Rugged Highlands

Land

Rugged Highlands enters the battlefield tapped.

When Rugged Highlands enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life.

: Gain or .

Discussion (51)

multimedia on Kalamax Precon Upgraded

13 hours ago

Hey, nice budget version of Kalamax. Several good upgrades you've made to the precon.

Chord of Calling with Kalamax to tutor for Pili + Architect for infinite mana is interesting. Consider more ways to draw into a win condition when you have infinite mana? Without the draw making infinite mana with Pili + Architect or with Scepter + Reversal doesn't do enough. Expansion / Explosion is another instant Fork or Explosion with infinite mana can draw a lot of cards. Pull from Tomorrow and Blue Sun's Zenith are other instants that draw X cards.

Nivix Guildmage with infinite mana can draw into your deck until you find a win condition as well as counters to protect the combo. Guildmage with infinite mana can also infinite copy an instant/sorcery you cast which can make Banefire a win condition since you can copy it for each opponent and target a different opponent with each copy. If you can some how get a third copy of Chord when you cast it then you can also tutor for Guildmage.

Some lands in the manabase could be upgraded. Life lands from the precon and Scry temple lands are not worth ETB tapped. Survivors' Encampment and Holdout Settlement are unique lands with Kalamax because they're repeatable ways to tap him. These lands are like Springleaf Drum, they make mana when you use them to tap Kalamax or another creature. But unlike Drum you can tutor for and put onto the battlefield with Crop Rotation. Having more ways to tap Kalamax without attacking while also making mana is beneficial.

Some other good lands that are reasonable price to consider adding are: Rootbound Crag and Shivan Reef. The Filter lands: Cascade Bluffs, Flooded Grove and Fire-Lit Thicket are at lowest price due to just being reprinted in Double Masters. Can get these lands for as low as $5 each. Bluffs is helpful since it can make or , important color combinations to want to consistently make to cast instants for Kalamax.

---

Cards to consider cutting:

• Rugged Highlands
• Thornwood Falls
• Swiftwater Cliffs
• Temple of Mystery
• Aggressive Mammoth
• Charmbreaker Devils
• Djinn Illuminatus
• Refuse / Cooperate

Good luck with your deck.

multimedia on Kalamax, the Bomb Droppin Dinosaur From Hell

2 days ago

Hey, good version of Kalamax.

32 lands is low especially when you're trying to get to nine mana for Chord to combo with Kiki. My advice is add more lands or more two drop mana rocks or both. Arcane Signet and Fellwar Stone are mana rock options, they could replace Docent of Perfection  ^Flip and Mizzix of the Izmagnus. This can help to reduce the avg. CMC and improve ramp. Docent is not as good, much slower, than Talrand/Murmuring and your not going to gaining very many experience counters from Mizzix since you have mostly low CMC instant/sorceries. Invigorating Surge, Refuse / Cooperate, Rapid Hybridization and Sublime Epiphany are options to cut to add more lands.

With a budget of $600+ could make some upgrades to the manabase. Lands such as Rupture Spire, Gain lands (Rugged Highlands), Scry lands (Temple of Mystery) are for low budget decks and Fast lands (Spirebluff Canal) will more times than not ETB tapped. I'm not a fan of Fast lands in Commander because as one ofs the consistency of having one in your opening hand or drawing one before turn three is too low.

Kalamax being a four drop also makes Fast lands not good if it's your turn four land drop then it makes it more difficult to cast Kalamax. Fast lands, Gain Lands, Scry lands and other lands that ETB tapped don't go well with Bounce lands (Simic Growth Chamber) together in the same manabase since having to bounce a Fast land sets you back even more for mana. Bounce lands also ETB tapped, but they're better at making mana/color fixing and with Seedborn/Reclamation.

Some lands to consider adding:

• 2x Island
• Exotic Orchard
• Stomping Ground
• Steam Vents
• Shivan Reef
• Yavimaya Coast
• Sulfur Falls
• Hinterland Harbor
• Rootbound Crag

---

There's several cards in the sideboard that are better than cards in the main deck. Reverberate and Twincast are more two drop Forks that combo with Kalamax and Ral as the win condition. They're better cards than Invigorating Surge and Refuse / Cooperate. Chandra's Ignition is better than Immolating Gyre especially if you add more Forks to the main deck. Ways to give Kalamax infinite power which makes Ignition a win condition. Dig Through Time is better than Thassa's Intervention since you only have to pay for delve once.

I offer more advice, would you like more advice?

Good luck with your deck.

Altoman on Snow Bulls and the 7 Dwarves

3 weeks ago

I'm not sure Fling is that great in the deck. You work pretty hard to put those creatures on the field. I'm pretty sure you don't want to sac them. And on top of that, if you don't have enough creatures, it becomes a dead card in your hand.

Personnally I think I would focus more on the Dwarfs with stuff like Adventurous Impulse.

When I see Temur Battle Rage, it screams Kiln Fiend. I know, I know, it's not the goal of the deck....but it's so good. Remove the artifacts to put more stuff like Vines of Vastwood, Faithless Looting, Titan's Strength or Manamorphose. All that so you can slowly grow your army while always keeping the opponent on his toes for SURPRISE 10/10, Double strike, trample Kiln Fiend.

Finally about lands. I understand the 22 lands, but with nothing to help you gain mana faster, you need raw 5 or 6 lands to play your Big Boys. Lets be honest, 6 lands in 6 turns means you won't have alot of material to stay alive until D-Day for a 4/4. Blastoderm is way more menacing and cost less. Also you need some mana fix with Rugged Highlands or something like that.

All in all, I think your deck has alot of potential. It can be really good, but mostly really fun to play. :)

Balaam__ on Fat and Fast

1 month ago

I’d recommend 1x Forest and 1x Mountain. Maybe run a copy of Rugged Highlands, but that’s up to you.

multimedia on Ghired: All Tokens Welcome!

3 months ago

Hey, nice budget version of Ghired.

Dolmen Gate and Mother of Runes were just reprinted in the Mystery Card Booster set. Gate is good with Ghired letting you safely attack with him to populate. As long as Ghired is attacking in combat any creature that blocks him will not do damage to him. Reconnaissance is the more expensive price card that also does this and it has the bonus of being able to untap your creatures to use them as blockers.

Mother of Runes can be repeatable protection for Ghired from targeted removal or in combat or make him unblockable. Gate and Mother could replace Colossal Majesty and Parhelion II.

Breath of Fury is a budget card that's deceptively powerful with tokens especially with Ghired. Fury is a infinite attack combo with Ghired and one Rhino token as long as Ghired is safe to attack and the Rhino token will do combat damage to a player. Enchant the Rhino token with Fury, attack with Ghired and Rhino. Enchanted Rhino does combat damage to a player, sac it and then enchant the newly created Rhino token. Untap your creatures and attack again. This is infinite attacks as long as Ghired can popluate the Rhino each attack. Fury could replace Soul Foundry.

When playing heavy green then take more advantage of green mana dorks. Mana dorks are some of the strongest cards in green. They're better in green for ramp than mana rocks and land ramp spells.

• Birds of Paradise
• Avacyn's Pilgrim
• Elvish Mystic
• Faeburrow Elder

These mana dorks could replace Circuitous Route, Explosive Vegetation, Selesnya Guildgate, Gruul Guildgate. Eladamri's Call, Idyllic Tutor and Open the Armory are three budget tutors to consider adding. Each one gets a different card, but it's still helpful to have tutors. These tutors could replace Commander's Sphere, Selesnya Signet and Desolation Twin.

Exotic Orchard, Battlefield Forge, Fortified Village and Ash Barrens are budget lands to consider adding. They could replace Kazandu Refuge, Rugged Highlands, Blossoming Sands, Graypelt Refuge.

Good luck with your deck.

TristanCVena on $5 Gruul Satyrs

3 months ago

Isn't Rugged Highlands a strict upgrade over the guildgate in this deck?

multimedia on

6 months ago

Hey, you're welcome :)

What's the max budget you have to make card upgrades? When you finish making upgrades what price range can you have for total deck cost? The precon for example at $60 is low and I would hope you could afford at least $50 for upgrades. If you can afford more expensive price cards then my card suggestions will be different then if you can't. Smothering Tithe and Birds of Paradise for example are very good cards for ramp, but they might be too expensive for the budget.

What advice about upgrades would you like?

Some cards from the precon that can be cut since they're not as good as others or don't have good enough synergy with Ghired:

• Blossoming Sands
• Graypelt Refuge
• Kazandu Refuge
• Rugged Highlands
• Cliffside Rescuer: can only protect something once which is not worth it when there's options that can be repeatable.
• Doomed Artisan: these tokens are not worth populating.
• Roc Egg: has to die before it does anything.
• Heart-Piercer Manticore: can be fine as creature removal, but I think there's better options.
• Scaretiller: too slow as ramp or anything else.
• Tahngarth, First Mate: belongs in it's own deck as Commander General.
• Atla Palani, Nest Tender: belongs in her own deck as Commander General.
• Soul of Zendikar: there's better six drops to play.
• Emmara Tandris: there's better seven drops to play.
• Tectonic Hellion: yikes.
• Desolation Twin: too much mana and the token is lackluster with no evasion.
• Commander's Insignia: not a good anthem effect for four mana.
• Full Flowering: this doesn't do anything unless you a lot of mana and a have a token on the battlefield to populate.
• Trostani's Judgment: there's much better lower mana cost options to exile a creature. Getting to also populate is not worth four or five extra mana.
• Soul Foundry: too slow.

Sedohr on Rioting against Humans

8 months ago

So from playing in MTG arena it runs decently and if I get a good start with the cards for all parts of early, mid, and late game it runs real well. For example I'll be able to get 3 lands out on turn 2 by dropping a forest and Arboreal Grazer turn 1, then ideally a Gruul Guildgate or Rugged Highlands with the ability. Next turn I drop a mountain or forest and can drop Grumgully, the Generous or Rhythm of the Wild . Then turn 3 I drop another forest or mountain and can play Frenzied Arynx , with two sets of Riot or Riot plus a +1/+1. Then from there I just keep dropping land and planeswalkers as I can, and usually I am able to drop my Wrecking Beast and/or End-Raze Forerunners later to finish the game.

I've also noted Domri, Anarch of Bolas really really helps with early-mid game ramp+control. I'll have one or two creatures on the field but with his -2 ability to make creatures fight, I'm able to clear the field or keep the field equal between us while I continue to ramp up to late game.

I'm somewhat starting to feel the limits of Barge In too. As there will be times I have defenders and could successfully block without dying if I gave them the +2/+2, but since the spell only works on attackers I'm unable to do so. On the flip side though it does help me attack as expected. I've had some people try to sacrifice defenders mid game against my creatures without trample, and I can add this on after they already declared defenders. So basically it means I NEED to play aggressive where possible if I have them in my hand since I can't use them for defense. I might sideboard something else tough if I find I need to be on the defensive a lot more against a specific player in a tournament or bo3. This fits the theme of the deck though with riot allowing me to choose more aggression with Haste as needed early game, or use one of the riot stacks for haste late game.

In my arena deck I don't have Skarrgan Hellkite , so I just put in a 4th Frenzied Arynx and that has made sure I draw them more often. Something I 100% forgot though was that Grumgully, the Generous is a legendary creature. I've had a few games in Arena so far where I have two by mid game, and was worried I wouldn't have anything to drop when I emptied my hand out otherwise. Luckily (maybe?) so far they have targeted Grumgully, the Generous and killed him quickly. So in those cases I've been able to still play my other Grumgully, the Generous after the 1st is killed without waiting too long. With that though, I might look at removing one Grumgully, the Generous (to bring to a total of 3) to replace with the 4th Frenzied Arynx .