these are cool with running a high land count (usually in the form of being a mana sink), or are really fast. I'll start building a deck soon.
May 18, 2015 1:48 p.m.