Arid Mesa

Land

, Pay 1 life, Sacrifice this: Search your library for a Mountain or Plains card and put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle your library.

Discussion (49)

kirbysan on Necronomicon | Teysa Karlov | Primer

13 hours ago

Masterful, I ran about 8 1v1 games this past weekend with some of the card swaps you recommended while the rest were on the way. I think pulling 3 basic plains from the deck may be too much. We only have 5 Plains sources to fetch and with Archaeomancer's Map, Knight of the White Orchid, Loyal Warhound, Arid Mesa, Flooded Strand, Windswept Heath that can only fetch plains, we would need 7 Plains sources to grab. Some games it wouldn't matter but I found myself with no lands to fetch in one pretty early on, so my fetches were dead in the water. Also not a big fan of Exotic Orchard since I don't find myself needing other colors. We don't have a way to recur other player's cards now and if they don't play black or white it's pretty bad for us. My thoughts are either we need to cut down more on the Plains fetch to introduce more synergy or rebalance the mana base. Out of our current fetches I found Archaeomancer's Map to be the most disappointing, probably because I didn't play against green. What would you swap out for artifact & enchantment removal like Return to Dust if you're going up against light stax?

zapyourtumor on Gatekeepers (Burn)

2 weeks ago

Personally I think Goblin Guide shouldn't have too much of a downside.

Necropolis Fiend is like a terrible version of Tombstalker with a very mana intensive ability you probably won't be using, so I recommend cutting all 4.

Instead I'd suggest 4x Dragon's Rage Channeler + Mishra's Bauble and replacing Festival Crasher with Guides or maybe Soul-Scar Mage to get extra damage from Bauble.

I'd probably cut the two walkers they aren't doing enough.

Eidolon of the Great Revel is another option which is an absolute beating with Scourge (theres a reason why almost every burn list runs 4 of it even though it seems like suicide).

Claim / Fame could be good here although maybe a little slow, but it lets you get back any creature that was removed (besides Fiend which is bad) and you can cast the other half mid game to get those final few points of damage in (Fame is also brutal with giving Scourge haste).

And for the manabase I suggest cutting Blackcleave Cliffs and Urborg for more fetches, so you can aggressively lower your life total better for Scourge. Arid Mesa is the cheapest Rx fetch (and red is more important than black) so I recommend running that one.

TriusMalarky on Momo: Twice the horns, twice the fun

1 month ago

Some interesting tech: Ghost Quarter and Field of Ruin are Cleansing Wildfire on lands. I'd definitely run them.

If you can afford them, Arid Mesa and Scalding Tarn are at all-time lows, I'd snap one of each up as soon as possible if it's in your budget.

The big thing Moraug wants is to make several land drops in one turn, so maximizing the number of fetch effects in the deck is key.

One thing you also want is to cast Moraug as fast as possible. He is six mana and that can be clunky, to say the least. I'd consider rituals, at the very least Irencrag Feat and Seething Song, but optimally those plus Pyretic Ritual, Desperate Ritual, Rite of Flame and Simian Spirit Guide. Those can help you get Moraug out quickly or just let you slam your other big things like Etali as soon as possible. Consider cutting some of the less powerful things like Glint-Horn, Feldon and Magus.

I was gonna say "cut Felhide Spiritbinder" but with him and something like Terror, Fanatic or Combat Celebrant you can do some busted stuff. Neheb + Celebrant + Spiritbinder is pseudo infinite, by the way, and it just gets super busted with Moraug's "+1/+0 for each attack" clause.

Kalavas on Ed the Bloodsucking Bully

1 month ago

Remember to remove the 2 checklands for Arid Mesa and 1 other land.

zapyourtumor on Kot / Ketinky - Insane Selesnya aggro

1 month ago

If you truly want it to be aggro I would lower the curve a bit. Skyhunter Skirmisher isn't that great and pretty slow, I recommend Adorned Pouncer. It's only two mana, and has an eternalize ability to get a 4/4 double strike late game.

I highly recommend splashing red, for the best one drop aggro cat of all time Wild Nacatl. It also gives you access to 4x Lightning Bolt which you probably want, and maybe some other classic zoo cards like Atarka's Command.

Conclave Tribunal is most definitely not what you want to running for removal in an aggro deck. The card is quite slow, and tapping your creatures to cast it means you can't attack with those creatures. If you stay in GW i recommend Path to Exile, and if you splash red I'd run Prismatic Ending to supplement bolt.

The manabase needs work. 25 lands is a lot, even for control decks. Definitely way too many here. I recommend around 22. You probably want more duals as well. I don't know what your budget is, but here are some reasonably priced duals: Overgrown Farmland, Branchloft Pathway  ^Flip. If you're trying to keep the deck pretty budget I wouldn't bother running snarl lands and would run these two duals instead.

If you don't have a budget I'd go ahead with the red splash and run fetchlands like Windswept Heath and Arid Mesa, along with 2 other shocks Sacred Foundry and Stomping Ground.

TypicalTimmy on How You Feel Could Tell …

2 months ago

I think the best way might be to ask several questions, each with a point system depending on the answers. Assign points objectively, and the more points the "stronger" the deck is. For example:

How many infinite combos are there? In this case, "infinite" does not mean where it ends in a draw. It means you can effectively combo off as many times as you want, uninhibited. But yes, Sanguine Bond and Exquisite Blood count also.

• 0 = 0 points
• 1 - 2 = 1
• 3 - 5 = 2
• 6+ = 3

Wincons? These can be singular cards such as Craterhoof Behemoth, it can also be cards like Felidar Sovereign. Maybe it's your Commander who aims to win via combat damage? Basically, how does your deck intend to win - and how many ways can it achieve it? Zero is defined as you don't have a wincon - you merely play and hope for the best. Note above that Bond+Blood is also a wincon. Wincons should be considered with all parts, not singular ones. Craterhoof Behemoth as a single creature is only a 6/6 and won't win you the game. But with an Avenger of Zendikar with 12x 0/1 tokens will. Consider ALL pieces of the wincon, and consider the whole thing as one unit.

• 0 = 0
• 1 - 2 = 1
• 3 - 5 = 2
• 6+ = 3

How many LAND tutors are there, INCLUDING fetch lands? These are anything such as Arid Mesa, Vampiric Tutor, Evolving Wilds and Cultivate. If it gets you a land, it counts.

• 0 = 0
• 1 - 5 = 1
• 6 - 9 = 2
• 10+ = 3

What about non-land tutors? These are more for securing wincons and answers. In this case, Vampiric Tutor counts again. The rest do not.

• 0 = 0
• 1 - 5 = 1
• 6 - 9 = 2
• 10+ = 3

Some decks want to run basic lands. Most don't. We should focus less on whether a land is basic or not and more on whether that land enters tapped. That is to say, how many lands does your deck run that enter untapped or are able to enter untapped? So this includes not just shocklands who can be chosen to enter untapped, but also cards such as Amulet of Vigor and other similar cards.

• 0 = 0
• 10 - 15 = 1
• 16 - 24 = 2
• 25+ = 3

Draw. Simple enough. Anything that helps you draw outside of your draw step counts. 0 is not being able to draw outside of your draw step.

• 0 = 0
• 1 - 5 = 1
• 6 - 9 = 2
• 10+ = 3

Mana rocks / dorks. How many nonland sources of mana does your deck have?

• 0 = 0
• 1 - 5 = 1
• 6 - 9 = 2
• 10+ = 3

I think this is a good start to begin debating, testing and modifying.

• NOTE: A card like Mind Stone and Commander's Sphere count BOTH as card draw and ramp, because they do both of these things.

Liam77 on Zedru Semo Optimised

3 months ago

Nice big Update:

Minds Aglow, Aggressive Mining, Jeskai Banner, Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, Terminus, Jinxed Idol, Island Sanctuary, Delusions of Mediocrity, Crown of Doom and Psychosis Crawler

For:

Narset, Parter of Veils, Imprisoned in the Moon, Land Tax, Niv-Mizzet, Parun, Day of Judgment, Mystical Tutor, Solitary Confinement, Transcendence, Gamble, and Alhammarret's Archive

Lands Swap: Meandering River, Izzet Guildgate, Wind-Scarred Crag, Tranquil Cove, Swiftwater Cliffs, Terramorphic Expanse, Evolving Wilds, Temple of Triumph, Vivid Creek

For: Hallowed Fountain, Steam Vents, Clifftop Retreat, Sea of Clouds, Frostboil Snarl, Fabled Passage, Hall of Heliod's Generosity, Arid Mesa, Command Beacon

multimedia on Vast of Vanity

3 months ago

Hey, good first version, nice Avacyn, Angel of Hope.

Having some backup plans to cheat big creatures onto the battlefield can be helpful because you will not always control Kaalia. Reanimation and ramp are two straight forward backup plans to consider expanding on.

• Rakdos, Lord of Riots: Demon who can reduce the colorless cost of creatures you cast.
• Emeria Shepherd: repeatable reanimate any nonland permanent in your graveyard if you play a Plains or if you play any land then put that permanent into your hand instead.
• Karmic Guide: Angel who can reanimate any creature in your graveyard.
• Nahiri, the Harbinger: all her loyalty abilities are good, her -8 can tutor for any creature and put it on the battlefield.
• Wayfarer's Bauble: land ramp that has interaction with Emeria Shepherd since it can get a basic Plains, repeatable with Shepherd for two mana.

Some changes to consider:

• Rakdos, Lord of Riots --> Hoard-Smelter Dragon
• Emeria Shepherd --> Akroma, Angel of Wrath
• Karmic Guide --> Tariel, Reckoner of Souls
• Nahiri, the Harbinger --> Descend upon the Sinful
• Wayfarer's Bauble --> Darksteel Ingot

---

Some other upgrades to consider:

• Profane Tutor --> Ruinous Path
• Boros Charm --> Leave No Trace
• Dragon Tempest --> Fervor
• Chaos Warp --> Wrecking Ball
• Generous Gift --> Unmake

Some lands to consider adding to improve the manabase in place of some basic lands, the three Bounce lands, Wreckage and the two Scry lands.

• Exotic Orchard
• Arid Mesa: can get Godless Shrine.
• Caves of Koilos
• Battlefield Forge
• Vault of Champions
• Spectator Seating
• Rogue's Passage
• Tyrite Sanctum
• Haunted Ridge
• Fabled Passage
• Evolving Wilds
• Terramorphic Expanse

If you choose to add Emeria Shepherd then some Fetch lands that can get a basic Plains are helpful because they give you two triggers of landfall.

Good luck with your deck.