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Legality
| Format | Legality |
| 1v1 Commander | Legal |
| Archenemy | Legal |
| Arena | Legal |
| Block Constructed | Legal |
| Canadian Highlander | Legal |
| Casual | Legal |
| Commander / EDH | Legal |
| Commander: Rule 0 | Legal |
| Custom | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Highlander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Leviathan | Legal |
| Limited | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Planechase | Legal |
| Quest Magic | Legal |
| Vanguard | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
Isperia, Supreme Judge
Legendary Creature — Sphinx
Flying
Whenever a creature attacks you or a planeswalker you control, you may draw a card.
Michigone on
Isshin for a Fight
1 year ago
Been a second since I changed anything, deck was overdue for a little update. A newer player in my playgroup plays a Kardur, Doomscourge deck, and I read an article recently that talked about how to combat power creep in a playgroup in ways that are fun and interesting for everyone. And the article talked about building decks with your meta in mind, or at least coming up with ways to combat specific decks that you are likely to see, and in the interest of full disclosure, I don't often do that. I find myself building decks that excite me from a mechanical perspective, and then fine tuning the deck relative to my playgroup through playtesting, and in this way letting the meta affect my card choices for slots in my 99. I don't think it's a bad way to deck build, but I think I ask others for their opinions a lot (sorry Crow-Umbra), and that it's a result of me not looking at my meta in particular. I think that thinking about my card slots in terms of what I'll sit down and face on any given play night would actually have me asking less, or maybe just different questions of what my deck should be doing to accomplish its game plan.
Okay, so that's a long ramble, and all of this is to say that against the players in my play group that field decks that put up big bodies that I can't swing into (Gargos, Vicious Watcher, Ghired, Conclave Exile) or their decks go wide enough that they can chump block my creatures to death (Edgar Markov, Ghired, Conclave Exile, Alela, Artful Provocateur, Marrow-Gnawer, Isperia, Supreme Judge, Lathril, Blade of the Elves), or they play Goad (Just the Kardur, Doomscourge Deck currently), I need more protection for my attackers. Now Crow-Umbra mentioned Reconnaissance way back, and I kind of slept on it because I thought (incorrectly) that it would hamper my ability to do damage, but still offer me the benefit of vigilance. But I realized that after the errata by Magic in creating multiple combat steps, that I can still use Reconnaissance to untap my attacking creatures after they've dealt damage, during the combat end step, thus allowing me to "have my cake and eat it too." So I was wondering what to cut, and I landed on cutting Curse of Opulence. It is irritating to the player that it gets put on, and it's hard to assess as early as turn one who the biggest threat will be, and it embitters whichever player I put it on against me, so even though I get ramp off of it, and other players do too, it doesn't really do me too many favors. So Curse is out, Reconnaissance is in.
Michigone on Crow_Umbra
1 year ago
Hey Crow-Umbra, I finally got the chance to play Isshin in a pod a few nights ago! All of my playtesting has just been me playing Isshin and a friend's Mayael the Anima against each other online. It has helped me learn to assess threats to my deck's strategy in a 1v1 setting, and in 1v1, my Isshin deck is feels solid. But since I'm the only one doing the playtesting, I don't play more than 1v1. But maybe I should. That's a good thought to explore.
But. 1) What's your win rate with Isshin in your pod? 2) How do you win with Isshin in multiplayer? Not you specifically, but more generally, how does one win with Isshin in multiplayer, thousand-foot strategy and all that, although obviously I also want to know how you specifically win with your Isshin deck.
Thoughts on the two mutliplayer Isshin games:
The deck had a very Purph feel to it, and it was fun to play at the table and watch people get burned down. But I was first out in game one and second out in game two. There was way more interaction and removal at the table than usual, mostly from my side, especially a few great board wipes in both games. But I lacked the card draw and mana to get back up and running faster than other players after the wipes.
So what do I do? Lean more into group slug, i.e. put in Impact Tremors? Lean away from wipes and focus on ramp and draw? More protection for my creatures? Anyway, these are just some thoughts I'm kicking around. The finer points of piloting that I'm still struggling with and would love some input on can be articulated as thus.
3) In thinking of actions I could have taken differently in my games to better my chances of winning, I reasoned that I could have assessed who was the biggest threat at the table (I actually knew this both games, but more on that in question two) and just directed all my damage output to them first, thus knocking them out. Then I would turn on the other two players and gut them. I COULD play this way, but my feelings on playing that way can best be described as distasteful. I don't want to be a bully. Maybe more specifically, I dont want another player to have to sit out for a long time because I gunned them down first and then have them watch me slowly debone the other two players. Seems like it might be unfun for them. But is that a route to victory? I mean, if I'm going to become the archenemy right away because of the fast aggression of the deck and the quick changes to my board state, do I have to embrace that mindset? Which leads me nicely to question...
4) As the only deck in the meta with a robust removal suite, I played both games with a strategy towards parity for all players so that everyone could be at the table for as long as possible. Is this a bad strategy? To better define "parity for all" I'll give you an example. I knew the biggest threat at the table in game 1 was the Ghired, Conclave Exile deck, and I rightly removed its Anointed Procession when it was played, because I knew how out of hand that could get, but I held myself back from using more removal on its Garruk's Uprising in the vain hope that the other players at the table would understand the threat it represented and use their own removal on it. I also held back because I didn't want the Ghired player to feel unfairly targeted by my removal, even though I knew how big of a threat their deck was (The other two decks were a SLOW and poorly tuned Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle and the Isperia, Supreme Judge pre-con unchanged). When playing aggro (or maybe even magic in general), is playing for parity possible if a player is trying to win?
Now the last question is probably more of a style of play choice, but comes from the same place as the others.
5) I noticed that board wipes kept me in the game, and kept the game going, but at what cost? As I may have mentioned before, our meta is very little permission and removal, and we often get 3-4 games in over a 3 hour period. We seem to like this pace of play, as it allows us to switch up decks, try new things out, and everyone gets to do their thing. With a board wipe, it kept everyone at the table longer because the games lasted longer, but we only got 2 games in over the course of 5 hours. They were much closer games, with lots of back and forth, which kept it engaging, but maybe it would have been better to scoop and get more games in? My problem with board wipes is more a two part question I guess. Part I) How do I recover more quickly after a board wipe than my opponents? Do I need more card draw? Do I need more protection to keep my creatures around? And Part II) I guess this is similar to question four, but when is the right time in an aggro deck to play a board wipe? How do I threat assess the table correctly to say board wiping now will help me close out the game in a turn or two? And maybe more broadly, if my philosophy has been in almost all of my decks so far to win in a big flashy play all in one moment (infinite combo or alpha strike), do I need to shift off that playstyle in order to play a low to the ground fast aggro deck with a hefty removal suite? Is there a way in Isshin to have a big flashy win besides building board state over turns? Is that leaning more towards group slug?
Anyway, this is a massive post, and I know that it is an investment of time and energy to read all of this let alone answer all or even any of these questions, so if you have any thoughts that you want to share I am very appreciative that you took the time to read all this and come up with a/some response(s).
Thanks,
Niko9 on Which tribes do you think …
2 years ago
Sphinxes are such a good one. I kind of like Isperia, Supreme Judge with effects like Siren's Call or Bident of Thassa. I had tried it for a while, and it wasn't amazing, but it did make some big swings sometimes and it does feel good to punish players who are playing, disengage and wait to combo, decks. Blink effects really helped the deck with sphinxes. Blinking a blocker to gain cards off Isperia and then double up on Etb effects was pretty fun. You can even blink Azor, the Lawbringer off Eldrazi Displacer if you want to be mean about it : )
Also, Siren's Call absolutely loves Isochron Scepter and Unwinding Clock if you have creatures to punish with it.
Niko9 on Need a home for my …
2 years ago
This looks like a really fun card to play with.
Maybe something with Bident of Thassa to make them attack and then Isperia, Supreme Judge to profit if they attack you.
You could use Cultural Exchange to completely upset the board. One person gets tokens that are going to die, and the other gets creatures that might be good but they can't use the synergies. Only problem is that you just might make two people mad : )
Maybe Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant to create a ton of tokens and then give everyone an incentive to not attack you.
Honestly, it seems like a hard card to build around, but at the same time, such an awesome one. I feel like you need ramp for the upkeep, removal or mill to fuel graveyards, and then still a way to pay it off.
And, Sundial of the Infinite might work, but you'd really need ways to untap it like Unwinding Clock and even then, the payoff may not be so great.
Lolth, Spider Queen might go nuts with death triggers and her ult is really good with any small evading creatures.
I guess if it was me, I'd be on the plan of, make everyone make tokens, give them reasons to swing at each other, then when everyone is beat up, swoop in with something to win.
Oh, also, Braid of Fire could help you pay the cumulative cost, at least in part.
It would be fun to see what it looks like when it's all together : ) Super creative!
rdean14 on Card creation challenge
2 years ago
I think it works really well with her powers as someone who sees and alters fates. I'd like to see a card, preferrably a commander, with a unique built-in pillowfort method.
Current methods or deterrence:
Full Protection: Blazing Archon, Peacekeeper, and Glacial Chasm
Conditional Protection: Arboria, Elephant Grass
(Mana) Tax effects: Ghostly Prison, Propaganda, Archangel of Tithes, Archon of Absolution, Forbidding Spirit, Elephant Grass, Windborn Muse, Baird, Steward of Argive, and War Tax (My favorite, I love the politics!)
Other costs: Norn's Annex, Reclamation, Flooded Woodlands
Hurt the attacking creature: Barbed Foliage, Briar Patch, Sarkhan the Masterless, Lightmine Field, and Lost in the Woods
Hurt the attacking player: Revenge of Ravens, Hissing Miasma, Blood Reckoning, Marchesa's Decree, Riddlekeeper? (Is this even a downside? It's not a cost, per the rules.)
Protect/Help you, the defending player: Revenge of Ravens, Righteous Cause, Orim's Prayer, Isperia, Supreme Judge, Search the Premises, Thantis, the Warweaver, Slumbering Dragon
I don't count Aurification-style effects, as the damage was already dealt.
legendofa on Best commanders to introduce new …
2 years ago
Usual disclaimer: I'm not an EDH expert and basically only play to have fun and mess with the match.
I haven't watched the short before writing this, so I'm going to assume that the new people are generally new to Magic as a whole. For this, I don't think the pre-built decks are the best tool, since they usually have some unique and pretty weird cards. I would start with a very simple, streamlined deck. Pull cards from core sets, use mechanics that have a lot of support, and don't try to be too tricky. Possible commanders could be Isperia, Supreme Judge , Harald, King of Skemfar , or Maja, Bretagard Protector . Explain the basic rules and vocabulary of the game and format, and have someone outside the game available to answer questions and offer tips during a match.
If the players know the game and are trying a new format, then you can get a bit broader. What strategies or archetypes do they like? Do they want to play to a theme? At this point, there's a legendary creature for just about anything a color can reasonably do. Explain how color identity works and what commander damage means, and be ready to offer deck and card suggestions. Show them any pre-built decks they might be able to buy or borrow and see if any of those get their attention.
RinceRaven on
fck my playgroup
2 years ago
Hey, looking at your list I have a bunch of opinions. I'mma drop those for later reference. This comment will be a mess, I'm sorry, I'm not gonna write a cohesive essay with a proper layout.
TL;DR: More boardwipes, less pillowfort, less creatures, +1 or 2 wincons.
Vryn Wingmare: taxing yes, but also taxes like 70% of your spells which I just can't see being worth it. At that stage, maybe run Sphere of Resistance. At least that hurts opposing creature decks too.
I don't love cards like Ghostly Prison because even though it does stop a bunch of random damage and everything it still won't stop the Voltron coming your way if they want to. On top of that your Magus of the Tabernacle will be an issue with your high creature count. So I'd consider getting rid of Baird, Steward of Argive and friends.
You only have three boardwipes, you're better off running more of those than pillowfort effects in my opinion. Consider Cleansing Nova, Rout, Time Wipe, Divine Reckoning. I like the last two a lot for this deck. Also where's your Cyclonic Rift do you not have more copies?
I'm very double on Isperia, Supreme Judge as a card. It's only 4 mana here which might make it good enough, but you're relying on opponents doing something which is usually not where you want to be. Mangara, the Diplomat in contrast, at least has muliple triggered abilities which does get triggered a lot, although with your taxing probably still a bad include, especially for it's $ cost. In the same wake I think Fatespinner, even though annoying for sure, gives opponents more options than you would like.
Nitpick, but Brainstorm becomes considerably worse if you don't have a bunch of fetches or other shuffle effects. Same goes for Mox Opal and your low artifact count. Though that one might still be good enough, albeit a little inconsistent with the current artifact count.
For counterspells, consider Memory Lapse or maybe even Essence Scatter or False Summoning. Also get Swan Song back in, a 1 mana counterspell that doesn't have a pay x out is probably still worth it's spot. Maaaybe on a super tight 100, but it's not like you're at that stage right now. And get rid of Render Silent three mana isn't worth it for the added silence in my opinion. Just keep the cheapest counterspells so you yourself can be more efficient with your own mana.
For ramp: Your commander is 4 mana, and getting him out is really good for you. Your ramp, for this reason, should be cmc 2 and below if possible. On top of that, due to Augustin's cost reducing abilities, you prefer your ramp to generate colored mana. So imo get rid of Azorius Locket and Azorius Cluestone. Instead look towards Coldsteel Heart and Talisman of Progress, maybe even a Sapphire Medallion, Pearl Medallion, Wayfarer's Bauble, Knight of the White Orchid. Or maybe Mind Stone, Walking Atlas, Everflowing Chalice. Maybe don't fix colors but at least curve out augustin. Finally please at least play Commander's Sphere over the Cluestone.
Also, please for the sake of our group, play an additional wincon. Right now you have Expropriate, Approach of the Second Sun and Smothering Tithe + Stasis lock. I know control decks don't traditionally run too many wincons, but keeping a lock on the board long enough is difficult and we won't usually feel like sitting through you trying to contain us for that long. Also where's Dramatic Reversal to go with your Isochron Scepter?
A card like Lightning Greaves might just be worth it considering how much Augustin will be hated.
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