Secluded Steppe

Land

Secluded Steppe enters the battlefield tapped.

: Gain .

Cycling (, Discard this card: Draw a card.)

Discussion (49)

DarkKnightCuron on White Soldier Deck for Commander, …

1 month ago

Good Afternoon, Hope everyone is doing well.

I've amassed the following cards for specifically a soldier-themed deck, but I'm having trouble narrowing down the list for an appropriate deck, so I'd like to request advice and assistance. The general idea was to summon a bunch of soldier tokens, buff them, defeat opponents, but I keep stumbling into cards that would be 'cool' or 'awesome' with the theme. Here are the cards I am looking at:

Legendary Cards (Potential Commanders) Akroma, Vision of Ixidor (Synergy with Odric) Baird, Steward of Argive (Good delay) Brimaz, King of Oreskos (Cheap commander that produces soldiers) Darien, King of Kjeldor (decent way of making soldiers, expensive) Keleth, Sunmane Familiar (only for partner) Lena, Selfless Champion Mikaeus, the Lunarch Nahiri, the Lithomancer Odric, Lunarch Marshal Odric, Master Tactician Prava of the Steel Legion Thalia, Heretic Cathar Trynn, Champion of Freedom

Normal Cards Abzan Falconer (synergy with Mikaeus) Adaptive Automaton (buffs soldiers) Ainok Bond-Kin (synergy with Mikaeus) Ancestral Blade (2 for a 2/2 creature seems good, especially if I can re-assign it to Auriok Steelshaper) Angel's Feather (Life gain) Angel's Grace (emergency + synergy with Darien)(Isochron Scepter) Anointed Procession (Double tokens, yes) Anointer Priest (life gain for tokens, seems good) Auriok Steelshaper (seems like good synergy with the equipment in the deck, if they're included. Otherwise, might toss this out) Aven Brigadier (Might toss this) Aysen Crusader (P/T based on soldiers? Yes please) Ballyrush Banneret (cheaper soldier spells) Basri Ket (Synergy with Abzan Falconer and Ainok Bond-Kin)(Produces Soldier Tokens) Benalish Commander (Roundabout way of producing soldiers) Bounty Agent (Neat way of dealing with certain cards) Call the Coppercoats (Produces soldiers) Captain of the Watch (Produces soldiers, buffs soldiers) Captain's Call (Produces soldiers) Catapult Master (Neat way of exiling enemy creatures) Cenn's Enlistment (produces soldiers, retrace) Commanding Presence (roundabout way of producing soldiers) Conclave Phalanx (can easily be a free creature + free life gain) Congregate (good life gain) Conqueror's Pledge (produces soldiers) Coordinated Barrage (meshes with soldiers well. Isochron Scepter) Crusader of Odric (can get really tough and powerful, might be worth cutting though) Daru Stinger (Could be really potent) Daru Warchief (cheaper spells, buffs soldiers, seems good) Dawn of Hope (good synergy with life gains, produces soldiers with lifelink) Daysquad Marshal (produces 1 soldier token, only really good with other buffs/cost reductions) Decree of Justice (mostly just to cycle it) Deploy to the Front (Great way of expanding ranks of soldiers) Devout Invocation (This is basically a win condition) Door of Destinies (buffs soldiers) Elspeth Tirel (makes soldiers, gain life, emergency nuke) Elspeth, Knight-Errant (makes soldiers, indestructable emblem) Elspeth, Sun's Champion (produces soldiers, cool emblem) Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis (makes soldiers or gain life, neat concept) Enlistment Officer (Good way of thinning the deck) Entrapment Maneuver (produces soldiers while protecting yourself, smidge situational) Erase (cheap removal. Isochron Scepter) Evangel of Heliod (produces soldiers, potential for lots of soldiers) Even the Odds (Nice way of getting emergency troops) Fairgrounds Warden (cool removal) Field Marshal (buffs soldiers) Fiend Binder (cool removal) Finale of Glory (basically a win condition) First Response (Nice way of benefitting from small attackers, I think) Garrison Cat (produces 1 soldier token, effectively replacing itself, might be worth cutting) Gideon, Ally of Zendikar (only really here for the emblem and possibly getting buffed on attacks) Gift of Estates (Land is always a problem for me, good deck thinning) Glorious Anthem (buff) God-Favored General (produces soldiers, albeit a bit expensive) Haazda Marshal (neat soldier producer, makes lifelink soldiers) Hero of Bladehold (battlecry + soldier producer, great with Haazda Marshal) Holy Day (defensive spell, Isochron Scepter) Honor of the Pure (buff) Hunted Witness (replaces itself with a soldier, cheap, might cut though) Intangible Virtue (buffs tokens) Intrepid Hero (Great removal, lots of great memories, nostalgic for me, etc) Isochron Scepter (Keep using certain Instants as needed) Join the Ranks (a bit expensive but makes soldiers) Journey to Nowhere (removal) Keeper of the Accord (really cool card, definitely helps with soldiers and lands) Knight-Captain of Eos (basically a holy day by sacrificing a soldier, seems really good) Land Tax (Land is always a problem) Launch the Fleet (produces soldiers, great with Odric, Haazda Marshal, Hero of Bladehold, Brimaz, etc) Leyline of the Meek (Neat little buff) Lieutenants of the Guard (neat mechanic, might cut) Loxodon Partisan (battlecry, might cut) Loyal Sentry (neat concept, cheap) Makeshift Battalion (diet battlecry) Marble Diamond (might be good) Marshal's Anthem (neat card, might be beneficial in a pinch) Martial Coup (great removal + producing soldiers) Mentor of the Meek (card draw from soldiers) Militia Bugler (decent deck-thinning, might cut since its only top four) Militia's Pride (produces soldiers, lots of good synergy) Mobilization (decent buff, built-in soldier producer, tad expensive) Mother of Runes (utility, might cut) Murder Investigation (neat little way of producing soldiers, depends) Ninth Bridge Patrol (neat way of benefitting from tokens getting destroyed) Nomads' Assembly (huge potential) Oath of Lieges (Land is always a problem) Oathsworn Giant (expensive, but decent buff) Oblivion Ring (Removal) Omen of the Sun (produces soldiers, little life gain, scry later, flash, generally good) Palace Guard (cool card) Paragon of New Dawns (buffs soldiers) Path to Exile (Removal) Patrol Signaler (roundabout way of producing soldiers, might cut) Pay No Heed (cheap defense, Isochron Scepter) Pearl Medallion (cheaper spells is always better) Pennon Blade (make something huge, kinda expensive though, might cut) Phantom General (buffs tokens) Precinct Captain (cheap, produces soldiers for attacking, decent synergy) Preeminent Captain (free cast, depending upon circumstances, decent synergy) Proper Burial (decent life gain) Raise the Alarm (cheap soldiers, Isochron Scepter) Ranger of Eos (only useful if I have a lot of cheap creatures) Reborn Hero (neat concept, can bring it back) Rebuff the Wicked (neat counter) Recruit the Worthy (cheap soldiers, Isochron Scepter) Recruiter of the Guard (decent search) Remember the Fallen (might cut, decent card) Resurrection (decent way of bringing back an expensive creature) Return to the Ranks (potentially free method of bringing cards back) Reverent Hoplite (potentially lots of soldiers) Rhox Pikemaster (Decent buff) Righteous Cause (Decent buff, tad expensive) Riot Control (neat life gain, defense) Rootborn Defenses (defense, makes a soldier, neat) Safe Passage (defense) Selfless Squire (interesting utility, might cut) Sergeant-at-Arms (can create soldiers, seems expensive though) Shielded Passage (neat little defense, Isochron Scepter) Sol Ring (obvious reasons) Soul Parry (decent defense, Isochron Scepter) Soul Snare (neat way to keep up devotion + have something on hand to deal with a creature) Soulmender (cheap creature, life gain, might cut) Standing Troops (decent card, might cut) Stormfront Riders (expensive way of producing soldiers, flying, might cut) Strata Scythe (make something huge, might cut) Strength of Arms (decent way of making soldiers, Isochron Scepter) Sword of the Meek (decent way of bringing it back from graveyard, might cut though) Sworn Companions (lifelink soldiers) Terminus (nice clutch card) Thraben Standard Bearer (cheap soldier, can be good for creating defenders in a pinch) Timely Reinforcements (neat for emergencies) True Conviction (huge buff) Unified Strike (exile based on number of soldiers, isochron scepter) Unruly Mob (might cut) Valor (easy way to get first strike) Veteran Armorer (buff, might cut) Veteran Armorsmith (buff, might cut) Veteran Swordsmith (buff, might cut) Veteran's Armaments (decent synergy, might cut) War Report (good life gain) Wing Shards (neat card, might cut) Worship (synergizes with Darien)

Lands Drifting Meadow (cycling) Emeria, The Sky Ruin (awesome card if I can get 7 plains) Karoo (neat little card, not sure if worth it) 28x Plains New Benalia (neat card, not sure if worth it) Nykthos, Shrine of Nyx (white deck, probably a good call) Secluded Steppe (cycling)

Thank you for your time and attention.

LilMissWiz on Brisela's Terrible Mono-White EDH ($50 Budget)

1 month ago

Arch of Orazca , Secluded Steppe , Desert of the True are cheap lands that can help you get a couple extra card draws if you get too many lands out.

Drcfan on Devotion to White Angels

2 months ago

@ Gloglok

• Mistveil Plains + Secluded Steppe is nice but i hope for real card draw in white like

Gloglok on Devotion to White Angels

2 months ago

Hey Drcfan,

Just checking in to say that your suggestions from our last discussion have proven to be very interesting!

• Skyclave Apparition + Charming Prince is huge! The Prince replaces the Wall and is a human, the life gain/flicker options which are nice to have to complement the scry 2/draw of the Wall, plus its attack of 2 can sometimes dissuade some attackers. And the Apparition is a good replacement of the Oblivion Ring , with added devotion and the fact that they never get the card back (and the flicking with the Prince is just yummy!)

• Emeria's Call  ^Flip is great, always a positive as a one-of/two-of, and the small synergy with Lyra Dawnbringer and the fact that she is legendary has made me prefer her to Baneslayer Angel (or Linvala , as I don't have too many creature-based combos in my meta).

• Mistveil Plains + Secluded Steppe are doing a lot more than I expected! Like you said, with the Wayfarer you can pay to draw a card, or to do it every turn, which in practice has been more interesting than the Arch for me. And finally, the Mistveil Plains are not only great with the Steppe, but also with any legendary angel an opponent would have destroyed/made you discard as you can bounce the Lancers with the Prince to get your angel back! It can really make the difference, and my angels have come back to play this way infinitely more in a few games than Emeria, The Sky Ruin has ever done.

• I have taken out the Giver of Runes + Ranger-Captain of Eos as I find them kinda clunky to play or at least I don't like them as much.

Deck is very smooth now, a joy to play again! I won't pretend it's competitive in 2021's Modern state but I'm having a great time and you still get a fair amount of wins against non-control decks! Cheers :)

Drcfan on Devotion to White Angels

3 months ago

@Gloglok

• Gideon of the Trials is a very versatile card on its own but i had to swap it out because Runed Halo has no synergy with any planeswalkers. Runed Halo showed to be just too good to be swapped out. (It only struggles if you always play against new brew decks)

• Skyclave Apparition is an option i'm testing at the moment (Works quite good). It would fit way better if it were an Angel or Human though (for Caverns and Deck flavor). You would have to swap out Wall of Omens for Charming Prince then for the additional interaction.

• Linvala, Keeper of Silence I keep her in here because i have someone who plays Slivers in my playgroup with a value combo Dormant Sliver and later Necrotic Sliver. If she enters the battlefield, it's game. Lyra Dawnbringer is really nice but its ability need a lot of Angels on the battlefield. She works way better if the Angels are cheap, like 2 - 3 mana drops. I've not seen a non lifegain Angel that low except maybe Serra Avenger

• Giver of Runes is insane and would be a great addition, because i cannot deal with Path to Exile myself. I tried it with Ranger-Captain of Eos a while ago but somehow the deck got slow i lost one match after the other. Not sure how i could include Giver of Runes at the moment. I have a Eight-and-a-Half-Tails Sideboard against control which you can fetch.

• Emeria, Shattered Skyclave is a must include for this deck even if you cannot fetch it. Every white deck i own has it now. Ondu Skyruins is not really needed, i included it because i play a lot of multiplayer at the moment.

• Secluded Steppe + Mistveil Plains gives Weathered Wayfarer the ability to tap and draw a card for 4 mana (Activating Mistveil Plains cost 1 mana. At least some card draw engine, you can try Arch of Orazca if you like it more. I like the land fetch ability more XD).

What i really need for this deck is 3 drop removal better than Oblivion Ring. Grasp of Fate is strictly better but not modern. Banisher Priest and Fiend Hunter die easily to removal. I hope some day a set will bring something printed on an Angel

Kind Regards -Drcfan

Gloglok on Devotion to White Angels

3 months ago

Hi Drcfan! I have a few questions/remarks for you :)

• What happened to Gideon of the Trials? He has been tougher and tougher for me to play, the amount of threats being too high in aggro decks at the moment and him only being able to deal only with one per turn and coming at turn 3/4 (and being unprotected by Runed Halo).
• What's your opinion on Skyclave Apparition? Greater devotion than an Oblivion Ring, and they never get the card back, but on a creature which can be worse than an enchant.
• What's your opinion on Linvala over Lyra?

• What's your opinion (again haha) on the inclusion of 2xGiver of Runes and 2xRanger-Captain of Eos, since you've removed the Wrath of God for Settle the Wreckage?

• I also believe that you can't fetch Emeria's Call  ^Flip or Ondu Inversion  ^Flip with your Weathered Wayfarer after putting it back inside your deck via Mistveil Plains (or even before), as per the rules from Zendikar Rising, as the front face of these two double-faced cards aren't the land face:

Why you can't tutor Emeria's Call by searching for a land Show

From the "Zendikar Rising Mechanics" on Wizards' site, September 1, 2020

"Most of the rules that govern how transforming double-faced cards apply to the new modal variety. While a modal double-faced card is in your hand, your graveyard, or exile, it has the characteristics of its front face only. So, if you're searching your library for a land card, you can't find a modal double-faced card whose front face isn't a land card. If an effect allows you to cast instant spells from your graveyard, you could cast Valakut Awakening, but you couldn't play Valakut Stoneforge."

But also for your interest:

From the "Zendikar Rising Release Notes" on Wizards' site, Septembre 10, 2020

"If an effect allows you to play a land or cast a spell from among a group of cards, you may play or cast a modal double-faced card with any face that fits the criteria of that effect. For example, if Sejiri Shelter / Sejiri Glacier is in your graveyard and an effect allows you to play lands from your graveyard, you could play Sejiri Glacier. That effect doesn't allow you to cast Sejiri Shelter."

• You could theoretically do a draw once per turn with Secluded Steppe and with your Wayfarer and Mistveil. It's less than Arch of Orazca (which you've told me in the past was too expensive to your taste, and too situational with the ascend mechanic), albeit colored mana and disruptable via destroying the Wayfarer. What do you think?

I love the Settle the Wreckage suggestion, have copied it in my deck! Works very well with the instant speed, with the lands fetched by the opponent and our Wayfarer, it keeps our board, and it exiles which prevents graveyard shenanigans. Only issue over a Wrath of God is having to target our opponent (and the lands given, indeed), but I prefer it this way.

I'm also glad you've lowered your average CMC, deck looks much smoother like this. I will try Mistveil Plains and Secluded Steppe in my deck, will keep it if it's good! :)

Thank you for your time!

berryjon on White Politics

4 months ago

You have several duplicate cards in an EDH format deck, including Custodi Squire, Farsight Adept, Infantry Veteran, Lieutenants of the Guard, Guildless Commons, Secluded Steppe, Flicker of Fate and Spectral Searchlight.

For mono-white decks, I always suggest New Benalia, Dawn of Hope, Legion's Landing  ^Flip, and Smothering Tithe as basic utility cards. Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile are good for making deals in the "I remove this threat, do me a favour" sense as well.

Drcfan on Devotion to White Angels

5 months ago

Plans for updating the mana base to a alternative mana base version:

New Mana base:

• 2x Cavern of Souls
• 3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 16x Snow-Covered Plains
• 1x Emeria, Shattered Skyclave
• 1x Ondu Skyruins
• 1x Secluded Steppe
• 1x Mistveil Plains

Old Mana Base

• 2x Cavern of Souls
• 3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 17x Snow-Covered Plains
• 1x Emeria, The Sky Ruin

What changes:

• Emeria, The Sky Ruin is removed because it requires an average over 10 turns to activate while there could be more utility lands to use.
• Mistveil Plains is the engine that allows to put used sorceries like Emeria's Call  ^Flip or Ondu Inversion  ^Flip back into the library where they act as lands which can get fetched into the hand by Weathered Wayfarer
• Secluded Steppe can act as a draw a card together with weathered wayfarer (I will playtest to see if that brings any more advantages besides Mangara, the Diplomat)
• Eiganjo Castle is on the watchlist
• Flagstones of Trokair is on the watchlist, depends how On Thin Ice requires snow lands

I can not consider any more lands that come into play tapped, i have 3 now which is already brutal