Iona, Shield of Emeria

Iona, Shield of Emeria

Legendary Creature — Angel

Flying

As Iona, Shield of Emeria enters the battlefield, choose a color.

Your opponents can't cast spells of the chosen color.

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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Block Constructed Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Highlander Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Modern Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Vintage Legal
Casual Legal
Custom Legal
Quest Magic Legal

Iona, Shield of Emeria Discussion

TypicalTimmy on Unbanning Biorhythm?

3 days ago

brandonplaysmagic, I mean counter spells? Also naturally increasing the spells value via stax effects.

The way I see it, a player dumping 8 mana into a spell to dramatically tip the scales in their favor is no different than a player slowly setting up combo or stax pieces over several turns. Both are investments, but the former is an investment in the immediate and the latter is an investment in the future.

Ask yourself this, is Biorhythm any worse off than an = Torment of Hailfire? Or a Wave of Vitriol?

What about Ugin, the Spirit Dragon when someone plays a ton of enchantments or creature lords?

Singular cards being checks against entire archetypes already exist and function just fine. That's why I said I am not personally subscribed to this reasoning for the ban.

However, I can see that this would be the reason to sustain it. But if that "is" the reason, then we must logically explore other and similar cards and critique their place within the game as well.

Honestly, I truly feel that the RC have lost their way and have become just a bunch of children who get salty over a card and ban it so they don't have to see it ever again. I'm currently in the boat that the RC should be disbanded and WOTC takes over.

That being said, consider the following:

  • A player who is mono-green and just wants to play dumb creatures is shut out of the game entirely due to an Iona, Shield of Emeria. This promotes negative player experience.

  • A stax player spends 7 or 8 turns building an impenetrable wall of locks only to lose to Biorhythm because they have but 2 creatures on field.

The difference is Iona doesn't allow the green player to play the game, at all. The latter allows the Stax player to do their thing, then fault them for being an - ironically - glass cannon.

Therefore, it isn't about whether or not the card shuts down an entire deck: It's whether or not the deck can be played. Iona shuts down the ability to play the game. Biorhythm does not.

TypicalTimmy on New Format for EDH: Rule …

1 week ago

Rule 0 began as a hub idea, but quickly became it's own sub-format within the EDH community.

When you build a new deck, or update an existing deck, you can now select Commander: Rule 0 as an option for the format.

Rule 0 is important to EDH, because it allows the players to gauge their decks against one-another. You don't want to sit down with a cEDH deck when the rest of the table had precons, after all. Rule 0 is when players normally talk about the goals of their decks, what their assessed power levels are, whether or not their decks can combo off and go infinite and a variety of other things. However, occasionally a player will mention that they want to run a card or two that technically is illegal, per the Rules Committee. While it technically is against the rules, we must understand that EDH is a social format first and foremost. The social contract allows players to express their creativity and develop new deck constructions.

With that said, Commander: Rule 0 allows players to build decks here on Tappedout and have them recognized as "technically legal", as long as their table agrees to it. After all, it is important to recognize that we likely are not at each other's tables or LGS, and we should be respectful of other user's designs.

A Rule 0 deck is one that employs any of the following, in isolation or combination.

  • Your Commander is a silver-bordered Commander, such as Alexander Clamilton.
  • You Commanders do not have Partner or Partners With together, but you would like to still use them in tandem. For example, Stitcher Geralf and Ghoulcaller Gisa.
  • Your Commander is banned in the format, such as Iona, Shield of Emeria.
  • Your Commander isn't a Legendary Creature. Examples may be a Legendary Enchantment, a Legendary Artifact, a Legendary Planeswalker or perhaps even a Legendary Sorcery. An example could be Sanctum of All or Parhelion II.
  • You wish to run a Commander who isn't actually Legendary, such as Dune-Brood Nephilim.
  • In fact, it doesn't even have to be a "real" MTG card! Want to run Sliv-Mizzet, Hivemind? Go for it!

Rule 0 doesn't just account for what's in your Command Zone. It could also be, to a much less extent, what's in the library. Perhaps you wish to run a silvered border card or a banned card. Or perhaps more than just one as a silly theme set, such as a deck exclusively made out of the Unsanctioned Augment mechanic.

Technically, yes. But if you wish to employ such powerful cards, you may want to simply consider playing Canadian Highlander instead.

The purpose of Rule 0, as a format, is to breathe new life into janky decks. To reinvigorate your playgroup. To have hilarious antics, memorable plays and laughs with friends.

Rule 0 is EDH for those who want to put having a fun and hilarious time above winning. It's for those players who have a creative itch that the Rules Committee won't scratch.

Rule 0 is about finding those roots of Magic again, where it's a game meant to be played by those you enjoy spending time with. :)

Unfortunately, no. First and foremost, a land isn't cast. So it couldn't be cast from the Command Zone, regardless. Secondly, it's not very fair to open with a T1 Gaea's Cradle every single game.

Even if the entire table ran land destruction, mana to get your Cradle back is nothing and unfairly unbalances the game.

Furthermore, fetch lands extrapolate this issue even more, as now every single turn you are guaranteed a land of your choice.

The same can apply to any modal card that flips or transforms into lands, such as Growing Rites of Itlimoc  Flip. Permanents like these essentially put lands in your Command Zone, which just creates the same problem again.

So, unfortunately lands in the Command Zone are banned. Sorry.

TypicalTimmy on New Format: Rule 0

1 week ago

Thanks to the work of tiffanyann for this idea.

We often talk about "Rule 0"; What your deck does, what it's power level is, who your Commander is, if there are any infinite combos, etc.

But sometimes, Rule 0 is to ask the table if using an Unset Commander is okay. If using a Legendary Enchantment or Artifact or Planeswalker in the Command Zone is okay. If running Gisela, the Broken Blade  Meld Partnered with Bruna, the Fading Light  Meld is okay. Other examples are Stitcher Geralf and Ghoulcaller Gisa as Partners, or Hans Eriksson and Saffi Eriksdotter. Maybe you want to run Sword of Dungeons & Dragons in your D&D themed set. Maybe you want to run Surgeon General Commander. But there's more; Sometimes you want to play with a banned card. Maybe you have this killer Griselbrand build and want to see if it can withstand three opponents.

Rule 0 is important. It doesn't often "require" its own hub, but there are times when it could be useful. And, if the community accepts it as a unique hub, it could also open up more creativity because it pushes up against the boundaries of the RC.

After all, as long as your table is okay with it, then it's fine. If your table is fine with you running Iona, Shield of Emeria or Primevals' Glorious Rebirth, Garruk, Apex Predator or Grimlock, Dinobot Leader  Flip then there is absolutely no reason why you can't or shouldn't be able to. All of these are not legal for use as Commanders within the Command Zone, but if your table is okay with it, then suddenly they are. Similarly, Iona and Grimlock can't be in the deck, even in the +99. If your table is okay with it, then it's fine.

Similarly, sometimes players build decks that run non-legendary creatures as Commanders. One very popular build is Shaman of the Great Hunt, and to a lesser extent Brutal Hordechief. In fact, one of the most popular decks on this site itself would be classified as Rule 0: Dune: He Who Can Destroy a Thing, Controls a Thing, by FenIsABasicSwamp.

So with that said, I propose Rule 0 as a hub. Since we need to be able to describe it in one or two short sentences;

  • "There are many rules to EDH. Rule 0 decks ask the table beforehand if it is okay to run silver-bordered cards, banned cards or cards that would otherwise be 'illegal' in the Command Zone."

enpc on What’s your “dick move” moment?

1 week ago

Story from a couple of years (and play groups) ago.

Had a game where I was playing a very janky Progenitus commander deck in a 3 player pod. Was playing against Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord and another deck (can't remember the commander). My deck was this big, slow, battlecruiser deck (which is not the kind of deck I normally play) and was getting targetted by both players becuase I had some big beaters in play.

The Jarad player, who was a notoriously toxic player - the kind who people flat out refused to play with and eventaully was told he could no longer play in the group, was acting quite cocky about having me on the ropes. I top decked and hard cast an Iona, Shield of Emeria naming black (as both my opponents had black), to which the toxic player starts whining that every single card in his hand was black and that I had effectively locked him out of the game.

Proceeded to go on and win, but not without having to put up with a bunch of complaints (for toxic player, the other guy was cool). Didn't feel bad in the slightest.

Kamerot on Om Nom Trample

1 month ago

blpace when I added karn to the deck, it was before ugin was a card. And karn was added due to the ability to exile a permanent; at the time, Iona, Shield of Emeria was a huge problem and this was my solution to get rid of her. I'm actually looking at replacing karn with something more mana efficient for the deck since she got banned.

TheVectornaut on Should Drannith Magistrate be Banned …

1 month ago

In a world where few people were sympathetic to mono-colored players when Iona, Shield of Emeria was preventing them from playing almost EVERY card in their deck, I find it hard to imagine they'd be sympathetic enough to players that rely entirely on their commanders when Drannith Magistrate stops them from playing only 1 (or 2) card(s). If the card is pushing people towards building decks that aren't insane combo machines that can't function without a commander, I'd call that a win. Of course, even that is an exaggeration I think. I've literally never seen Magistrate played outside of standard.

multimedia on Kaalia of the Vast

2 months ago

Hey, nice personal version. I respect you're willing to post for critique your personal deck that you're currently playing.

An area to consider improving is ramp. Consider cutting some basic lands especially Swamps for more low CMC mana rocks?

You can get ramp other ways than mana rocks such as Rakdos, Lord of Riots who's underrated with Kaalia. Can also be a backup to more easily cast high CMC creatures if you can't cheat them onto the battlefield with Kaalia. Rakdos could replace Iona, Shield of Emeria because she's banned in multiplayer EDH/Commander.

40 lands with 27 basic lands isn't a good ratio for color fixing when you need all three colors equally. You can't count on having Chromatic Lantern every game for color fixing, but you should consistently be able to count on your lands. Bloodstained Mire is great, nice Expedition, but currently it can't fetch a white source because there's no Swamp/Plains or Mountain/Plains land. Savai Triome , Godless Shrine and Sacred Foundry are Plains lands that Mire can search for.

Less lands, more color fixing and more ramp will help gameplay. You want at least 20 sources of each color from lands in the manabase which is completely doable with the already high budget. My advice is cut basic lands for more dual lands. I'll suggest two different tiers of land improvements to consider based on your current budget.

Tier 1 (more expensive lands, better color fixing): more Rainbow lands, more Fetch lands, Shock lands, Bond lands.

Tier 2 (less expensive lands, less color fixing): lesser Rainbow lands, Bond lands, Pathways and Filter lands.

I offer more advice. Would you like more advice? Good luck with your deck.

rdean14 on Card creation challenge

3 months ago

Iona, Shield of Emeria was a card I loved in EDH and was upset to see it banned.

Iona's Memorial

Legendary Enchantment Artifact

Whenever an artifact enters the battlefield under a player's control, you may choose a color. Until their next turn, that player can't cast spells of that color.

: Create a Clue token. Any player may activate this ability.

I'd like to see an uncommon which is effectively removal, but has some weird other aspects. Flunk is a great example.

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