Ohran Viper

Snow Creature — Snake

Whenever Ohran Viper deals combat damage to a creature, destroy that creature at end of combat.

Whenever Ohran Viper deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card.

Discussion (51)

TheVectornaut on Who dat boi - please help

2 days ago

Hey, I saw your comment. Is this an alternate account for twechsler or is this deck just inspired by theirs? Either way, I'll go into greater depth on some possible build paths. libraryjoy is correct in that if you're (mostly) mono-green, your best way to destroy creatures is often to take advantage of the abilities on your own creatures. You already have the deathtouch style shell so I'd just focus on that. But even with deathtouch, there are a fair number of options for guaranteeing that damage gets dealt. There are the bow/staff cards like I use in my artifact commander deck A Pile of Cans with the deathtouch from Sydri, Galvanic Genius . Then there's fight effects which you can see working with Wren's Run Packmaster in my wolfless wolf deck Size of the Fight in the Dog (although this strategy doesn't require DT if your creatures have high enough power). A final approach is forced combat damage. Since it's been mentioned the least, that's what I'll focus on here.

Forced block cards like Lure , Gift of the Deity , Indrik Umbra , Ochran Assassin , Roar of Challenge , Tempting Licid , Provoke , Irresistible Prey , or Tangle Angler are the core of such a deck. Most of these cards are rather costly in terms of CMC, and I'd consequently only recommend such a deck for slower casual play. It should be pretty strong in creature-heavy metas though. If that sounds reasonable, the next thing you have to decide on are the creatures and supporting cards. These choices aren't always obvious because of the many things a deck like this wants. For example, it may be better to play cheap deathtouch creatures like Deathcap Cultivator , Gifted Aetherborn , Narnam Renegade , Wasteland Viper , and Nightshade Peddler so you can start controlling the board sooner. But if all your DT creatures have low power, they'll only be able to kill 1 or 2 things off a big forced block. Thus, it may be better to instead grant deathtouch with other cards like Basilisk Collar , Deadly Allure , Virulent Swipe , Bow of Nylea , Archetype of Finality , or Ohran Frostfang . Then, you could just run creatures with high attack for their cost. Still, I think there's something to be said of looking for other abilities that interact well with deathtouch. First strike and double strike are the most obvious examples because they can let your creatures survive combat to attack all over again on later turns. Viridian Claw , Glissa, the Traitor , and Grappling Hook see play in such decks for this reason. Alternatively, you can learn from the synergy of the Frostfang that abilities triggering on face damage pair well with deathtouch. Only a fool would block your 1/1 DT with their 3/3, but if that 1/1 is drawing you a card, suddenly that trade sounds more appealing. Cold-Eyed Selkie , Dimir Cutpurse , Edric, Spymaster of Trest , Oakhame Adversary , Ohran Viper , Tomebound Lich , Fynn, the Fangbearer , and Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons are some cards that might fill this role.

I know I've just rattled off a lot of cards here. I'll try putting together a casual deck to demonstrate what I'm talking about when I find the time.

As an aside, I see that you've included Novablast Wurm as the only meaningful white spell in this version of the deck. It's too slow to see play in anything but ramp, but it can definitely be built around as a beefy Wrath of God too. Consider using something like Heroic Intervention or a Dauntless Escort sacrifice to break the symmetry on the board wipe. Also, creatures that grant boons on death like Thragtusk or Wurmcoil Engine could find a home in a self-wipe deck, although the Wurm might be outclassed then by something more traditional like Austere Command , Settle the Wreckage , Kindred Dominance , or Phyrexian Rebirth .

Raider9555 on Draw Spells - Modern Legal

2 months ago

Jace's Archivist, Dark Deal, Fascination, Coiling Oracle kinda, Ohran Viper, Seshiro the Anointed

TrueSharinganx on Damia, Eye Contact Communication Specialist

3 months 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

sigiledwatch on Jarad vod Savo

5 months ago

you have very few card draws in your deck for my liking i suggest Ohran Viper Disciple of Bolas Elder Gargaroth Ripjaw Raptor and Treeshaker Chimera as card draw on creatures. i love your addition of Clackbridge Troll as conditional card draw on a creature that can be used as fodder for jarad too.

Inkmoth on Yeva Draw-Grow (Budget)

8 months ago

For those who're following the thread, Uzeep's questions were answered via Discord. However, the main thing I wanted to address in his comment is his mention of tutoring Shaman of Forgotten Ways. It is NEVER in our gameplan to tutor this, so we never care about where this card is until we've established Infinite Mana and an Outlet, only then do we look for kill loops which is also when the sky's the limit.

Due to his region certain cards were unavailable, so we also brewed up some changes to rectify this. His variation will be exactly the same with the following exceptions:

Creature (6)

• Ambush Commander -> Ohran Frostfang

• Fyndhorn Elves -> Joraga Treespeaker

• Heartwood Storyteller -> Ohran Viper

• Quirion Ranger -> Scryb Ranger

• Skyshroud Poacher -> Elvish Piper/Guardian Project/ Nylea, Keen-Eyed

• Wirewood Channeler -> Elvish Archdruid

Enchantment (3)

• Elvish Guidance -> Veil of Summer

• Growing Rites of Itlimoc  ^Flip -> Mirage Mirror

• Root Maze -> Force of Vigor

Instant (2)

• Touch of Vitae -> Thousand-Year Elixir

• Vitalize -> Hyrax Tower Scout

TheVectornaut on Blue Green Something

8 months ago

I love taking a pile of cards and seeing what you can turn it into! I don't know which cards you have or what budget you have for acquiring new ones, but I'll list some cheap suggestions I have for a variety of archetypes you could pursue.

1) Simic ramp: Already goes well with Air Elemental, Archetype of Endurance, Oakgnarl Warrior, Overgrown Battlement, Yavimaya Wurm, Simic Keyrune. Some inclusions might be Llanowar Elves, Axebane Guardian, Coiling Oracle, Maraleaf Pixie, Beanstalk Giant, Terra Stomper, Lorthos, the Tidemaker. The goal is to accelerate into big threats.

2) U/G unblockable: Already goes well with Marang River Prowler, Downpour, Giant Growth, Might of the Masses, Aqueous Form, Coastal Piracy, Turntimber Grove. Some inclusions might be Curious Obsession, Daring Saboteur, Mist-Syndicate Naga, Ohran Viper, Trygon Predator, Distortion Strike. The goal is to get value from hitting with unblocked creatures.

3) U/G tempo/control: Already goes well with Breaching Hippocamp, Cloaked Siren, Mist Raven, Fog, Negate, Unsummon, Voyage's End, Claustrophobia. Some inclusions might be Vapor Snag, Dissolve, Mana Leak, AEtherling, Delver of Secrets  ^Flip, Devastation Tide. The goal is to deny the opponent their things while playing tricky threats of your own.

I also see cards in here that could work with mono green Assault Formation, simic +1/+1 synergy, or flying tribal, so you have a lot of options. As a sidenote, I'd also recommend upping your land count to about 24 while you have so many 5+ cost cards in the deck. Anyway, good luck!

slashdotdash on 5 color no theme deck

10 months ago

Dear Kronhamilton

Golos, Tireless Pilgrim is my favorite commander, and I've been brewing around him ever since he was teased. Let me just say you've chosen an excellent commander.

(I’ve written quite a lot in an attempt to make a sort of guide for you, so if you want the short version, check out the Suggestions panel)

Intro

Golos can be tricky to build around since he can do literally anything pretty well. The easiest way to make an effective Golos deck is to lean into Golos's 7 Mana Rainbow Wheel Of Death. Before getting into that though, we need to cover some EDH deckbuilding basics.

I think the most useful advice I can give someone who is just beginning to explore the deck-building territory of EDH is to structure your deck and mind your Ratios. By this I mean it is useful to categorize the cards in your deck according to the role they fulfill.

We’ll begin by looking at some core categories that you’ll want to make your deck function effectively. Then I’ll present the Ratios (how many of each category of card) you will want to make a generic Golos deck function effectively. Next, I’ll include a detailed (but not totally complete, because I’d be here all day) catalogue of cards within some of those categories. I’ll also offer up some suggestions and input about some of your specific card choices. Lastly, since I’m about to unpack a lot of information, I will include a brief list of suggestions (see the bottom) for a generically good Golos ‘Shell’ that should be able to support most Golos strategies.

Categories

Categories

• Draw

• Ramp

• Removal

• Sweepers

• Threats

• Support

• Land

Draw Show

Draw cards are cards that draw you additional cards. There are two subcategories for Draw cards; Draw Spells and Draw Engines.

• Draw Spells are one-time use cards that immediately get you 2 to 3 cards.

• Draw Engines are cards that might not get you cards immediately but will gradually draw you cards as you play your deck and the game goes longer.

Either variety of Draw card may either be generically powerful or may instead be dependent on synergy (meaning you need to do something specific in order to draw cards). Some cards are hybrids that are generically powerful but get better with additional synergy.

Ramp Show

Ramp cards are cards that increase your capacity to produce mana while also accelerating the pace of your mana production. This is generally done by either the card acting as a permanent that creates mana or by finding a land card from your deck and putting it into play. By definition, a Ramp card should be cast within the first 3 turns of the game in order to allow you to cast more/larger spells sooner in the game. For a Golos deck, you should try to ramp once by turn 3 so that you can cast Golos on turn 4 (this won’t always happen, but your deck should be able to do it regularly – see Ratios for more).

There are 3 main subcategories of Ramp; Ramp Spells, Mana Rocks, and Mana Dorks.

• Ramp Spells are one-time use cards that find a land from your deck and put it into play (usually tapped).

• Mana Rocks are artifacts that produce mana.

• Mana Dorks are creatures that produce mana.

Resilience, Speed, and Synergy of Ramp Cards

Ramp Spells are the most Resilient type of Ramp card, as lands are not usually destroyed in EDH. Ramp Spells also trigger Landfall Synergies (Rampaging Baloths, Avenger of Zendikar, Tatyova, Benthic Druid, Omnath, Locus of the Roil, Field of the Dead) which can be incredibly powerful over the course of a longer game. Ramp Spells can also “Color Fix” by finding specific basic lands that you might need to cast a spell or complete the Rainbow to activate Golos’s Rainbow Wheel of Death. However, it should be noted that Ramp Spells are purely slower than Mana Rocks as they almost always bring lands into play tapped.

Mana Rocks are not especially resilient due to the presence of cards that destroy artifacts(Reclamation Sage, Bane of Progress, Acidic Slime, Hellkite Tyrant, Hostage Taker). They do synergize with Artifact themed decks though, making them extremely useful in Artifact-heavy decks (Metalwork Colossus, Shimmer Dragon, Padeem, Consul of Innovation, Sai, Master Thopterist, Inventors' Fair). Mana Rocks also possess a distinct advantage in being the fastest type of Ramp, since most Mana Rocks come into play untapped, allowing you to use them immediately.

Mana Dorks are extremely fragile, as they die to Sweepers (Board Wipes like Wrath of God), Combat, and Combat Triggers (Drakuseth, Maw of Flames, Balefire Dragon, Silumgar, the Drifting Death). That being said, Mana Dorks definitely have a place in Green-Creature-heavy decks that enjoy the effects of Creature synergy (Beast Whisperer, Soul of the Harvest, Pathbreaker Ibex). Without haste, Mana Dorks cannot activate their mana producing abilities the turn they enter the battlefield, making them slow like Ramp Spells. Think of them like fragile lands – very risky to invest in.

Removal Show

Removal spells are Instants that destroy a target (typically a creature). These are essential for survival, as you can defend yourself or dismantle an opponent’s plans at a crucial moment and most often during their turn.

The Importance of Instants

Non-instant spells that destroy creatures are never considered Removal because you cannot count on them to save you if your opponent has an explosive turn (for example, they resolve Ghalta, Primal Hunger with Lightning Greaves on the board and they immediately equip the boots and attack you. Only an Instant could respond to the equipping of the boots and destroy Ghalta before it acquired Haste and Shroud.)

Sweepers Show

Sweepers are spells that destroy or ‘bounce’ (return to hand) all creatures and/or other permanents.

These may also be referred to as ‘Boardwipes’.

Deciding to play Sweepers

The decision to include Sweepers may depend on the state of your playgroup (your Meta). For example, if someone in your playgroup is playing an Ezuri, Renegade Leader deck (or similar) then you will almost definitely need to include Sweepers just to keep the nonsense at bay, because otherwise that opponent will likely overwhelm you with a small mountain of creatures. While that is a fun and powerful strategy, it can be counteracted by the presence of a few Sweepers in your deck. A well-built creature deck with the appropriate amount of Draw will still be able to recover, so this isn’t necessarily going to force your opponent to have a miserable time. Think of Sweepers as a way to buy time against faster, more aggressive decks – something that you’ll need to be wary of since you are playing a 5 color deck with a 5 Converted Mana Cost Commander.

Threats Show

Threats are cards that present a challenge to your opponents, most often in the form of a large creature that is capable of killing them and/or smashing their plans to pieces. Threats may take a different form though, such as enchantments, artifacts, planeswalkers, or even lands.

Golos in particular loves threats because of the simple, spicy fact that he can hit them with his Rainbow Wheel Of Death. This makes building a threat-centric Golos deck both incredibly fun and terrifyingly effective.

Support Show

Support cards are somewhat obscure cards that don’t fulfill any of the usual roles, but instead enhance some aspect of your deck by improving your Engines (such as Draw Engines or other Value Engines like a Token Generator) or Threats.

Generally speaking, support cards are the cards that make your deck go from good to crazy and they often empower you to win the game if uninterrupted.

• An example of a support card is Leyline of Anticipation which allows you to cast your spells at any time, but doesn’t do anything by itself.

• In a Blink deck, Panharmonicon (Yarok, the Desecrated too) makes an appearance as the premium support card, doubling Enter-The-Battlefield effects (ETB’s).

• For a Reanimation deck, you might see Deadbridge Chant or Debtors' Knell make an appearance.

Almost any Golos deck particularly enjoys the inclusion of incredibly powerful support cards such as Zendikar Resurgent, Mirari's Wake, Nyxbloom Ancient, or other options that increase the amount of mana you can create to use with Golos’s Rainbow Wheel Of Death.

Land Show

Lands are an obvious inclusion for most Magic decks, but I will mention them anyway.

I am familiar with three main categories of lands; Basic Lands, Utility Lands, and Color Fixing Lands.

Basic Lands are always useful in small quantities for decks that play many Ramp Spells (I recommend this for most Golos decks).

Utility Lands may or may not generate colored mana (for our purposes, we will assume they only generate colorless mana) but they come equipped with a powerful ability.

Color Fixing Lands are lands that are nonbasic but allow us to ‘fix’ our colors by providing us with an option of mana to choose from. These are very helpful for most Golos decks.

Cascading Cataracts

I will mention right now that Cascading Cataracts is the ultimate Color Fixing Land because it can be immediately fetched by Golos and it allows you to consistently Spin The Wheel regardless of your color availability (note that you need 7 mana plus the Cascading Cataracts, which often implies you need 8 lands). If you are plan on playing a deck with few color requirements (mostly one or two primary colors) then this card can singlehandedly enable The Wheel.

Ratios

The art of Ratios is all about determining what combination of cards from each category makes your deck run the most smoothly.

Please note that these Ratios will not total to 99 cards. This is because you will invariably have extra flexibility to choose how your deck behaves even after establishing functional Ratios. Also keep in mind that although these Ratios do recommend you adhere to the minimum number of cards in each category, you still can choose which cards will fill those slots. The point is not to restrict your options, but instead to create a ‘Shell’ that is reliable enough to power your Threats cards, Support cards, and other cards. Whatever you do, make sure you have at least the minimum number of Draw and Ramp cards. THE MOST IMPORTANT CARDS IN THE DECK ARE DRAW AND RAMP!!!

While I ultimately suggest Ratios resembling the Basic Golos Shell, I will lay out the Ratios for several different Shells;

• Template: a sort of baseline beginner’s guide which is commonly promoted as a place to start.

• Basic Golos: a modified version of the Template that suites most Golos decks.

• Control: a version tailored for a slower game with many Sweepers.

• Aggro: a version designed to act quickly and deploy Threats before the opponents are prepared.

• Big Mana: a version invested heavily into Ramp with the goal of deploying many end-game Threats.

• Mega Mana: an even more extreme version of Big Mana with extremely expensive Threats.

Template Show

• Ramp – 10-12

• Draw – 10-12

• Removal – 6-8

• Sweepers – 1-3

• Threats – 8-13

• Support – 5-10

• Land – 35-37

Basic Golos Show

• Ramp – 12

• Draw – 13

• Removal – 7

• Sweepers – 2

• Threats – 12

• Support – 7

• Land – 36

Total: 89

Control Show

• Ramp – 8

• Draw – 15

• Removal – 7

• Sweepers – 6

• Threats – 10

• Support – 10

• Land – 36

Total: 92

Aggro Show

• Ramp – 15

• Draw – 8

• Removal – 6

• Sweepers – 0

• Threats – 20

• Support – 8

• Land – 35

Total: 92

Big Mana Show

• Ramp – 14

• Draw – 14

• Removal – 7

• Sweepers – 2

• Threats – 16

• Support – 8

• Land – 36

Total: 97

Mega Mana Show

• Ramp – 20

• Draw – 13

• Removal – 7

• Sweepers – 2

• Threats – 12

• Support – 8

• Land – 36

Total: 98

Catalogue

Draw Show

Generic Draw Spells

• Read the Bones

• Drawn from Dreams

• Urban Evolution

• Harmonize

• Ambition's Cost

• Ancient Craving

• Syphon Mind

• Concentrate

• Ugin's Insight

• Rush of Knowledge

Synergy Draw Spells

(Many Creatures)

• Shamanic Revelation

• Tishana, Voice of Thunder

• Regal Force

• Voice of Many

(Big Creatures)

• Rishkar's Expertise

• Return of the Wildspeaker

• Soul's Majesty

• Keruga, the Macrosage

(Blink – using effects like Ephemerate to ‘Blink’ or ‘Flicker’ cards for enter-the-battlefield [ETB] effects)

• Mulldrifter (if you cast an Ephemerate after Mulldrifter ETB’s but before it sacrifices itself, you can stop it from dying and draw four cards)

• Cloudblazer

• Cavalier of Gales

• Wall of Blossoms

• Wall of Omens

• Elvish Visionary

• Watcher for Tomorrow

• Generous Patron (I promise you, the two cards is worth giving away two counters)

(Tribal – Many creatures of one type, such as elementals or goblins)

• Risen Reef

• Distant Melody

Generic Draw Engines

• Underworld Connections

• Phyrexian Arena

• Bringer of the Blue Dawn

• Vilis, Broker of Blood

• Mind Unbound

• The Magic Mirror

• Thought Reflection

• Damia, Sage of Stone

• The Ur-Dragon

Synergy Draw Engines

(Many Creatures)

• Beast Whisperer

• Primordial Sage

• Soul of the Harvest

• Guardian Project

• Chulane, Teller of Tales

(Big Creatures)

• Elemental Bond

• Temur Ascendancy

• Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner

• Garruk, Primal Hunter

• Colossal Majesty

• Drumhunter

(Combat Matters)

• Reconnaissance Mission

• Bident of Thassa

• Ohran Viper

• Ohran Frostfang

• Keeper of Fables

• Oakhame Adversary

• Cold-Eyed Selkie

• Coastal Piracy

Ramp Show

Ramp Spells

• Rampant Growth

• Farseek

• Into the North

• Nature's Lore

• Search for Tomorrow

• Sakura-Tribe Elder

• Growth Spasm

• Beanstalk Giant

• Far Wanderings

• Harrow

• Cultivate

• Kodama's Reach

• Explosive Vegetation

• Skyshroud Claim

• Migration Path

• Circuitous Route

• Wood Elves

• Springbloom Druid

• Yavimaya Dryad

• Farhaven Elf

Mana Rocks

• Sol Ring

• Fellwar Stone

• Arcane Signet

• Simic Signet (also see signets for: Azorius, Rakdos, Gruul, Golgari, Dimir, Boros, Izzet, Selesnya, Orzhov)

• Everflowing Chalice

• Mind Stone

• Chromatic Lantern

Mana Dorks

• Birds of Paradise

• Arbor Elf

• Llanowar Elves

• Llanowar Tribe

• Faeburrow Elder

• Elvish Mystic

• Paradise Druid

• Sylvan Caryatid

• Ilysian Caryatid

• Leafkin Druid

• Leyline Prowler

Removal Show

• Swords to Plowshares

• Dire Tactics

• Heartless Act

• Rapid Hybridization

• Pongify

• Terminate

• Despark

• Putrefy

• Mortify

• Price of Fame

• Path to Exile

• Utter End

Sweepers Show

• Wrath of God

• Day of Judgment

• Fumigate

• Supreme Verdict

• Flood of Tears

• Sublime Exhalation

• Coastal Breach

• Time Wipe

• Duneblast

• In Garruk's Wake

• Plague Wind

• Cataclysmic Gearhulk

• Mythos of Snapdax

• Massacre Girl

Threats Show

• Quartzwood Crasher

• Avenger of Zendikar

• Rampaging Baloths

• Artisan of Kozilek

• Kogla, the Titan Ape

• Tendershoot Dryad

• Many, many, many more…

Support Show

• Zendikar Resurgent

• Nyxbloom Ancient

• Mirari's Wake

• Sunbird's Invocation

• Maelstrom Nexus

• Support cards often depend on the deck…

Land Show

Utility Lands

• Field of the Dead

• Reliquary Tower (only if you expect to draw a billion cards)

• Westvale Abbey  ^Flip

• Kessig Wolf Run

• Slayers' Stronghold

• Vault of the Archangel

• Alchemist's Refuge

• Temple of the False God

• Halimar Depths

Color Fixing Lands

• Command Tower

• Evolving Wilds

• Terramorphic Expanse

• Ash Barrens

• Exotic Orchard

• Krosan Verge

• Sandsteppe Citadel

• Savage Lands

• Seaside Citadel

• Opulent Palace

• Nomad Outpost

• Crumbling Necropolis

• Arcane Sanctum

• Jungle Shrine

• Mystic Monastery

• Frontier Bivouac

• Indatha Triome

• Ketria Triome

• Raugrin Triome

• Zagoth Triome

• Savai Triome

• Cinder Glade

• Canopy Vista

• Prairie Stream

• Sunken Hollow

• Smoldering Marsh

• Fabled Passage

Suggestions

Please remember that any suggestions I make are because I am trying to help. Ultimately, the choices you make with your deck are up to you, and I can only provide constructive criticism based on my own experience and opinions.

Good luck :)

Ratio Fixing

The most effective change to your deck would probably be adjusting the Ratios, especially with regard to your Draw cards. Applying the most basic Template Shell, you want to have at least these three quantities nailed down for a smoother and reasonably powerful deck;

• Lands – 36 --> You have 40 Lands (Cut 4 Lands)

• Ramp – 10 --> You have 5 true Ramp cards (Add 5 to 8 Ramp cards)

• Draw – 10 --> You have 3 true Draw cards (Add 7 to 10 Draw cards)

Ramp & Draw Additions Show

Ramp

• 1 Rampant Growth

• 2 Farseek

• 3 Sakura-Tribe Elder

• 4 Sol Ring

• 5 Cultivate

• 6 Kodama's Reach

• 7 Springbloom Druid

• 8 Search for Tomorrow

Draw

• 1 Read the Bones

• 2 Harmonize

• 3 Drawn from Dreams

• 4 Syphon Mind

• 5 Ugin's Insight

• 6 Ambition's Cost

• 7 Ancient Craving

• 8 Underworld Connections

• 9 Elemental Bond

• 10 Urban Evolution

What I counted in your deck Show

Under the Ramp category I counted:

• Humble Naturalist

• Fertilid

• Dimir Locket

• Ketria Crystal

• Raugrin Crystal

These cards are NOT Ramp cards:

• Farfinder

• Dryad of the Ilysian Grove (fantastic Support card)

• Migratory Greathorn

• Parcelbeast

• Adventurous Impulse

Under the Draw category I counted:

• Reconnaissance Mission

• Chevill, Bane of Monsters (this is not a good Draw card)

• Dreamtail Heron (well, maybe)

These cards are NOT Draw cards:

• Farfinder

• Adventurous Impulse

• Cathartic Reunion

• Channeled Force

• and others

I see a few cards that Recover cards from the graveyard and that is fine but it is not Draw.

Cycling cards are not Draw cards if we define Draw cards as being able to find you 2 or 3 cards and thus help refill your hand.

Mutate

Depending on how strong your Mutate subtheme is, some of your Mutate inclusions may act as engines. However, I must state that Mutate is a VERY risky and even fragile strategy since your Mutate ‘Pile’ of creatures will all be destroyed at once if your opponent uses a Removal spell or a Sweeper. For that reason, I recommend leaning out of the Mutate theme (unless the Mutate card is just straight-up insane, as in the example of Nethroi, Apex of Death).

With that said, playing a Mutate theme is your decision and I totally respect that and if you want to stick to a Mutate theme then by all means do so. I just want to be sure you know that Mutate is a risky strategy that you cannot depend on to fulfill your Ramp and Draw slots (so you’ll just need to supplement it with other cards).

Cut or Include?

At a glance your deck seems like something you have created using just your collection – and that’s great! However, if you want to incrementally upgrade your deck, then I recommend replacing most of the cards in your deck with more powerful options over time.

Here is a list of cards you should probably keep playing: - Barrier Breach (Removal, because exiling 3 enchantments is helpful in some situations)

• Reconnaissance Mission (Draw, especially if you plan on attacking constantly)

• Ruinous Ultimatum (Sweeper)

• Mythos of Illuna (Other, sometimes Removal)

• Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger (Threat)

• Klothys, God of Destiny (Support)

• Dryad of the Ilysian Grove (Support)

• Drakuseth, Maw of Flames (Threat)

• Extinction Event (Sweeper)

• Titanoth Rex (Threat)

In my opinion, there are other, better options for all of the other nonland cards in the deck, however it is up to you to decide on how you would like to proceed so I won’t intrude.

I strongly recommend cutting the Planeswalkers though – Calix, Destiny's Hand doesn’t seem to synergize much with the deck and I feel that Lukka, Coppercoat Outcast is not very potent.

Lands

Just as a recommendation, I would suggest the following spread of Basic Lands;

• 8 Basic Forests

• 3 of each other Basic Land

The remainder of your lands could be either more basics (which is really, really, risky if you don’t have tons of Ramp – think like 15 Ramp cards and about 12 Basic Forests) or Color Fixing Lands (see the Catalogue for more options). It is rough to have your lands enter the battlefield tapped, but unless you want to either lean into Green or spend a lot of money on lands, you will just have to live with it (I play around 5-10 tapped lands in a normal Golos deck and it isn’t really that bad).

Shell

In this section, I will list out an example of the Basic Golos Shell complete with the necessary Ratios and some examples of good/fun cards in each category. I’ll try to keep it relatively Budget sensitive and most of these cards will be relatively random – this won’t be based on any particular theme so don’t expect it to be optimal.

As a reminder:

Basic Golos Show

• Ramp – 12

• Draw – 13

• Removal – 7

• Sweepers – 2

• Threats – 12

• Support – 7

• Land – 36

Total: 89

The Shell

Ramp – 12

• Farseek

• Rampant Growth

• Springbloom Druid

• Wood Elves

• Sakura-Tribe Elder

• Cultivate

• Farseek

• Sol Ring

• Search for Tomorrow

• Paradise Druid

• Into the North

• Migration Path

Draw – 13

• Harmonize

• Read the Bones

• Syphon Mind

• Ancient Craving

• Ambition's Cost

• Drawn from Dreams

• Ugin's Insight

• Rush of Knowledge

• Urban Evolution

• Elemental Bond

• Underworld Connections

• Kumena's Awakening

• Concentrate

Removal – 7

• Dire Tactics

• Heartless Act

• Despark

• Beast Within

• Terminate

• Price of Fame

• Reality Shift

Sweepers – 2

• Ruinous Ultimatum

• Plague Wind

Threats – 12

• Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger

• Quartzwood Crasher

• Kogla, the Titan Ape

• Artisan of Kozilek

• Drakuseth, Maw of Flames

• Sephara, Sky's Blade

• Vilis, Broker of Blood

• Tyrant's Familiar

• Teneb, the Harvester

• Scute Mob

• Blood Tyrant

• Rampaging Baloths

Support – 7

• Klothys, God of Destiny

• Dryad of the Ilysian Grove

• Inspired Ultimatum

• Genesis Ultimatum

• Emergent Ultimatum

• Eerie Ultimatum

• Brainstorm

Land – 36

• Command Tower

• Ash Barrens

• Exotic Orchard

• Krosan Verge

• Terramorphic Expanse

• Evolving Wilds

• Sandsteppe Citadel

• Savage Lands

• Jungle Shrine

• Frontier Bivouac

• Opulent Palace

• Temple of the False God

• 4 Forest

• 2Snow-Covered Forest

• 1 Plains

• 2 Snow-Covered Plains

• 1 Mountain

• 2 Snow-Covered Mountain

• 1 Swamp

• 2 Snow-Covered Swamp

• Cinder Glade

• Scattered Groves

• Prairie Stream

• Smoldering Marsh

• Sunken Hollow

• Nomad Outpost

• Mystic Monastery

• Crumbling Necropolis

• Cascading Cataracts

Good Luck :)

-Slashdotdash

General_Pasta on Queen Marchesa: Politics, Aikido, and Control

11 months ago

Perhaps this has been discussed before, but how viable would a 5-color deck of a similar style be? Playing green and blue might increase your threat level, but you'd have access to: Propaganda, Reins of Power, Sudden Substitution, Collective Restraint, Gahiji, Honored One, Marisi, Breaker of the Coil, Illusionist's Gambit, Dissipation Field, Aura Thief, Narset's Reversal, Ohran Viper, Elephant Grass and more. Maybe O-Kagachi, Vengeful Kami as commander?