Need Help Developing an "Ertai, the Corrupted" Deck!

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Posted on Aug. 22, 2020, 2:57 p.m. by Archon_Bel

Ertai, the Corrupted

I've decided I want to try building this guy next, but I'm going to need some help doing so. Right now, I'd like the main strategy to be reanimator and theft; I'm thinking I can best do this by wheeling opponents and reviving their creatures to my side or by using enchantments like Mind Control to steal them. Being able to take advantage of their spells with things like Insidious Will or Redirect would be in theme with this also.

Given the nature of Ertai's ability, though, I think an Esper Aristocrats strategy would also be good to use, especially with Solemnity in play with Undying or Persist creatures on board. Solemnity is the only card I know of in Esper that can prevent counters, but that's why having reanimation or recycling spells will be particularly useful.

Finally, I'm thinking about using tokens. Stuff like Weaponcraft Enthusiast or Grave Titan would build my board up and provide fodder for Ertai's ability, which will be used to hinder opponents' strategies and protect my own.

I think all of these strategies can mesh very well together, but my main concern is that I'll be spreading myself too thin if I try to incorporate every single one of these elements to their fullest. That's why I'm looking for help and advice on how to best take this deck.

Massacar says... #2

Hall of Heliod's Generosity for that enchantment recursion.

Makes use of Solemnity: Decree of Silence, Dark Depths, Cauldron of Souls.

I think you need to pick two main themes to focus on, but that doesn't mean you can't incorporate some elements of whatever you de-prioritieze.

August 22, 2020 3:09 p.m.

saluma says... #3

Baral, Chief of Compliance, Glen Elendra Archmage, Hall of Heliod's Generosity, Thornbite Staff, Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, Grand Abolisher, Aven Mindcensor, Narset, Parter of Veils and Ashiok, Dream Render are some cards that immediately comes to mind. I would build this deck with the purpose to suffocate my opponents entierly. Ah and also Deafening Silence and Decree of Silence with Solemnity.

Just be aware, your playgroup might hate you after game one tho...

August 22, 2020 3:16 p.m.

Definitely gotta get some untappey shenanigans going on as well, you're in blue so that shouldn't be a problem, though.

Jandor's Saddlebags, Aphetto Alchemist, Corridor Monitor, Niblis of the Breath, Minamo, School at Water's Edge, and Mind Over Matter all work

August 22, 2020 3:50 p.m.

RiotRunner789 says... #5

Vampire Hexmage get's rid of counters on any one target (though doesn't prevent them).

I think an aristocrats strategy would would best with theft as a sub-theme but if you do go theft, you'll probably want mill as a sub-theme to give get more targets from the yard.

Also, don't forget about Ertai's Meddling. Amazing counter spell that is under appreciated. It can counter the un-counterable as well.

August 22, 2020 5:21 p.m.

SynergyBuild says... #6

Look, sacrificing an enchantment or artifact is only a cost if you make it, find a use for that value.

Look at Demonic Pact, get some insane value, and whenever you need to crack it get a free counterspell too. Hatching Plans is a little shy of Ancestral Recall+Counterspell, which is busted.

Chime of Night. In my version I love it, it's busted good.

Trying to make tokens to sacrifice to to minimize the cost isn't a bad idea, however I believe the better approach is to see it as a sacrifice outlet for a card type rarely sacrificed. Just look for the value in it as an effect and you can find amazing engines to abuse! The Omen cycle (Omen of the Dead, Omen of the Sea, Omen of the Sun) from Theros, Beyond Death all give value and a free sacrifice as well as draw, tokens to sacrifice, or recusion for sacrificed fodder. While expensive to buy, Replenish is insane in this style of deck. Creatures with good death abilities can work similarly, however there is much better anti-graveyard-creature hate in existence, like Anafenza, the Foremost or Containment Priest, while enchantments are much safer in the yard. As previously mentioned, Hall of Heliod's Generosity is great for this strategy, however I'd be remiss not to mention Volrath's Stronghold, despitr it's insane pricetag.

Just build a deck utilizing all parts of Ertai, rather than just making him a counter spell on a stick!

August 22, 2020 6:29 p.m.

Archon_Bel says... #7

Massacar Decree of Silence is definitely going into the deck. Because why should anyone but me get to play the game lol? A bit pricey, but it's not too over my budget and probably won't be too hard finding a deal on. Dark Depths is a card I forgot existed, but between it and Decree, I'll probably opt for Decree. Will definitely keep it in mind, though, and might use it in my online builds if anything. Cauldron of Souls is neat, but sadly the creatures given Persist lose it after they return to the battlefield. Still, if I have enough creatures on board I'm probably not going to sacrifice the same creature anyway.

saluma That's fine, I think the people I played with already hated me anyway because of Yawgmoth lol. I definitely wouldn't mind building this deck in such a way that it becomes very hard to successfully resolve anything and advance your gameplan, but I'd still like it to be as proactive as possible so I'm not just standing on a back leg the whole time. I like a lot of the cards you mentioned, particularly the first 4.

Omniscience_is_life Aphetto Alchemist and Minamo, School at Water's Edge are the best of these due to low to no cost and free or low activation requirements. I would prefer to have free untap effects, that way I still have mana open for Ertai's ability.

RiotRunner789 Hexmage is cool, though I do wish it was a repeatable effect. That might have been broken if it was, though. Anyway, were I to go Aristocrats, what cards would you recommend that sacrifice for value? I have a Yawgmoth Aristo deck, but that essentially runs solely off of Yawgmoth, Thran Physician. Additionally, I think wheel effects might be preferable to mill effects, especially since in these colors I can use stuff like Notion Thief to ruin everyone's day.

And yes, I was definitely going to include Ertai's Meddling in the deck for the flavor AND utility. The best kind of flavor inclusions, really: stuff that's in theme and that's actually effective on its own.

SynergyBuild Very cool post! I was initially thinking of making this an enchantment-based deck, but I couldn't really find a lot of worthwhile enchantments that provide immediate value or value when they leave the field. They also seem fairly hard to recur; Heliod's Hall and Hanna, Ship's Navigator are the only two cards I can think of that let's you consistently recur them. I looked at the Enchantment Creatures as well, but... a lot of those kind of suck lol. Do you have any other enchantment suggestions of the kind you mentioned? Maybe a list I could look at for ideas?

I definitely didn't want to just make this a counter on a stick kind of deck, which is why I wanted to take this in a reanimator/theft direction so that I'm always doing something each turn.

I think overall, I'd like this to be primarily a reanimator deck with an aristocrats subtheme, but I'm definitely open to many other suggestions seeing how this commander is pretty foreign to me. Tried to build him a long time ago, actually, but it sucked. Now that I'm (hopefully) a better deck builder, I'm trying my hand at it again.

August 22, 2020 7:10 p.m.

SynergyBuild says... #8

Dance of the Manse, Hanna, Ship's Navigator, Replenish, Sun Titan, Hall of Heliod's Generosity, Crystal Chimes all are good recursion!

I'll write up a list later lol

August 22, 2020 9:55 p.m.

RiotRunner789 says... #9

Solemn Simulacrum and Filigree Familiar get you an ETB and a death trigger. You don't necessarily need to find death triggers (not a ton of those but they exist) but it is generally better to find things with good ETB then sac them for effect.

Such as Ravenous Chupacabra and sack it to Viscera Seer for the scry (or your commander for the counter).

August 22, 2020 10:31 p.m.

Archon_Bel says... #10

SynergyBuild Coolio. Btw, I meant a list for Ertai as a deck lol.

August 22, 2020 10:35 p.m.

Archon_Bel says... #11

RiotRunner789 I know that sac fodder doesn't always have to provide death triggers. I should have worded my question better and asked for good "sac outlets" like Viscera Seer or Sadistic Hypnotist.

August 22, 2020 10:38 p.m.

RiotRunner789 says... #12

Well, there is Carrion Feeder, Dimir House Guard, Phyrexian Plaguelord, Woe Strider, Attrition, and Ashnod's Altar

Plaguelord and attrition helps clear your opponent's board.

Woe Strider is a backup vicera seer that gives you a goat to sac.

Dimir is a free sac outlet that can double as a limited tutor.

Ashnod for the mana and carrion feeder is good because its cheap and free to activate. Maybe it gets big but not the main reason to run it.

August 22, 2020 10:59 p.m.

Archon_Bel says... #13

Alright, so I was doing some deck brewing on Cockatrice and can already see this deck can have a LOT of enchantments, enough that I probably won't be able to properly build around a reanimator/aristocrats theme. A lot of these enchantments feel too good to pass up, too, so perhaps it'd be better for me to go for an Enchanter style deck? Ertai's no Tuvasa, but he does still care somewhat about enchantments, and I've always wanted to build a 1984 themed deck. I'd go the direct theft route for this, as there are a lot of enchantments and some creatures that steal opponent's creatures, keeping in line with the idea of brainwashing and willbreaking in the story. Then, of course, there's Propaganda...

Just some thoughts I've been having. I'm currently at the stage where I'm having a hard time settling on what exactly I'd like the deck to do; feels like so many things could go into this that I don't know where to start or stop. If I do go the enchantment route, I'd need a wincon.

August 23, 2020 4 a.m.

Archon_Bel says... #14

Lol so in building the Ertai deck, I ended up deciding to build a different commander instead: Merieke Ri Berit. Since my original plan with Ertai was to have a theft subtheme, as I was putting cards like Merieke and Callous Oppressor in, I thought to myself, "You know, wouldn't Merieke just be a better commander overall for this?"

I'll be posting the decklist to my profile in a bit if anyone's interested in looking over it and giving advice/suggestions. Thanks to those of you who pitched in some ideas for Ertai, though!

August 30, 2020 2:37 a.m.

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