Arcane Sanctum

Land

This enters the battlefield tapped.

: Gain , , or .

Discussion (50)

multimedia on Tiamat and Her Dragons

1 month ago

Hey, for a first Commander deck well done. You have some interesting card choices and nice Ur-Dragon, Gnawbone, Utvara and Sarkhan.

An area to consider improving on is repeatable draw. When you can get draw from simply having a Dragon ETB then this can help gameplay. Some budget repeatable draw sources to consider adding:

• Temur Ascendancy
• Dragon's Hoard
• Court of Bounty
• Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner
• Dragonborn Champion
• Garruk's Uprising

Most of these cards give you more than one effect: Temur Ascendancy is also haste enabler, Dragon's Hoard and Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner is also ramp, Court of Bounty can also be cheat a Dragon from your hand onto the battlefield as well as land ramp, Garruk's Uprising also gives all creatures you control trample to break through an opponent's annoying flying Spirit or Angel tokens.

You have Dragon Arch and Quicksilver Amulet which are nice effects to cheat Dragons onto the battlefield, but Court of Bounty is a step above these because it provides other effects. It can be repeatable draw with monarch or lets you play a land from your hand at your upkeep. The monarch is you draw a card at your end step, but only one player in the game can be the monarch. Any player who does combat damage to you or plays a card that makes them the monarch then becomes the monarch and you lose the monarch. You can get it back though and flying Dragons help a lot at attacking as well as blocking for an opponent not to be able to do combat damage to you.

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Hellkite Charger is a combo with Old Gnawbone for infinite attacks with Dragons, but if you're playing casual then you might want to avoid a combo like this. I would include it as a win condition with Dragons. There's some budget creature/Dragon upgrades to consider:

• Hellkite Charger
• Scourge of Valkas
• Dragonborn Champion
• Faeburrow Elder
• Tireless Provisioner
• Atarka, World Render
• Silumgar, the Drifting Death
• Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund

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You have the three staple budget Rainbow lands already: Tower, Orchard and Ancestry which is great, but you could improve the manabase other ways. If you have a low budget for lands then my advice is replace lands that always ETB tapped with a Tri land. A Tri land such as Jungle Shrine also always ETB tapped, but the color fixing it provides, three colors, is worth it. A land such as Swiftwater Cliffs isn't worth it instead consider Frontier Bivouac?

Archway Commons, Gateway Plaza and other lands like this are not good even though they can potentially make one of five colors. You can't play one of them unless you control an untapped land to pay 1 mana and that's a big requirement just be able to play a land.

Some budget land changes to consider:

• Frontier Bivouac --> Gruul Turf
• Crumbling Necropolis --> Swiftwater Cliffs
• Opulent Palace --> Coral Atoll
• Mystic Monastery --> Rustvale Bridge
• Arcane Sanctum --> Mistvault Bridge
• Seaside Citadel --> Quandrix Campus

If interested I offer more advice including cuts to consider. Good luck with your deck.

Malsorn on C'mon! What Are the Odds!? *CEDH*

1 month ago

Path of Ancestry is strictly better than Arcane Sanctum, never know when those one or two extra scries will help out! Also, as much as I know it goes against the theme, Swiftfoot Boots or Lightning Greaves would really do work in this deck, letting you swing in with Yennet and provide her with protection the turn she comes in. There are a few other cheap haste-granting equipment with odd costs (Chariot of Victory, Strider Harness,Sword of Vengeance), but they don't come with the protective abilities.

RambIe on I Can't Pronounce My Commander's Name

1 month ago

Arcane Sanctum 35 lands should be ok with a 3 cmc average since you have 8 rocks
Arcanis the Omnipotent- cmc
Time Wipe, Austere Command, - if the deck works as intended boardwipes will be a dead card in hand, of course you might need this based on meta but they can always be swapped back in
Monologue Tax - love it, its just not making or breaking the deck "undervalue"
Dakkon, Shadow Slayer - undervalue

multimedia on Alela, Artful Provocateur for EDH

2 months ago

Hey, with so much equipment consider Puresteel Paladin and Sigarda's Aid to free equip? Grand Architect lets you tap himself and other blue creatures to pay for equip costs or to cast artifacts. Alela and the Faeries she creates are blue. Shimmer Myr lets you cast artifacts at instant speed. Cranial Plating can make Alela because she has flying an attacking threat to do lethal Commander damage.

Grand Architect is good ramp for the Thopter Assembly + Time Sieve extra turn combo. With Alela this combo is lots of Faeries equal to the amount of extra turns you want to take. The win condition is attacking with Faeries at each opponent at each extra turn.

Tap Architect + Alela + 1 Faerie for 6 colorless mana to cast Assembly. Each extra turn Assembly is bounced back to your hand to create 5 artifact Thopters, you then have to cast Assembly again and next you sac those 5 Thopters with Sieve to take an extra turn to repeat. Casting Assembly at each extra turn is what creates the Faeries.

If attacking with Alela and Faerie tokens is something you want to do then because of flying consider Bident of Thassa and Reconnaissance Mission ? These are for repeatable draw which lets you draw for each creature who does combat damage to a player.

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Some land upgrades to consider:

• Exotic Orchard --> Archway Commons
• Spire of Industry --> Transguild Promenade
• Arcane Sanctum --> Boreal Shelf
• Vault of Champions --> Frost Marsh
• Caves of Koilos --> Orzhov Guildgate
• Prairie Stream --> Azorius Guildgate
• Sunken Hollow --> Dimir Guildgate
• Shineshadow Snarl --> Scoured Barrens
• Port Town --> Tranquil Cove
• Seat of the Synod --> Dismal Backwater

Good luck with your deck.

multimedia on Subjective Reality Upgrade

3 months ago

Hey, you're welcome.

40 lands is a lot of lands and you also have ramp sources to help to make mana. You would be fine cutting 2-4 lands and filling those spots with low CMC budget cards that draw such as Omen of the Sea , Wall of Omens and Brainstorm . The idea is more draw that also has interaction with Aminatou could replace some lands because overall these cards are better for gameplay and the draw can potentially help to draw lands. You have a good number of basic lands for budget and the ratio is also on point. With 16 basic lands then budget dual lands that have interaction with basic lands help for them to ETB untapped.

• Exotic Orchard : staple budget land for three or more colored decks in multiplayer Commander.
• Path of Ancestry : can make one color of the three Esper colors.
• Caves of Koilos
• Prairie Stream : is an Island.
• Sunken Hollow : is an Island.
• Shineshadow Snarl
• Ash Barrens : nice as a potential turn one play to landcycle to get a basic land of your choice for your second turn land for color fixing that you need to cast Aminatou.
• Temple of Enlightenment
• Temple of Deceit
• Mystic Sanctuary
• Bojuka Bog

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Ideally, you want most if not all the lands in the manabase to ETB untapped to help gameplay. Since then you can tap the land for mana the turn you play it, but that's impossible when on such a low budget unless playing 30+ basic lands which is not recommended with three colors. The lands that you play that will always ETB tapped should have other uses or be able to make one of any three colors you need. An example is Arcane Sanctum is good, Dimir Guildgate isn't good. If you have to play many lands that always ETB tapped then might as well play the ones that also have bonus interaction with your Commander.

The Scry lands ( Temple of Silence ) and Halimar Depths ETB tapped, but they have interaction with the Aminatou + Guardian + Oath combo. Aminatou can blink a Scry land as the first permanent which lets you scry through the rest of your library to find Strix or another permanent draw source to cast to then draw a win condition to cast. The Gain lands ( Tranquil Cove ) also can be blinked and blinking one of them with the combo gives you infinite life. Consider three of each of Scry lands and Gain lands?

Utility lands such as Mystic Sanctuary give you something when it ETB, can be blinked by Aminatou and be part of the combo. Sanctuary when blinked if you control three other Islands can be a repeatable way to recur an instant or sorcery. It can setup a card with miracle since you recur the card to the top of your library to draw on your next turn or even on an opponent's turn if card with miracle is the first card you draw on opponent's turn.

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Example of an upgraded budget manabase:

• 6x Plains, 6x Island, 4x Swamp
• Command Tower , Exotic Orchard , Path of Ancestry , Arcane Sanctum
• Esper Panorama , Ash Barrens , Evolving Wilds
• Halimar Depths , Temple of Enlightenment , Temple of Silence , Temple of Deceit
• Caves of Koilos , Shineshadow Snarl
• Prairie Stream , Sunken Hollow
• Mystic Sanctuary , Bojuka Bog
• Tranquil Cove , Dismal Backwater , Scoured Barrens

bdobinski on Brad's Commander Cube (v2): Non Basic Mana List

4 months ago

Update 6/14/2021 - Kaldheim + Strixhaven Changes

Barkchannel Pathway  ^Flip replacing Arcane Sanctum
Blightstep Pathway  ^Flip replacing Crumbling Necropolis
Branchloft Pathway  ^Flip replacing Frontier Bivouac
Brightclimb Pathway  ^Flip replacing Jungle Shrine
Clearwater Pathway  ^Flip replacing Mystic Monastery
Cragcrown Pathway  ^Flip replacing Nomad Outpost
Darkbore Pathway  ^Flip replacing Opulent Palace
Hengegate Pathway  ^Flip replacing Sandsteppe Citadel
Needleverge Pathway  ^Flip replacing Savage Lands
Riverglide Pathway  ^Flip replacing Seaside Citadel

bdobinski on Brad's Commander Cube (v2): Full List

4 months ago

Update 6/14/2021 - Kaldheim - Strixhaven Changes

Aggravated Assault replacing Dragon Mantle
Omnath, Locus of Creation replacing Hope of Ghirapur
Cosima, God of the Voyage  ^Flip replacing Jalira, Master Polymorphist
Maja, Bretagard Protector replacing Emmara, Soul of the Accord
Sign in Blood replacing Read the Bones
Wandering Archaic  ^Flip replacing Brass Squire
Barkchannel Pathway  ^Flip replacing Arcane Sanctum
Blightstep Pathway  ^Flip replacing Crumbling Necropolis
Branchloft Pathway  ^Flip replacing Frontier Bivouac
Brightclimb Pathway  ^Flip replacing Jungle Shrine
Clearwater Pathway  ^Flip replacing Mystic Monastery
Cragcrown Pathway  ^Flip replacing Nomad Outpost
Darkbore Pathway  ^Flip replacing Opulent Palace
Hengegate Pathway  ^Flip replacing Sandsteppe Citadel
Needleverge Pathway  ^Flip replacing Savage Lands
Riverglide Pathway  ^Flip replacing Seaside Citadel

multimedia on Varina

8 months ago

Hey, have more confidence in your deck building because this is a fine start on a low budget if it's your second deck.

You already have Wonder which is good since it's the card I suggest the most that players add with Varina. My advice is focus more on Zombies and cards that can support Zombie tribal. More Zombies, less nonZombie creatures.

Budget cards all less than $1 each to consider adding:

• Lord of the Accursed
• Wayward Servant
• Etchings of the Chosen
• Midnight Reaper
• Carrion Feeder
• Silversmote Ghoul
• Changeling Outcast: Changelings are Zombies.
• Nevinyrral, Urborg Tyrant
• Tormod, the Desecrator
• Eternal Taskmaster
• Tomebound Lich
• Binding Mummy
• Corpse Knight

Amass is an effect that creates a Zombie token.

• Gleaming Overseer
• Dreadhorde Invasion
• Vizier of the Scorpion
• Lazotep Plating
• Lazotep Reaver

Consider more cards that require you use life because Varina is a life gaining engine with Zombies.

• Caves of Koilos
• Talisman of Hierarchy
• Command the Dreadhorde
• Feed the Swarm
• Malakir Rebirth  ^Flip
• Read the Bones
• Dire Tactics

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Next step is to add 35 more lands to have a manabase to playtest. Get a temporary manabase in place with basic lands to see how many spots you have left to fill with nonland cards or how many nonland cards to cut. Make sure that basic Swamps are the most lands because you need black mana the most with Zombies.

Some budget lands $1-$2 or less each to consider adding:

• Command Tower
• Unclaimed Territory
• Path of Ancestry
• Exotic Orchard
• Arcane Sanctum
• Caves of Koilos
• Sunken Hollow: Island for Wonder.
• Prairie Stream: Island for Wonder.
• Ice Tunnel: Island for Wonder.
• Irrigated Farmland: Island for Wonder.
• Tainted Field
• Esper Panorama
• Ash Barrens
• Evolving Wilds
• Witch's Cottage

Good luck with your deck.