Hold at Bay
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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
Gladiator Legal
Highlander Legal
Historic Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Modern Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Pauper Legal
Pauper Duel Commander Legal
Pauper EDH Legal
Pioneer Legal
Planechase Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Hold at Bay

Instant

Prevent the next 7 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn.

multimedia on Tariel wrecker of holes

1 year ago

Hey, you haven't really made a complete deck yet to begin optimizing? Since there's only 14 lands here and you have to know that's not enough lands for a Commander deck?

There's some good ideas here, such as stealing opponent's creatures, attacking with them and then sacing them, but you want more sac outlets for this strategy. Making opponents discard cards is good, but giving an opponent the choice of what card to discard can be problematic for Tariel since opponent is not going to discard a creature. There's some reanimation and lots of recursion here which is good in these colors, but there's few enablers to get your creatures into your graveyard.

Some causal budget deck building advice to get started.

To start add 36 lands, they can be all basic lands to begin, can change some to dual lands later. Have 36 lands so you fill all the spots that are needed for lands and to clearly see how many cards have to be cut for lands. The double faced cards represented as lands here are all terrible cards for the mana cost. Cut them all and replace them with basic lands?

To add more lands next cut all the Pacifism removal? This type of creature removal doesn't interact with Tariel, Reckoner of Souls because it doesn't kill opponent's creature putting it into opponent's graveyard. If you want to utilize Tariel's ability then your opponent's creatures have to be put into graveyards, not exiled or stuck on the battlefield unable to attack or block.

The next cards to cut to add more lands are the high mana cost creatures who don't do enough for Tariel, Reckoner of Souls. Tariel is the high mana cost spell you want to cast more than the rest, the other spells played should have some interaction with him or interact with opponent's creature in some way such as In Garruk's Wake. Keep Wake, cut the rest?

Cards to cut last are some that just aren't doing enough for the mana cost and don't have any interaction with Tariel, Reckoner of Souls or the other strategies being played.

All these cuts make enough spots for 36 lands. When you have enough lands then you can begin to optimize the rest of your deck. Good luck.

9-lives on

1 year ago

My most mana intensive cards are 4 MV. The rest are 3 or below. The only one that really matters for mana is Ugin's Conjurant. Why do I have to be fast or timely with mana? I have tons of counterspells. Especially Mana Leak, Hold at Bay, and Tithe Taker. These are cards that will slow the game down for me. I don't like running too many or too little lands. Will be a nice middle that gives me a good even chance of drawing too many or too little.

itbesjaime on White/Black Lifegain

6 years ago

I do have issues with learning priority and the finer elements of phrasing. Usually, I resort to looking it up online. (For example, learning that Hold at Bay can't block damage from Murder because destroy =/= damage.

I think I'm beginning to understand what you're saying. After a few playthroughs against his deck, I did find that we were both topdecking. I think Brave the Elements would be a great card to use because protection is exactly what I need against his deck, but it can be hard because his monsters are split between black and red. Lingering Souls though it's a 3-drop seems really useful because of its flashback. Definitely, something I'm going to consider adding in, though I'm not sure what I'd replace. (I prefer to stay at 60.)

I'm going to add his deck in the description if you'd like to take a look.

Firebones675 on Nostalgia in a deck

7 years ago

Voice of Resurgence is a decent one to consider

I'm not a fan of Hold at Bay, Ephara's Radiance, or Pin to the Earth and honestly i'd just cut them.

This is the only comment that suggests changing the overall deck so feel free to ignore this one. When I think green/blue/white, i think of Collected Company decks. I'll throw a link to a decklist below but the card allows you to hit a lot of goodies (Tireless Tracker, Reflector Mage, Spell Queller, Selfless Spirit etc.) If you lowered the cost of your creatures you could move in that direction.

https://www.channelfireball.com/videos/channel-demars-modern-bant-company/

Sorry, I know this was a lot at once but I hope it helps

Ballzanya on voltron's modern fightclub (equip mode)

7 years ago

Since this is modern, you need some cheap/efficient removal spells. I recommend Path to Exile (which i know is around 10 bucks sadly), Condemn, Oblivion Ring, and maybe even Stasis Snare (since you have somewhat of a white devotion subtheme in here with Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx in here. I'd add one more nykthos, shrine to nyx come to think of it. Add a couple Gideon Jura as well. Helps keep you alive against infect and aggro/zoo decks. I like Emeria Shepherd but it's more of a commander card, the mana cost is just too high for modern. Luminarch Ascension might also be good for this deck. Holy Day might be decent as well as it can fog your opponents creatures.

I'd remove the following cards: Archetype of Courage, Emeria Shepherd, Preeminent Captain, Phalanx Leader, Armored Ascension (your opponent can 2 for 1 you so auras aren't generally good in modern, unless you have hexproof creatures to put them on), Akroma's Memorial (good card, but at 7 mana, many decks will kill you before you even get 7 lands out, burn and infect for example), Tatsumasa, the Dragon's Fang (good edh/commander card, but at 6 mana and 3 to equip, you'd need 9 mana to cast and equip it onto something in one turn, and playing something for 6 that does nothing the turn it comes out is bad in modern, if not in general.)

Debtors' Knell is on the borderline of being ok, at least in a deck that will utilize the devotion to white aspect, however, once again at 7 mana it's not even doing anything until your next upkeep)

I'd replace Devouring Light with some combination of better/cheaper removal, perhaps two Condemn and a Path to Exile (or whatever combination of those cards you have or would prefer to play). Hold at Bay seems very mediocre and it takes up a slot that a better card could fill. It's not terrible but it's only preventing damage as a one time use, so you're better off with Holy Day in its place, as it will prevent all the combat damage, not just 7 of it. Solemn Offering is bad since it's three mana to basically cast Disenchant with some lifegain. Resurrection isn't needed either, just get another Emeria, The Sky Ruin to fill the same function. (replacing a land of course and not simply the resurrection slot in your deck)

Ray of Dissolution isn't that great either, I'd take that one out. Also, a handful of cards would be ok sideboard cards. For example, Reprisal, and Elixir of Immortality. Add a couple of Disenchant to the sideboard as well. Two Kor Firewalker will be pulling double duty by stopping burn decks and giving you two devotion to white.

I'd add another Brimaz, King of Oreskos to the mainboard, and add at least two more Acolyte's Reward, (provided that the finished version of this deck has enough devotion to white to really take advantage of it). Grand Abolisher could be good in either the sideboard or the main, so I recommend that card for the deck. The sideboard could just some graveyard hate as well so if you have cards like Relic of Progenitus, Rest in Peace, Tormod's Crypt or Grafdigger's Cage add them to your sideboard. Dredge is a thing now in modern and it is not fun to play against.

Austin_Smith_of_Cards on

7 years ago

Suggest removing Acolyte's Reward, Crypt Incursion, Dazzling Reflection, Grotesque Mutation, Hold at Bay, Make a Stand, Necrobite, Pay No Heed, Profit / Loss, Riot Control, Smite the Monstrous, Blind Hunter, Hired Torturer, Nip Gwyllion, and Silent Skimmer.

spacetear on Controlled Burn *Retired*

7 years ago

Soulfire Grand Master's last ability uses Hybrid Mana (an either/or mechanic), so there's no blue splashing involved. You could just pay . That's not the relevant ability though, it's the second one that gains life whenever instants or sorceries deal damage. A single Lightning Helix could activate your Angelic Accord. You could also replace some of the other less-fitting bits of the deck with more damaging instants like Lightning Bolt, Boros Charm, Arrows of Justice, Stoke the Flames, Warleader's Helix, Lightning Axe, Deflecting Palm, or mainboarding 4x Fiery Tempers. All of them would be doing double duty with Soulfire GM just sitting on the field.

I'd suggest stripping Lone Missionary, Thraben Inspector, and Wall of Resurgence for 4 Soulfire GMs and 4 instant damage spells.

As an aside, I'd also suggest removing the Boros Signets and Luminarch Ascensions to just triple/quadruple up on the other 3 enchantment spells. With the land you have, you don't need the mana fixing the Signets provide (if those are meant to provide MORE mana for the expensive angels and Gearhulk, Signet does nothing to help that way. A higher land count would be better). The Ascensions work off having a Fog effect, like Angelsong, Ethereal Haze, or Hold at Bay. Gaining life BACK after life has already been lost during a single turn would still prevent Luminarch Ascension from getting a quest counter.

Emzed on Alesha, who smiles at Commander

7 years ago

Alesha needs a good number of creatures to work best, i think you should definitely play more than 30. Some suggestions (not all of them creatures): Ponyback Brigade, Duplicant, Karmic Guide, Blind Zealot, Buried Alive, Bone Shredder, Shizo, Death's Storehouse, Siege-Gang Commander, Marsh Flitter, Filth, Nahiri's Machinations, Skullclamp, Swords to Plowshares, Hanweir Battlements.
I think you should cut Hold at Bay, Avenging Arrow, Show of Valor, Safe Passage, Messenger's Speed, Lava Axe, Great Teacher's Decree, Flurry of Horns, Spite of Mogis, March of the Returned. None of those are good cards.
As far as protection of Alesha goes, Emerge Unscathed and Center Soul seem like two good options that you are missing, rebound makes them better than Gods Willing.

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