Serra Avatar

Creature — Avatar

Serra Avatar's power and toughness are each equal to your life total.

When Serra Avatar is put into a graveyard from anywhere, shuffle it into its owner's library.

Combos

• Serra Avatar + Wall of Reverence

Legality

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

Discussion (46)

nothingstar on

4 months ago

This is a good start, you have some really nice lifegain synergies going. It doesn't really seem like a card draw deck to me, though. It leans more towards the lifegain world of Aetherflux Reservoir than to the U/B world of card draw. There are a lot of black cards that exchange life for cards; if you want card draw, you should get a Graveborn Muse leave the Reservoir behind.

If you go the true lifegain route, you might add transmute effects for tutors, like Clutch of the Undercity or Dimir House Guard. And another good wincon could be Celestial Convergence + Solemnity. And Test of Endurance. Though those will require more counters/protection than you have right now.

I have learned from experience that strategies that ping your opponents for one or two life every turn get you killed very quickly, because they make you stand out even when you're doing very little. So things like Drana's Emissary are kinda dangerous.

In that same vein, Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose will draw hate. It's Sanguine Bond on a stick, and when people see half of the Sanguine Bond/Exquisite Blood combo, they shoot it immediately.

One final bit of overarching advice -- since this is a 3-color deck, I suggest staying away from cards that require a lot of one kind of mana. Particularly lots of black mana, like Underworld Dreams or Peer into the Abyss, since this deck is heavily U/W right now.

Okay, now some slightly more nitpicky things about card choices:

• Since the Mages only seem to fetch mana rocks at this point, might you switch them out with myrs? Like Alloy Myr.

• I'd replace Folio of Fancies with Temple Bell, personally, because I like having to spend less mana per draw.

• Serra Avatar might be better than Celestial Force. But also I just really like Serra Avatar.

Again, this is quite good, just needs a bit of focusing towards the endgame. All the nitty-gritty of the mana curve and stuff you'll work out in playtesting, and what you have so far is workable.

Neotrup on Hofri Ghostforge and Serra Avatar

6 months ago

The relevant abilities of both Hofri Ghostforge and Serra Avatar are triggered abilities. As they'll both trigger at the same time and have the same controller, they'll be added to the stack in the order of they're controller's choice. If you choose to add Hofri's ability to the stack first, with Serra Avatar's above it, Serra Avatar's ability will resolve first, shuffling it into your library and you won't be able to exile it to make the token. If you stack the triggers in the reverse order, you'll exile Serra Avatar making a token, and be unable to shuffle it back in, though you will be able to shuffle it in when it's put back into your graveyard latter.

bushido_man96 on Hofri Ghostforge and Serra Avatar

6 months ago

I'm playing with Brion Stoutarm, Hofri Ghostforge, and Serra Avatar. If I sac Serra to Brion, what happens? Do I exile Serra and get the token, or does Serra shuffle in, and I don't get Hofri's effect?

zretrareo27 on RW EDH Brion 2022

1 year ago

My 2016 EDH deck - revamped for 2022! use commander Brion Stoutarm to Fling your opponents creatures with cards like Act of Treason, and if you're lucky - use Bazaar Trader to keep them!

I've tried to keep this deck nearly 50% White and 50% Red.

I've narrowed the premise of this deck down to the following categories, 50 Cards to the first, and 10 cards to each other category, give or take.

50% of the Deck is the Commander, Land, Mana rocks, and Draw.
10% is Steal/Keep
10% is Removal/Wipe
10% is Bringing Cards Back
10% is Brion Fodder and Fetch cards
10% is Double Damage and Powerful Flyers

Your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated. That being said, I will probably not be able to afford the more expensive cards Land Tax, Smothering Tithe, Lifeline, Smuggler's Share etc. that are not already in this deck. However - It's still fun to check them out! If you like it, up vote!

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With this revision, I've cut many of the fancier, slower dual lands to opt for faster basic lands. I've also added Weathered Wayfarer.

I've removed cards that target artifacts and enchantments like Kami of Ancient Law, instead opting for better utility cards like Quarantine Field that target "nonland permanent".

I've made some recent changes to this deck, hopefully to address that mid game I am struggling with tempo, as well as running out of mana to cast the creature or steal spell and have enough to activate Brion's ability. Some cards like Deathrender and Thornbite Staff have been removed (even though they were good in concept) to add more playability.

I also found that after all the sacrificing, mid game I was running out of defense, so some additional creatures have been added with dual purpose, such as Angel of Sanctions and Emeria Shepherd.

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Decksplanation:

Double Damage:
Fiery Emancipation gives me triple damage. Calamity Bearer works specifically to Brion's sac ability. Angrath's Marauders, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Gratuitous Violence all make the damage I do twice as effective.
When creatures I steal die, Stalking Vengeance beefs them. When I summon large creatures into play Warstorm Surge deals damage to my opponent, and when I sac those, Stalking Vengeance hits them on the way out.

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Fodder:

Malignus, Serra Avatar, and Soul of Eternity all act as giant bombs to throw at the opponent.
Hofri Ghostforge allows for me to steal an opponents creature, fling it at them with brion, and then keep a spirit copy of that creature.

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Draw:
Magus of the Wheel and Reforge the Soul provide the opportunity to get a fresh hand at my whim. Humble Defector is an easy and fun, card that helps me forge alliances with other players in multiplayer while getting me TWO extra cards per turn.
Skullclamp works perfect with the sacrifice ability and is easy to cast.
Well of Lost Dreams is insane when played late game for Brion's lifelink ability and can be fetched with Hoarding Dragon or Open the Armory Sin Prodder gives me a potential extra card per turn, or the chance for an opponent to take damage to the face... and then I can pull it out of my graveyard later with my other cards! Basically a win/win. Mangara, the Diplomat and Mila, Crafty Companion  ^Flip serve to deter attacks and draw.

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Fetch:
Hoarding Dragon serves as a flyer, a sacrifice, and can grab any rocks, Skullclamp, or Well of Lost Dreams.
Open the Armory helps grab Skullclamp, Well of Lost Dreams, or Gift of Immortality.
Recruiter of the Guard is specifically to get Bazaar Trader for the huge advantage of keeping my opponents things, but can also grab Duergar Hedge-Mage for removal or Sin Prodder (amongst a few others). Weathered Wayfarer can grab any land, such as Buried Ruin or Arcane Lighthouse.

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Mana Rocks:

Boros Cluestone, Commander's Sphere, and Mind Stone are all serving as early ramp and later card draw.
Sol Ring because Sol Ring.

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Removal:

Archon of Justice is quite powerful in this deck, as it allows for a flying creature, then a source to sac, and remove a card permanently.
Angel of Serenity gives me the option of 3 recursion or 3 removal.
Duergar Hedge-Mage can be played and replayed in this deck for knocking off annoying enchantments or mana rocks.
Magus of the Disk is one of the board wipes.
Grasp of Fate, Oblivion Ring, and Banishing Light all allow for really flexible removal. Same for Quarantine Field except allows for extra targets for more mana. Chained to the Rocks works the same, but only for creatures. Angel of Sanctions works similarly, but is a creature. Ryusei, the Falling Star really just acts as weenie removal and a sac source from a flyer.

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Bringing them Back (and sometimes keep it!):

Adarkar Valkyrie Sac an opponents creature, then get it permanently!
Bazaar Trader Take it with a steal and keep it!
Angelic Renewal Sac my own creature, get it back! Gift of Immortality Sac my own creature, get it back... again, and again!
Emeria Shepherd play a land, get a card! Play a Plains, get a creature to sac!
Mistmoon Griffin Flys, defends, and sac-able, then get back a creature from the graveyard!
Squee's Embrace fun and easy to play, and retrievable with Tragic Poet.
Tragic Poet, a low mana cost creature to get any enchantment in my deck back for any reason. Fun with Squee's Embrace, Angelic Renewal, etc. Returned Pastcaller a flyer that lets me grab a Threaten or Breath of Life. Angel of Serenity gives me the option of 3 recursion or 3 removal.

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Stealing their Creatures:

Captivating Crew steals every turn! No wasted card space here, just a reusable sorcery.
Conquering Manticore powerful flyer, that steals!
Zealous Conscripts You can steal anything! Anything! Lands? Mine. Artifacts? Mine. Works great with Bazaar Trader.
Act of Treason, Portent of Betrayal, and Threaten are all basic steal spells.
Malevolent Whispers, Mark of Mutiny, and Traitorous Instinct all give me steal with buffs for Flinging.
Harness by Force allows for more than one thing to be taken if the extra cost is paid!

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Powerful Creatures:

I'll be the first to admit, these don't reallllly fit in with the deck. But they're so awesome it's hard to remove. Akroma, Angel of Fury
Akroma, Angel of Wrath
Aurelia, the Warleader

jjmac112 on unBillieveable

1 year ago

Brion Stoutarm deck:

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The Stoutarm

Commander / EDH jjmac112

SCORE: 2 | 7 COMMENTS | 1233 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER

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So this is the deck as it was pre changes. First of all, I think you'll notice that I swapped 17 cards, not 15 lol. Secondly, you'll see that Osgir, the Reconstructor has taken Brion's job. After all the changes the deck has been through I found myself rarely casting Brion and the few time I've played with Osgir have been valuable experiences ;)

Cards out: Brion Stoutarm, Felidar Sovereign, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Avacyn, Angel of Hope, Serra Avatar, Iroas, God of Victory, Descend upon the Sinful, Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Magma Phoenix, Prison Term, Figure of Destiny, Student of Warfare, Prophetic Flamespeaker, Land Tax, Dawn of Hope, Lone Rider  ^Flip, Needle Spires

So with Brion out so too are the cards that combo with him the most like Serra Avatar and Magma Phoenix. With everything else I just needed to make space for stuff that I can squeeze a little (or a lot) more value out of. The one thing I am thinking should find its way back is Gisela, Blade of Goldnight. It's a powerful finisher and I'm now short on things that can take my board state and put an end to the game.

Cards in: Nahiri, the Lithomancer, Zirda, the Dawnwaker, Venerable Warsinger, Feldon of the Third Path, Battle Angels of Tyr, Dockside Extortionist, Deep Gnome Terramancer, Archivist of Oghma, Akiri, Line-Slinger, Wheel of Fortune, Faithless Looting, Teferi's Protection, Anointed Procession, Smuggler's Share, Expedition Map, Swiftfoot Boots, Darksteel Citadel

Also, I just realize I should add Rustvale Bridge and Treasure Vault

RambIe on Angel Deck needs updating

1 year ago

Since you went with Atla Palani, Nest Tender
Put Thornbite Staff, Ashnod's Altar, Brion Stoutarm & Serra Avatar in deck.
The rest of the cards wont matter.

Niko9 on Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Game

1 year ago

I really like that the hard counter to this deck is one copy of Serra Avatar and the extreme patience to discard it 200 times.

IHATENAMES on No Pain No Lifegain

1 year ago

On one hand. This is what magic was meant to be. I havent played a few of these cards since i first put a deck together. Crusade. won't even show the image.. That is a discussion for another time...

Suggested additions

Loyal Warhound ramp in white

Skullclamp card draw

Sun Titan recursion

Abzan Falconer can give mass evasion

Some amount of board wipes my favorites atm are Tragic Arrogance Martial Coup Vanquish the Horde Ondu Inversion  ^Flip .

Cathars' Crusade it wins games. You may want to not use this so you focus on lifegain but this cards does work

Crested Sunmare lifegain payoff

Crovax, Ascendant Hero Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

Soul of Eternity Celestial Mantle Axis of Mortalitykinda slow for my meta but might work for you.

Dawn of Hope card draw and can make tokens

Alseid of Life's Bounty protection w/ lifelink

Well of Lost Dreams card draw

Shattered Angel Angel of Vitality to keep with the angels if u want

Palace Jailer monarch is card draw also fun. and removal

Ajani's Pridemate lifegian payoff. its gets huge here because each attacking creature has its own trigger to grow the pridemate. i think 1 or 2 cards make essentially copies of this card. they might be worth looking for

Blind Obedience staxy and lifegain

Moon-Blessed Cleric you run a lot of enchantments your enchantress sub theme can be supported with this

Akroma's Will protection/ finisher

Noble Purpose unnoticed lifegain card that would be good here maybe

Lunarch Veteran  ^Flip Soul Warden Soul's Attendant Daxos, Blessed by the Sun Suture Priestlifegain dorks

Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr  ^Flip lifegain with enchantment payoff as well

now how do u win? atm you focus on going wide with weenies but have a focus on gaining life. Possible ideas Aetherflux Reservoir Archangel of Thune Felidar Sovereign Serra Avatar Starfield of Nyx Nykthos Paragon True Conviction

this is just some ranting. Its up to you how you want to build your deck! Other areas you should look at it your mana base (use tech lands you have almost all basics), ramp to your bigger stuff and card draw in general.