By Force

Sorcery

Destroy X target artifacts.

Discussion (51)

SideBae on Shaolin Monks

9 hours ago

So, I feel like I should mention that Erayo, Soratami Ascendant / Erayo's Essence is super-duper banned in EDH. If your playgroup is alright with it, keep it in; but be aware that about 95% of players would not be happy.

I suggest replacing it with something like Counterbalance , which works nicely with your Sensei's Divining Top . Also, if your general is on the field, being able to look and see if you want to reveal the top card of your deck to counter a spell is pretty valuable.

Ponder , Preordain and Brainstorm are great in almost every blue deck, but here the top-deck manipulation makes them even better. I suggest including all three.

Mystical Tutor is awesome if your general is on the field, as it becomes a pseudo-tutor-to-hand effect.

Narset, Parter of Veils is a pretty busted card -- she even lets you clear a creature off of the top of your deck if you need it, in addition to her static hate-ability. Pairing her with a Windfall is especially powerful. Faithless Looting is another way to get past uncastable creatures and/or lands.

I've had good success with Treasure Cruise in my Elsha of the Infinite list. Similarly, I think Dig Through Time is probably a better Drawn from Dreams , as it is instant-speed. Other mass-draw spells to consider include: Fact or Fiction , Chemister's Insight , Chart a Course .

If you run only monks and your meta isn't tribal-heavy, Harsh Mercy may be worth including.

Your ramp package has some room for improvement. I've never been impressed with three-mana mana-rocks in EDH, since two-drop rocks are available and tend to be better. I suggest running some of the following instead of your Chromatic Lantern , Commander's Sphere , and a few other cards if you want to make cuts: Talisman of Progress , Talisman of Conviction , Talisman of Creativity , Mind Stone , Thought Vessel , Azorius Signet , Everflowing Chalice (which can be cast for zero off the top, if you really want to get past it), Prismatic Lens , Coldsteel Heart (maybe), Arcane Signet , Fellwar Stone or even Guardian Idol . This has the added bonus of allowing you to cut some lands -- I don't think you should be running more than 34, and probably want to be around 32 or 33.

By Force and Wear / Tear are very good multi-for-ones in EDH... you should at least consider running them.

If you craft your creature-package carefully, you can run effects like Kozilek's Return or Pyroclasm . Keep in mind that these trigger prowess, so your Monastery Mentor will survive a Pyroclasm , assuming you're the one who casts it.

If you can get ahold of one, I think Cyclonic Rift is way preferable to Planar Cleansing . Supreme Verdict is another excellent boardwipe.

Counterspells are tough in Elsha of the Infinite , since you can't cast them without a target and thus can clog the top of your deck. To fix this, try modal counters that can be cast with an empty stack. Some to consider: Pyroblast , Red Elemental Blast , Archmage's Charm , Mystic Confluence , Izzet Charm .

You appear to do very little library-searching. You can take advantage of this with Mindlock Orb , which punishes tutor-tribal decks (decks anything like the ones I build and play against) hard.

Steel of the Godhead is, I think, better than your Aether Tunnel . It does cost one more mana, but it gives Elsha of the Infinite lifelink, which means it can likely also replace Basilisk Collar and free up a card-slot.

Alright. That's all I got. Good luck!

RNR_Gaming on Daretti - New and improved | Primer

1 day ago

Shattering Spree is an upgrade to By Force

xaarvaxus on Nicole Broke Ass needs help

1 week ago

I'm seeing 2 copies of Omniscience in your list right now. This is skewing your CMC avg and curve so a little harder to figure out where you actually are on the scale as it will depend on what you replace it with.

I don't think having some targeted removal is a bad idea. Sometimes you just need one oppressive thing gone and then you can implement your strategy. However, as things don't stay dead in this format, that targeted removal is better off being an exile effect if possible. A card like Reality Shift will make sure that creature stays gone. I agree that By Force is a pretty good include. An overloaded Vandalblast does work too. Tyrant's Scorn and Enter the God-Eternals are a little underwhelming for EDH, they really don't do enough for their CMC in this format.

Arcane Signet will be amazing for the deck...once it's available for sale. Have to wait for Throne to come out for that.

As for theme...no In Bolas's Clutches ? I know it's a more expensive Control Magic where you don't really care that much about making the target legendary but the flavor is there and the versatility of being able to steal any permanent could be relevant if the target is spice enough.

SideBae on Yuriko Ninja EDH

1 week ago

What I suspect is going on is that your opponents are doing a lot on the aggro front. There're a few ways you can deal with this.

First, you can discourage your opponents from attacking you. Propaganda is probably the best-known card for this, but there're plenty of others. No Mercy comes to mind -- it was one of my favorite cards when I was a kid. Crawlspace and Silent Arbiter are good ways to limit the number of attackers an opponent can pressure you with, and assuming no trample, you likely can just chump away whatever they're hitting you with. Finally, Meekstone will keep the most dangerous ones tapped. I think any of these will probably be better than AEtherize , especially since none of them are 'single use.'

I don't know your meta. However, a lot of the time fatties come down without being hard-cast, like through Natural Order or Reanimate . Running hate cards, like Grafdigger's Cage , can prevent this.

You also seem to be light on wrath effects. Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow ninjutsu ability gets around commander tax, meaning he'll really only ever cost to put down -- so feel totally free to wrath with him on the board. Kindred Dominance strikes me as being way too much mana to do real damage in the earlier stages of the game, especially if you're fighting a bunch of aggro decks. Damnation is, I think, preferable here, as are Toxic Deluge and Cyclonic Rift . Damnation and Toxic Deluge being four and three mana, respectively, means you can conceivably cast them before you're getting smacked but while your opponent has a summoning-sick army. Cyclonic Rift 's overload ability IS seven mana, but being instant speed makes up for that (at least in my opinion).

If you include wrath effects, non-creature token producers are worth including -- they'll give you creatures to 'return' with Yuriko's ability while surviving the wrath themselves. Bitterblossom is the best here, though like most good cards, it's relatively expensive. Other options include Breeding Pit , Graf Harvest (if you wrath Yuriko to the 'yard, you can exile him to the command zone to create a token, then ninjutsu him out on the token when it attacks), Spawning Pit and Volrath's Laboratory (which can make ninjas).

If you decide to run some of the above cards, they should replace your one-for-one removal cards. In general, EDH games will have you facing three opponents, and therefore three times the number of cards you have. You therefore want cards that will effect more than a single card your opponent has. Hero's Downfall and Grasp of Darkness may be great in one-on-one formats, but in EDH they simply don't pack enough punch. (One interesting exception to the 'limit your one-for-ones' rule is the inclusion of counter magic. In general, I think of counterspells in EDH as more than one-for-ones, since A) they can save more than one of your cards if you counter something like By Force or Fire Covenant , and B) they can stop combos cold, making your opponent waste all the combo pieces s/he/they cast before the countered card.)

I have some non-combat related suggestions, too -- I hope I'm not being presumptuous in offering them:

I'm sure you've noticed how awesome your Treasure Cruise is: being eight on a Yuriko flip but often costing around two or three mana at most to cast is pretty busted. There're other delve cards to consider, though I do think it is likely more than one or two in a list will occasionally cause issues when delve gets in its own way. Dig Through Time is a primary candidate here, as it is also eight mana, but it also happens to be an instant (yay!). Temporal Trespass also comes to mind.

In magic, there're a bunch of alternate casting-cost cards that work well with your general, as their CMC is usually pretty high. Unfortunately, some of them are expensive -- I'll just mention them, in case you have more money to blow than I typically do: Force of Will and Commandeer . Spinning Darkness , Gush and Misdirection are all more affordable and alright cards in their own right, though they are significantly less powerful.

Nexus of Fate is a pet card of mine, and I think it'd be genuinely good here. It hits for seven, but doesn't 'really' make you tap out since if it resolves you get another untap step right away.

A creature to consider is Baleful Strix . Having deathtouch and flying make it really hard to block, and if you keep ninjutsu-ing it back to your hand you can keep casting it for the draw trigger.

Top-deck manipulation is a good way to make sure your general hits his hardest, and your Brainstorm is a good start. Mystical Tutor isn't too much money, though the black version, Vampiric Tutor , definitely is a lot of money nowadays. Scheming Symmetry is an alright replacement, though you'll want to be sure to kill the opponent who searches, or at least remove his top card. Though they're pricey, Sensei's Divining Top and Jace, the Mind Sculptor really are the best ways to mess with your top few cards in the game; Jace has the added bonus, like Brainstorm , of being able to top cards that you want to reveal with Yuriko's trigger again. Dream Cache and Telling Time are both OK top deck manipulation.

Cantrips are good. I suggest running Preordain in addition to your Ponder and Brainstorm . It's not as good as the two you have (in this deck), since it can only leave one card on top of your deck for Yuriko triggers, but I still think it's worth playing. As a turn one play, it's gonna be hard to beat. (Of course, Ponder does still beat it.)

Finally, mass card-draw is a good thing. Even if it doesn't trigger Yuriko, having spells to cast is always preferable to not having them (exception: Mindslaver ). Windfall is excellent, especially if you put in Narset, Parter of Veils (I think you should). Fact or Fiction and Chemister's Insight are both good instant-speed draw spells.

Only good things! Hope this helped.

SideBae on Nicole Broke Ass needs help

1 week ago

Hey man! Grixis is fun. I've got some thoughts... feel free to ignore any/all of them.

1. Your mana base is better than most, but it can still use some work. Consider City of Brass and Mana Confluence . Paying one life for an ETB untapped, chromatic land to generate mana is a great rate, and these two are functionally a second and third command tower. Generally, the one life cost-to-activate is irrelevant.

2. Similar to your land-base, mana rocks are a great way to hit your colors and ramp yourself faster than your opponents. Since you don't have access to dorks, you need to consider more two-mana mana-rocks; these are, in my experience, vastly superior to three-mana rocks. Consider running a few of the following: Talisman of Indulgence , Talisman of Dominance , Talisman of Creativity , Fellwar Stone , Arcane Signet , Mind Stone , Prismatic Lens and/or Coldsteel Heart . The diamonds ( Sky Diamond , Charcoal Diamond and Fire Diamond ) are really just worse Coldsteel Heart s. If you wanna go and bust the bank, Grixis decks often have the critical mass of artifacts necessary to make Mox Opal good; Mox Diamond and Chrome Mox are also great. Also Mana Crypt .

3. In general, one-for-ones like Hero's Downfall and Dreadbore are not going to be powerful enough in a format like EDH. You have three times as many opponents, meaning you're facing approximately three times the number of cards you yourself have available. So you're probably going to want to be able to remove multiple threats with one card -- this is part of the reason Wrath effects are so good. I like that you're running Damnation ; consider Toxic Deluge as another, similar effect that dodges Gaddock Teeg 's restrictions. I've always been a big fan of By Force as mass artifact removal, and Cyclonic Rift is always worth including. Finally, Fire Covenant is a great piece of mass spot removal.

4. One card especially good with Cyclonic Rift is Windfall . Pairing Windfall with a Narset, Parter of Veils (which I think you should definitely run) leads to instant fun. More generally, mass, repeatable card-draw and/or selection is a great thing in EDH and decides most games. Phyrexian Arena is probably the most common way to generate card-advantage in black, but also consider Graveborn Muse , Treasure Cruise or Dig Through Time (I don't recommend both, as delve can get in its own way), Fact or Fiction , Painful Truths (which is quickly becoming one of my favorite cards), Faithless Looting , Dack Fayden and the like.

5. Adding more cards to your counter package seems like a plausible route for improvement. If budget is no object, Mana Drain and Force of Will are the two best counters available. Also consider Force of Negation , which is excellent against combo decks, Dispel , which is great against Ad Nauseam decks, Pyroblast , which is good usually against at least one or two of your opponents and (on the off chance you run Dack Fayden and ult him) can steal a permanent, Flusterstorm , Spell Snare , Spell Pierce and other such cheap 'n efficient counter spells. If you want to go REALLY deep, I've found Counterbalance to be a high variance EDH card that tends to be good more often than not; you're already running Sensei's Divining Top , which is what really makes Counterbalance busted.

6. Lore-wise, Nicol Bolas is good at enrapturing and manipulating other, lesser creatures. Consider a Mr. Steal-yo-Gurl package, which is both flavorful and powerful. Sower of Temptation and Control Magic can both make opposing Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre s into your own threats; Bribery is similarly busted, and does not risk getting removed by a Toxic Deluge or (more likely) Nature's Claim . Also consider Treachery and Corrupted Conscience .

7. Since you're in blue, you have access to the best cantrips in magic. I highly, highly recommend running Ponder and Preordain -- These two don't look like much, but they'll dig you to what you need and past what you don't more efficiently than any other card. Brainstorm is also good, but I'd suggest holding off adding it until you get some more fetch lands in your deck. (Fetch lands' shuffle effect will make sure you don't get stuck with two dead cards on top of your deck.) Prismatic Vista and the off-color fetches like Flooded Strand or Verdant Catacombs are good ways to fill this role.

8. Your general has built-in discard. Another package to consider, therefore, is a Waste Not package. This is a relatively unique package in that it actually does not need the namesake card in order to be good; Raven's Crime , Words of Waste and Syphon Mind are all good in their own right, and made busted when Waste Not is on the field. Stick a Geth's Grimoire in the mix, and you can really go to town (especially with Words of Waste ).

9. Finally, as a kinda fun-z last suggestion, there's a 'Words' combo I've always liked that you may find interesting -- remember, though, it's really not the best. If you pair Words of Wind with Baleful Strix and a lot of mana, you can repeatedly return Baleful Strix to your hand with Words of Wind 's ability and make your opponents keep returning permanents. This would likely work best if your Omniscience was on the field, as it would end up effectively reading: ': Each opponent returns X permanents they control to their owners' hands.' However, this is likely a win-more type of thing.

There're some cards I think you should consider cutting in order to make room for my above suggestions. Wasp of the Bitter End strikes me as likely too weak in a format with three opponents; similarly, since Toll of the Invasion only hits one opponent, this should likely be considered on the chopping block. I think a boardwipe like Toxic Deluge is probably a lot better than Tyrant's Scorn . Lazotep Plating is probably worse than a regular hard counter. Finally, if you like the idea of artifact-based ramp in (2), thirty-eight lands is too many. I recommend cutting three to five, depending on how aggressively ramp-heavy you want your deck to play.

Right. That's all I got. Good luck!

Skullblade248 on But Why Is Rum Gone?!

1 week ago

May I suggest By Force as a replacement for Shattering Spree ? Paying 3R or 4R to destroy 3-4 artifacts would be easier on the mana base than paying RRRR or RRRRR to destroy 4-5 artifacts.

xaarvaxus on Chainer, Discard Adept

2 weeks ago

I think you can safely go down to 38 lands but add more artifact ramp: Talisman of Indulgence , Wayfarer's Bauble , Worn Powerstone , etc.

Boneyard Parley is probably better being Command the Dreadhorde or another boardwipe.

You've got a lot of cards at the 6 CMC slot and could stand to replace some with cheaper cards, ideally a couple of extra removal cards like By Force , Bedevil , Hero's Downfall or the like.

SideBae on Devouring Despair

3 weeks ago

So the main bonus of green in EDH is its access to mana dorks. Llanowar Elves , Elves of Deep Shadow and Orcish Lumberjack all belong in this deck, and you may want to find a place for Elvish Mystic , Priest of Titania , Fyndhorn Elves , Birds of Paradise , Deathrite Shaman , Arbor Elf and/or Bloom Tender . Note that Arbor Elf is especially powerful if you end up running cards like Wild Growth , Elvish Guidance and/or Wild Growth . Dorks will accelerate you early game and provide sac-fodder in the late game.

Regrowth is a strictly-better Nature's Spiral .

Faithless Looting is a really good source of card selection for one mana. You're probably going to want to run it, as it makes a lot of mediocre hands much more keepable.

Green Sun's Zenith is a great card to consider, especially since you're already running Dryad Arbor . If you cast Green Sun's Zenith turn one for X = 0, you can fetch Dryad Arbor right away. It's a good form of one mana ramp outside dorks and enchant-lands.

A lot of your dudes are gonna die in a sacrifice deck. In order to get card-advantage out of this, you should run Grim Haruspex , Midnight Reaper and/or Harvester of Souls . Unfortunately, these don't trigger with token-deaths, but they'll still help a lot. Deathreap Ritual is similarly powerful and triggers with token deaths, though it only triggers once a turn.

Speaking of card-draw, you have access to some good stuff there. Painful Truths is a three-mana draw-three I've been very impressed with, and Shamanic Revelation is also helpful. From a permanent-based point of view, Phyrexian Arena and Slate of Ancestry are the way to go.

A lot of your removal are one-for-ones (see Terminate , Hero's Downfall , Doom Blade , etc.). In general, I find one-for-ones are usually not very powerful in a format with three opponents, as you're facing three times as many cards as you have. Your Damnation is a great start; consider Toxic Deluge , Hull Breach , Decimate , Casualties of War , Windgrace's Judgment , Reckless Spite , By Force , Ancient Grudge , etc. I've found these to be more efficient, and therefore more powerful, than one-for-ones. Some one-for-ones, though, are so tough to counter or are so efficient as is that they're worth including: Nature's Claim and your Krosan Grip come to mind.

Runes of the Deus comes to mind as a good way to force through commander damage.

Command Tower , City of Brass , Mana Confluence , Reflecting Pool , Forbidden Orchard , Exotic Orchard and friends are all good ETB untapped lands to consider.

I've always liked Smallpox , both in general and in EDH. You might have luck with it in this deck; similar cards include Innocent Blood , Smokestack and the card Pox itself. If you choose to go the Smokestack route, Bitterblossom and/or Ophiomancer are worth considering. They might be worth considering anyways, though.

Spellbreaker Behemoth is an efficient creature that disrupts countermagic. Harsh Mentor , Pyrostatic Pillar , Eidolon of the Great Revel , Shattergang Brothers or Stranglehold are similar ways to punish opponents while having good cards on your side.

Finally, you should consider Overrun effects as secondary win-conditions. Using Natural Order to grab Craterhoof Behemoth while you have a wide board can easily win you the game; Green Sun's Zenith or Chord of Calling also do the job, though they're more expensive mana-wise and therefore worse. Triumph of the Hordes is a similar card that can snatch games, though it cannot be tutored as easily.

Ok! Good luck -- that's all I got.