Baleful Strix

Artifact Creature — Bird

Flying, deathtouch

When Baleful Strix enters the battlefield, draw a card.

Discussion (49)

PorygonDust on Mmm Chrome

1 week ago

I would remove Cancel for Dovin's Veto, Crux of Fate for Torment of Hailfire, Diabolic Tutor for Beseech the Queen, Diabolic Edict for Go for the Throat, Personal Tutor for Lim-Dul's Vault, Laboratory Maniac for Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Graceful Adept for Archon of Emeria, Blood Seeker for Judge's Familiar, Strionic Resonator for Isochron Scepter, Baleful Strix for Windfall, Nadier's Nightblade for Dramatic Reversal, and Revel in Riches for Basalt Monolith

TrueSharinganx on Snek

1 week ago

Cuts:

Helm of Obedience if not going combo route

Arisen Gorgon Too dependant on Liliana being on the field

Gorgon Recluse Too high CMC for what you do

Infernal Medusa Medusa /= Gorgon

Keepsake Gorgon Too high mana for one and done

Korozda Gorgon Too high CMC && not running heavy +1+1 Presence

Ohran Viper As you are in blue, you have better options for card draw, especially because this one means you have to deal damage to player first.

Oona's Blackguard Cut unless you are rogue heavy

Pitiless Gorgon All your snakes will typically have deathtouch or be able to gain it, at 3 mana this should do more.

Venomous Hierophant Currently you aren't running much recursion cards I.E Reanimate

Night's Whisper not too useful, in blue if you need card draw, maybe a Blue Sun's Zenith or something

Maybe:

Gaze of the Gorgon A little too high mana but hilarious at the same time.

Killing Glare not bad spot removal, however, it may be more impactful to consider something like Doom Blade which is cheaper, and works on all but white.

Vraska, Relic Seeker Might be better for pirate deck, it's not on flavor at all here, and not in line with or as powerful as your other walkers.

Vraska, Swarm's Eminence This is useful however high mana for what it does, totally up to you, this could go either way.

Adds:

Chromatic Lantern To ensure you make colors. Given you're going heavy black we may need to revise this item.

Eternal Witness , Maybe cut Pharika's Mender for this, as it is 2 less CMC for almost the same thing.

Chevill, Bane of Monsters super value at 2 cmc

Baleful Strix Super value at 2cmc, fly, dedtouch, card draw

Fathom Feeder value town, and if you yank combo pieces this can help facilitate a win with it's ability

Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons 2cmc, high high values and makes SNEKS!!!!

Hythonia the Cruel Yeet cannons all non-gorgon creatures + big creature

Seshiro the Anointed SNEK SNEK +2+2 to all SNEKS! Draw card wen snek do damage!

Kaseto, Orochi Archmage Unblockable +2+2 SNEKS!

Prowling Serpopard Make's your Sneks and Gorgon's Un-Counterable

Stonecoil Serpent cool snek, but I think you might already have cooler in deck & on list

Orochi Hatchery Funny stuff this one, totally up to you

Bow of Nylea all creatures get deathtouch + more check this one out

Ohran Frostfang Gives attacking creatures you control ded touch and when your creatures damage a player, draw a card.

Kodama's Reach Mana Ramp

Search for Tomorrow Mana Ramp

Three Visits Mana Ramp

Perfect_Phyrexia on [PEDH] Gary's Rat Emporium

1 month ago

Don't know if its already been said but if you are running snow swamps then Gangrenous Zombies could be solid here. Same with Ashes to Ashes with the gray merchant lifegain unless everyone is running Baleful Strix

VietMoneys on ErTai Chi, Ultimate Master

2 months ago

Big changes by the standards of this old deck! Incorporating some fun new cards and moving in a more enchantmentcheavy direction now that Golos el Goloso scratches my ETB creature itch so effectively.

OUT:

Sword of Feast and Famine

Sword of Fire and Ice

Stoneforge Mystic

Baleful Strix

Karmic Guide

Reveillark

Recruiter of the Guard

IN

Mana Vault

Alela, Artful Provocateur

Arcane Signet

Demonic Lore

Kaya's Wrath

Ghostly Flicker

Renounce

I'm splitting the cut cards between Hazezon Muad'Dib: DUNE-Inspired EDH and my aforementioned Golos deck. Of the new additions, Alela seems the most questionable, but I had one laying around and I like that the deck now has THREE alternate commanders hiding in the 99.

MagicMarc on LIFE GAIN DOES MATER

2 months ago

I think you could replace spell pierce with a solid counterspell. Like Counterspell. Same thing with Negate. Its too narrow for commander I think given it's mana cost. I agree about cutting Blood Tribute but not because you don't have many vampires. It doesnt seem strong enough to change a game and it really doesnt do much for you. It's much weaker than your other sorceries and you have other, better cards that do what it does. I also think Serra Avatar is overrated. It doesnt have evasion and doesnt do anything other than keep coming back. I would just cut it. Even when it's a crazy high power, it's too vanilla without other cards. If you like that it keeps coming back, at least swap it for something like Purity or similar which does something for you besides being a body.

I would suggest trying out the following straight cuts; -1 Blood Tribute, -1 Baleful Strix, -1 Serra Avatar. Not sure where else to cut for the remaining 2.

Omniscience_is_life on LIFE GAIN DOES MATER

2 months ago

I'd cut Alela, as I'm pretty sure she has exactly nothing to do with your strategy, as well as the aforementioned Indulging Patrician. Baleful Strix as without bounce effects it just cantrips for little additional value, Pristine Talisman--three mana rocks aren't worth the tiny bit of life it'll give you. And maybe Blood Tribute as you don't have a staggeringly high amount of vampires. That last one is up for debate, though.

I'd add the other Talismans, Hallowed Fountain to replace Temple of Enlightenment, and so on for the other Shock lands and the other Temples.

Great deck!

multimedia on Kess Combo

2 months ago

Hey, interesting start on a budget version of Kess.

Some cards to consider adding:

• Baleful Strix
• Gonti, Lord of Luxury
• Arcane Signet: at TCGPlayer can get it for less than $3.
• Izzet Signet
• Dimir Signet: can get it for less than $1.
• Rakdos Signet
• Crumbling Necropolis: Grixis Tri land.
• Shivan Reef: can get it for less than $1.
• Smoldering Marsh
• Grixis Panorama
• Opal Palace
• Dimir Aqueduct
• Izzet Boilerworks
• Rakdos Carnarium

Cards to consider cutting for these:

• Temple of the False God: it will not tap for mana until your fifth turn which is really bad.
• Vivid Marsh: when it runs out of two counters it can only tap for black.
• Dimir Guildgate
• Swiftwater Cliffs
• 4x Mountain
• Guard Gomazoa or Fog Bank
• Sage's Row Denizen
• Izzet Chronarch
• Mnemonic Wall
• Salvager of Secrets
• Possessed Skaab

---

Baleful Strix is a two drop who draws a card when it ETB, that way you can blink it with Deadeye to draw many cards. When you assemble Deadeye + Drake for infinite mana then being able to infinite blink a creature who draws can draw your win condition or draw and cast all cards in your deck. It's possible you could have a win condition already on the battlefield or in hand or graveyard with Kess, but if not then infinite blinking Strix lets you draw it.

Gonti, Lord of Luxury can be a win condition with Deadeye + Drake. It's not opponent mill, it's better, it's opponent exile their libraries and with infinite mana you get to cast all your opponent's cards. Arcane Signet , Izzet Signet, Dimir Signet, Rakdos Signet are some two drop mana rocks so you're not only relying on lands to have enough mana to cast cards.

I don't think you need to play so many creatures who recur an instant or sorcery because isn't that what Kess is for? That's the advantage of Kess, you get to cast an instant or sorcery from your graveyard on your turns, but once you resolve that spell is exiled. An exiled spell is no longer in your graveyard to recur to your hand. Archaeomancer is the only creature you want for this effect because you also have blink spells as well as Deadeye and creature recursion/reanimation spells for Archaeomancer.

Good luck with your deck.

liamk585-mtg on Favorite Mtg Art?

3 months ago

xtechnetia, I totally agree. Baleful Strix has got to have my favorite mtg art ever. I was going to try to list my favorite card arts in this forum's body, but there are too many options! Commander's Authority and Makeshift Battalion come readily to mind. Also foil Explore.