Which RW Angel as general...?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Aug. 21, 2013, 10:19 p.m. by Jay
I recently built a Boros Angel theme EDH deck. I don't have the list on here yet unfortunately, but I was wondering who you guys think is a better general for EDH in (snicker) general.
The 3 I have in mind are Aurelia, the Warleader , Gisela, Blade of Goldnight , and Basandra, Battle Seraph .
I could potentially just swap them out, but I only have 99 sleeves of the right color, so I'd be a card short or in a different sleeve haha.
Thoughts and input appreciated guys.
-Jay
But then you also have to consider...
Basandra has kickass art.
August 21, 2013 10:29 p.m.
Bobgalarneau says... #4
While basandra is cool, she's more into controling the field than attacking... She needs to be built around more than the two other.
Gisela is a nice one, but i would take aurelia over her. Whichever you chose, both goes into the deck anyway and both deck would be very similar.
August 21, 2013 10:32 p.m.
What strategy differences would there really be between Basandra and Aurelia?
August 21, 2013 10:42 p.m.
Well, my EDH meta is mostly control so I feel like the Instant-Hate would do well. But on the flipside, Aurelia gets the kill faster and Gisela keeps a good offense and defense. I'M SO TORN.
August 21, 2013 10:43 p.m.
The strategy difference would mainly be that I would have more large stuff in Basandra to kill there stuff in forced attack, but Aurelia would have smaller evasive guys for repeated assault.
August 21, 2013 10:44 p.m.
Do you play more multiplayer or more 1v1 (or a small group of 3)?
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight encourages opponents to attack each other and not bother with having little impact on you. This would be the more political choice.
Aurelia, the Warleader gives you a big incentive to play more aggressively, leaving yourself open and making enemies. This would be the more direct / aggro choice.
I'd say that Gisela and Aurelia are the most obvious boros generals. Any other needs to be built around like Bobgalarneau said. Basandra, Battle Seraph might be the more defensive choice, would be interesting to use for messing with the board, and would be easier to re-cast (which is important since any of these will be juicy targets and boros has very little for ramp and 7 cmc is already plenty much to get to).
RE: changing builds / building around / how things would be different: For example, boros angels normally loves combat tricks that give extra combat phases or double strike (or both) but you would have to skip those yourself with Basandra. She has a different flavor that mixes more with things like Curse of Stalked Prey and Diaochan, Artful Beauty . It would be a more subtle strategy than the other two which would be more like simple tap - creature - attack - repeat (although Gisela does encourage a "sit back and watch" phase first).
I have a different general entirely that I built a boros deck around that in a similar way is "built around" in a different way even though it has both Aurelia and Gisela in it. In this case I wanted more artifacts and more combat tricks and ambushes than what would otherwise be typical.:
Air Guitar (Jor EDH M14 revamp)
I guess that one approach to EDH is the "good stuff" approach:
- pick color combo
- choose the good cards / best cards the chosen color offers
- win since you deserve to since you spent the money to have the better cards
Building approach:
- start with a general
- find synergy cards with the chosen general within your general's color code
- coordinate those cards into strategies and choose a few that will fit (you may not be able to include all of them)
If it's more of a "good stuff" direction then Aurelia, the Warleader gives the most value since you can cast her and use her right away for advantage (and for extra advantage with other cards that you have) before non-instant removal can take effect.
If it's more of a "building" direction then the choice is yours based on how you wish to play.
August 21, 2013 11:08 p.m.
I Generally play in groups of about 3 or 4, which is why I'm leaning away from Aurelia. I would knock someone out then be the next to go. The main thing is that this is far from competitive, it's just me having fun with angels. For the most part, that means 4-7 drops with cool abilities, big bodies, and flying. I think Basandra's neutral stance might be what I need.
August 21, 2013 11:11 p.m.
I think she would be less likely to be a target than the other two and you could probably use her to effectively pit people against each other.
August 21, 2013 11:15 p.m.
Doing Basandra then stacking pillow fort enchants like Ghostly Prison and Sphere of Safety and watch your opponents beat each other up.
I would love to see someone pull that off, it's hilarious.
August 21, 2013 11:23 p.m.
smash10101 says... #15
i really like the pillowfort bassandra idea. I might build that next (still working on my group hug Karona, False God )
August 21, 2013 11:33 p.m.
This needs to be a thing. Here's all the "can't attack you" cards in R/W
Blazing Archon | Chronomantic Escape | Ghostly Prison | Norn's Annex | Sphere of Safety | Reverence | Vow of Lightning | Vow of Duty | Windborn Muse | Form of the Dragon (ew) | Crawlspace
Some nifty deterrant cards would be Condemn | Creepy Doll | Stuffy Doll | Solitary Confinement | Soul Snare | SWEET JESUS YES--> Lightmine Field | Darien, King of Kjeldor | Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
Heck, even Eight-and-a-Half-Tails and Circle of Protection: White would work.
August 22, 2013 12:01 a.m.
If you do end up doing the Basandra Fort ping me when it's up. If not, I think I found my new EDH project :D
August 22, 2013 12:02 a.m.
RedKunoichi says... #18
August 22, 2013 12:37 a.m.
August 22, 2013 1:06 a.m.
I think it takes the right personality to pull it off - not just cards. I know some people who would rock at playing this strategy but it's not my thing. I can totally see how it could work diabollically but even if I got people to fall for it, I would just not really enjoy it.
I'd rather pull a fast one on someone who thought they were safe and unreachable and try to summon up the resilience necessary for enduring the inevitable hate that is coming to me (as you can see from my deck LOL).
I can see how this strategy would be more likely to actually win in the long run - but the expression on faces when a handful of mana dorks and flying thopters suddenly turn into 20 some odd damage they never saw coming is worth the hate it brings. I wouldn't want to take up this one, myself - although I can appreciate it for what it is.
August 22, 2013 1:57 a.m.
I hear ya. My little brother plays Phelddagrif and gets hated off the board lol. Just depends on your style.
August 22, 2013 2 a.m.
I'm still figuring out what makes people get hated on ... but I am kind of suspecting that it isn't just the cards they play ... I think there are other factors and it depends on the person.
August 22, 2013 2:12 a.m.
For instance, the particular strategy under discussion is a little likely to backfire if used on me and has been known to do so in the past. People are wired and motivated by more than the cards on the table.
But it has also been shown to work well on me at the same time - so I could see someone getting another person to aggro me with this and then I would turn on the source. So neither of us would win.
August 22, 2013 2:16 a.m.
smash10101 says... #25
that's it, I'm making a list. It'll be my first EDH deck post theros.
August 22, 2013 6:20 p.m.
My list is finally up. Angelfeather Pillow, take a gander.
brokendwarf says... #2
If your deck has a lot of burn type stuff, go with Gisela.
If it's just battling and stuff, I'd choose Aurelia over Basandra.
August 21, 2013 10:24 p.m.