Serra's Embrace

Enchantment — Aura

Enchant creature (Target a creature as you cast this. This card enters the battlefield attached to that creature.)

Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has flying and vigilance. (It can't be blocked except by creatures with flying or reach, and attacking doesn't cause it to tap.)

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 (18)

Squee_Spirit_Guide on

1 year ago

I agree that Serra's Embrace is a little outclassed. But, I can easily get behind a card being in a deck for nostalgia reasons :) Looking at 1 drops, Champion of the Parish could be really good and isn't too pricey.

At the top end of the curve, I'd run 1 or 2 high-impact cards in the 5-6 mana slot. I like knowing that there's something I can draw to turn the tide if I'm struggling in the mid-late game, but you definitely want to keep the overall curve low. Sun Titan might be nice, or a maybe something like Gideon Jura.

lespaul977 on

1 year ago

Squee_Spirit_Guide, good call on Honor of the Pure. It would be another great anthem card to have alongside Always Watching and Benalish Marshal. Admittedly, I wasn’t 100% sure about Serra's Embrace; I think I wanted it in there more out of nostalgia than anything else, but it does feel like filler compared to everything else I have going on.

I’m definitely going to look into options for replacing Deftblade Elite. With this being a soldier deck, I feel like I’ll need to put in one-drops to replace it so the deck can play fast enough (although White Knight does look pretty sweet). However, I think this deck could benefit from abilities given by larger creatures. What are your thoughts on this?

Thank you very much for the feedback!

Squee_Spirit_Guide on

1 year ago

Nice build, as usual! Straight to the point, and nice synergy. As far as suggestions, I think Honor of the Pure could be a nice buff alongside your Glorious Anthem, maybe in place of Serra's Embrace. I agree with Balaam__ that the Deftblade Elites are a little weak. I'd go for the classic White Knight or Knight of the Holy Nimbus for fun. He's a little on the expensive side, but Darien, King of Kjeldor could be really strong here as a one-of.

PookandPie on

5 years ago

Some cards I find very valuable in my Uril build are:

Cartouche of Strength, which doubles as removal and a solid +3/+3 trample buff to Uril. If there's an annoying creature that's less than 8 toughness, it's dying, lol.

Another card to not sleep on is Tilonalli's Crown, which gives Uril a whopping +5/+2 and trample for only 1R. Similarly, Madcap Skills gives Uril +5/+2 and menace which is pretty reasonable evasion (turning him into a 10 powered beast is pretty huge).

Shielded by Faith is one of my favorites. You can slap it down on something silly before you get to 5 mana in order to cast Uril (I've put it on Birds of Paradise on turn 2, then t3'd Uril and moved the aura to him). It's not as powerful as Shield of the Oversoul but it is still pretty powerful and flexible due to the fact that once Uril becomes hexproof and indestructible, the number of cards that can answer him drops dramatically (requiring things like Cyclonic Rift, Merciless Eviction, Hallowed Burial, etc., instead of just any old Wrath of God clone).

Chandra's Ignition is a card I've found fairly amusing and it may be very powerful in your meta. Dealing 12 to all opponents and their creatures is a fantastic way to open up the field to swing in and attack.

Impending Disaster- this card seems janky, and it probably is a little bit, but it's a great card to windmill slam the turn after casting Uril. This + an aura typically makes opponents scramble, and it either does one of two things: It forces them to spend removal on it, instead of the aura on Uril (or Uril himself by casting a Wrath or something), or it causes all lands to go to the graveyard. Either way, you wind up with a big creature on board and happiness in your heart.

Burgeoning or Exploration- I run both, but one of these would probably be huge as either one could enable t3 Uril which is typically where you want to be.

I recommend removing:

Spectra Ward. I originally ran this too, but it causes a problem: It has to be the last aura you put on Uril, or else you can't target him to put any more auras on him. It's more than a little problematic considering Uril already has reasonable protection with his inherent hexproof, and there's plenty more auras that give evasion for a lower cost.

Serra's Embrace is pretty much worse than Tilonalli's Crown.

Entangler- You want Uril to be attacking, not held back to be a blocker. Unless you give him vigilance, this card isn't worth it as it doesn't help his offensive capabilities as much as other cards (and all you really want to do is smack someone in the face with him until they exit the game lol).

Avacyn, Angel of Hope- She just costs way too much. By the time you can cast her, you should have a couple of dead opponents already.

Faith's Reward- you already run Replenish and Retether. This one is a little bit too much. If you're afraid of board wipes, Boros Charm is substantially more flexible, can be used through graveyard hate, etc., and is much cheaper to boot.

Mayael's Aria- if you have a 20 power creature, you should have won the game already anyway. I find this card incredibly redundant and its first two abilities aren't worth spending the 3 mana for.

Anyway, hope this helps. Uril's one of my favorites.

Here's my list, for reference: Uril: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yeti

carpecanum on BIG SLAP - Uril

5 years ago

Cho-Manno's Blessing traded in for Divine Favor

Mage Slayer traded in for Soul's Fire

Are people counterspelling your boss since they can't target him? Price of Glory traded in for, what, Serra's Embrace maybe?

Optimator on Come Out Biting!

5 years ago

I know this page isn't up to date but here's what I'd do:

I would add Mind's Eye 100%. I think a Sun Titan and Armageddon would be worth it. The expensive Equipment cards become better with more focus, like Puresteel Paladin. I'm not sold on Leonin Shikari for such a creature-light deck.

Speaking of which, Relic Seeker might be worth it to quickly get the boots or Hammer of Nazahn or something.

Maybe swap Disenchant with Forsake the Worldly in case you need the draw? Return to Dust is the obvious upgrade. Duelist's Heritage is nice because it isn't an aura and has funny political value on other peoples' turns.

I'm thinking that you should perhaps plan on a more late-game strategy--i.e. more expensive Equipments with bigger bonuses. Seems that the quick win is only viable in 1v1. Perhaps you may want to keep the deck 1v1 only?

I might add Prowler's Helm, Blackblade Reforged, Darksteel Plate (cheaper than ever--I don't think you can get enough Indestructible), maybe a Basilisk Collar or Quietus Spike.

I would say drop Armored Ascension, Ethereal Armor (maybe), Serra's Embrace, Unquestioned Authority, Mesa Enchantress, Umbra Mystic, Helm of the Gods. That should open up room for more artifact synergy or more interaction (removal). I'm not sold on Piston Sledge, Hero's Blade, Vorrac Battlehorns, Tenza, Godo's Maul, Ring of Thune.

ForTheOldFrame on Boros Banding??

6 years ago

Banding is glorious! It's a fun, flavorful mechanic, and very strong... so strong that when you describe it for the first time, it sounds like you're cheating. (This is probably why they dropped it.)

You should definitely replace the Cooperation with your Cathars' Crusade; auras are disappointingly weak. I love the flavor of Serra's Embrace, but I never run it anymore...

My dinosaur mind also thinks of Allay and Shattering Pulse. Allay is a lot better than Demystify, and I'm sure there's room for Shattering Pulse somewhere; also think about Viashino Heretic.

On my side, I'm going to have to order my own weight in Oketra's Monument, Launch the Fleet, and Temple of Triumph. I'm still getting back into the game after a long hiatus, and I like the look of those cards...

Rwhr2d2 on my first deck its probably crap

6 years ago

Well, Monk Realist is not a may so he will destroy your own enchantments. You want to get rid of himAdding more of Femeref Knight would be good, as he is one of the best creatures in the deck. Take out Pearled Unicorn as 2/2s for 3 with no abilities tend to be bad. However, Soltari Visionary is better since relatively few creatures have shadow.
Furnace Spirit isn't great since you don't have that much red mana to pay for his ability.
Remove Endoskeleton, Flowstone Shambler, and take out Giant Strength or add more mountains.
Serra's Embrace is probably one of your best enchantments right now, so more of those is better.

If you're able to get new cards, consider replacing Opal Gargoyle with Mistral Charger, Kor Aeronaut or possibly Akroan Skyguard which works well with the enchantments.
Expedition Envoy or Soldier of the Pantheon would probably be better than Opal Caryatid.