Sigarda Vs. Uril
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Dec. 14, 2016, 10:18 p.m. by JaceTheSwagSculptor
After playing my Sigarda, Host of Herons deck this past week in the weekly EDH league, I found myself wishing I had better utility lands to fetch with cards like Knight of the Reliquary and Sylvan Scrying. It dawned on me that many of these lands (namely Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion, Skarrg, the Rage Pits, and Kessig Wolf Run) are in Uril, the Miststalker's colors. He obviously plays in a similar fashion to Sigarda, Host of Herons, but forgoes some of the protection she provides.
With this in mind, I would like to know the which general you believe to be the better option?
As a side note...Clearly some of this is meta-dependent (i.e. how prominent are sac effects in "X" meta?), but if you were to say which one you would generally prefer to have, which would it be? Do you believe the power and colors Uril, the Miststalker grants is worth losing the protection and initial evasion Sigarda, Host of Herons gives?
Thanks!
PhotogenicParasympathetic says... #3
Worth noting also that Sigarda can be run in Uril, giving you something to toolbox against sac-heavy opponents, whereas the reverse is not true.
Personally, I've got a Sigarda deck, and it's just not as fun as I think Uril could be. His passive ability means you need much less to make him lethal, and that, in conjunction with the extra options red opens up, is worth the lack of sac-proofing.
December 14, 2016 10:28 p.m.
JaceTheSwagSculptor says... #4
So many things to think about! I also forgot Sigarda, Host of Herons comes with built in evasion, while Uril, the Miststalker does not.
I guess if I were to elaborate upon my meta, I would say that I have yet to see any Eldrazi titans, but have seen a fair amount of Fleshbag Marauders and Sheoldred, Whispering Ones. Although my meta veers toward the more competitive side of things, MLD is still frowned upon. If this were not the case, then I would not be asking this question and would just jam my deck full of Armageddon effects.
December 14, 2016 10:52 p.m.
JaceTheSwagSculptor says... #5
@PhotogenicParasympathetic: The only problem with making the argument of running Sigarda, Host of Herons in Uril, the Miststalker is both drawing Sigarda, Host of Herons and knowing that your opponent is going to be running those kind of effects. Fun is not necessarily what I am looking for and more so optimal, as I generally find myself having fun when my deck is most consistent.
December 14, 2016 11:01 p.m.
joshuaizac says... #6
For me personally I'm not a fan of playing commanders with less than 3 colors in their identities, so Sigarda wouldn't be my choice though she does have great static abilities. Uril as a commander on the other hand sends you down a road of building Aura-Voltron (not that you'd have to), which makes the lands you mention just overcosted compared to the auras you could use to serve the same/similar purposes. Also I have a Rafiq / Bant-Chantress Voltron-ish edh and I think Bant has better chants than Naya so I'm bias because of that too....So ultimately I'm not a fan of either, which doesn't likely help you too much, but I felt these were things that needed to be considered....
gl & hf
December 14, 2016 11:24 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #7
All those lands seem to be really mana intensive. Do you have other repeating tutors that can get cards that help your commander, suck as Stonehewer Giant? Sigarda is better than Uril for having evasion and protection, which ultimately matter more than being able to get bigger faster. That said, tutors should be included when they get important cards in the deck, not the other way around.
December 14, 2016 11:29 p.m.
JaceTheSwagSculptor says... #8
@joshuaizac: I never thought of Rafiq of the Many as you require two pieces to get started - the hexproof creature and the auras - whereas Uril and Sigarda both only need the auras. If you think you have a decent enough list put together on tappedout, then I wouldn't mind taking a look.
December 14, 2016 11:32 p.m.
JaceTheSwagSculptor says... #9
@MagicalHacker: You're more than welcome to look at the list if you would like. The deck pretty much makes use of every tutor I have access to (Enchantress Sigarda). If I would change over to Uril, I would pretty much run the same list except with cards like Angelic Destiny along with the aforementioned lands.
December 14, 2016 11:37 p.m.
joshuaizac says... #10
To Preface this Rafiq Deck my group and I play mostly budget (most of our decks are $150.00 or less) and casually (decks toned down to approximately 75% of max capabilities). There have been a few times I have questioned whether this deck on par with the casual meta it plays and am sure it's toned down well below the 75% mark. Additionally you'll see a few intentionally mediocre cards such as Sejiri Merfolk and Thran Golem for example (don't judge me! lol) in the spirit of downplaying the deck. I think the shell of this deck could easily be tuned up and be played in far more competitive environment than mine.
Additionally Rafiq is seldomly himself voltron'd (we don't use commander dmg so that's not a consideration) but often times Rafiq is played much the same way you'd play a Dictate of the Twin Gods in some other deck....once you decide its time to rip flesh off someone's face.
Anyways as per request here's the Decklist: Bant-Chantress
December 14, 2016 11:56 p.m.
Uril has access to Aggravated Assault, which gives you a way to take down multiple opponents on the same turn. Just slap a Bear Umbra or Sword of Feast and Famine onto Uril and away you go. Sack effects aren't as rough on Uril if you run mana dorks like Elvish Mystic to help push him out quicker, since they can just be used as sac fodder to shield him.
With red you also gain more ways of dealing with blue if blue is common in the decks you play against. Spellbreaker Behemoth and Vexing Shusher make your commander harder to counter and there are cards like Red Elemental Blast if your meta is really blue heavy. Contested Cliffs worked out great in my old Uril deck. It lets Uril clear out a potential blocker, and I've used it with Spellbreaker Behemoth to deal with annoying creatures like Patron Wizard in Azami.
December 15, 2016 12:20 a.m.
I wouldn't use sigarda outside of the 99 anyway, she just doesn't bring anything truly unique to the table besides some protection. In the 99 though, sigarda is absolutely amazing. I am reffering exclusively to uril by the way, I don't play both of her colors together in any of my other commander decks.
December 15, 2016 8:25 a.m.
Having tried both, I would absolutely recommend Uril over Sigarda. Red doesn't offer too much in the way of additional auras, admittedly, but you get extra combat steps and damage doublers, along with some decent removal options (ideally, Uril would be strong enough to survive a Blasphemous Act late into the game). G&W will have plenty of little weenies that help your gameplan that can be used as sac fodder if you need to sac stuff (stuff like Hero of Iroas, Umbra Mystic, Verduran Enchantress, etc.), and of course if you draw Sigarda you're all set save for a boardwipe or something.
Uril lacks natural evasion, but it is exceptionally easy to give him some. And if your opponent somehow kills him, cast him again and then Replenish for the win!
December 15, 2016 8:35 a.m.
JaceTheSwagSculptor says... #14
I get that both have their merits - Sigarda is more resilient, while Uril is more bursty - however the main problem I see with Uril is that your mana is pretty clunky (even with an relatively optimized mana base) during the early game. This is fairly big detriment especially since in voltron decks you usually want your general out ASAP.
December 15, 2016 9:11 a.m.
RedUndead40 says... #16
My meta has both a tuned Sigarda deck and a tuned Uril deck and I have to say...
Uril beats Sigarda almost every time. When it comes to Voltron, speed > resilience.
Yeah Sigarda is super hard to remove properly but she can have trouble finishing off multiple opponents.
Uril gains access to red which has some great voltron options, and that +2 buff adds up very quickly.
I see Uril win 5 man games regularly. Sigarda might kill 1 or 2 guys but lacks the speed and power to end games like Uril.
Again thats just my meta but for voltron in general speed seems better than resilience.
MindAblaze says... #2
The biggest thing I see is "protection from Annihilator."
Otherwise, Uril is a house.
December 14, 2016 10:24 p.m.