Staff of Nin

Artifact

At the beginning of your upkeep, draw a card.

: Staff of Nin deals one damage to target creature, player or planeswalker.

Discussion (51)

WUBRG97 on Ixalan Park [Pet]

2 days ago

Hi CardTyrant

Awesome list, i have taken some notes for when i start retooling my own gishath deck.

But there are some inclusions I myself have experienced to be underwhelming and was wondering what you thought about them.

• Bellowing Aegisaur: Does he work as occasional +1/+1 counter placements or do you have multiple activations when you use him. I myself find the occasional trigger to be underwhelming, and not doing much for 6 mana. And when i can use something like Pyrohemia he does not protect himself.

• Burning Sun's Avatar: Have been very disappointed with this one, tough to cast due to its cmc and triple red. Bolting a creature and a player seems very limited for 6 mana, and even when its cheated into play it seems underwhelming for a card slot when something like Apex Altisaur could remove multiple threats. And a 6/6 without trample is underwhelming as well in my opinion :/.

• Deathgorge Scavenger: How often do you meet graveyard decks, because without that interaction it seems very limited in its use.

• Raging Regisaur: I have been on the fence with this, it is a very nice trigger on a dinosaur body. But the amount of enrage targets are limited and - at least in my meta, a 4/4 will rarely be able to attack anyone without dying to one of their larger blockers. Killing an X/1 is nice, but the difficulty of having it attack without dying is a bit tough.

• Raging Swordtooth: Same case as above, but i like this less. It triggers only once, which means it needs a lot of setup for getting a lot of enrage triggers. An army of 1/1 seems uncommon, most token decks will have something to buff them. A possible swap could be Staff of Nin it gives card draw and a nice way to trigger enrage, although at a higher cmc and no way of cheating it into play.

• Siegehorn Ceratops: How has this performed for you? I find it very hard to trigger it the first time with only 1 damage. And even if it gets buffed it is just a big beater without trample. I really like the card and want to include it, but its hard to justify.

• Territorial Allosaurus: Is a 5/5 for 4 with a possible fight ability really worth it, feels there are better options available.

• Trapjaw Tyrant: Have shown to be very risky. Some setup is required to trigger the enrage, and even if the problems are removed, they will come right back when the board is cleared. And then one have to take care of those problems again with an empty board.

And what do you think about some of these cards?

• Rhythm of the Wild

• Domri, Anarch of Bolas: Can be removal, ramp and buff.

• Samut, the Tested Can give gishath double strike and enable enrage.

• Aura Shards Can wipe most creatures from opponents boards when casting dinosaurs, and commander can be a board wipe when casting.

• Sarkhan's Unsealing

• Lurking Predators

• Elemental Bond

• Shaman en-Kor for moving enrage triggers

Funkydiscogod on Mono Green Removal options in ...

1 week ago

If you need it to kill a Goblin Guide, the only ones I can find are Hail Storm and Unyaro Bees. There's also artifact-based removal, like Walking Ballista, Blazing Torch, Moonglove Extract, Dynavolt Tower (if you have other sources of energy), Sword of Fire and Ice.

Some even more absurd removal options, like Tower of Calamities, Meteorite, Skysovereign, Consul Flagship, Staff of Nin, Aladdin's Ring.

Your best bet is to splash another color for your removal.

xaarvaxus on Griffins Galore

1 week ago

Not sure what your budget is for the deck but I'll list some suggestions that aren't soul-crushingly expensive.

Griffin Canyon Could be hard to find unless you order online but seems like no griffin deck should be without one.

Cathars' Crusade super anthem

Mirror Entity Griffins have low base power/toughness and this would still get the tribal bonuses.

Pearl Medallion For what they do, griffins are on the expensive side. Urza's Incubator is probably more than you want to spend on this tribe. Wow, has this one spiked in price since last I looked... sorry I even looked it up.

Unbreakable Formation Protect that flying horde and maybe buff them too if opponents tap out.

Endless Atlas might be better card draw for this deck than Staff of Nin.

Sephara, Sky's Blade may not be a griffin but is budget protection for your tribe.

NiftyCheshireCat on Urza & Co. Artifact Foundry

1 week ago

(Really I should just cut Staff of Nin for Training Grounds but staff is a bit of a pet card of mine as I have an alter done by one of my favorite podcasters and it does work as a combo finisher. Might have to cut it though because TG is just so damn efficient in Memnarch...)

Optimator on Boros Soldiers

1 month ago

I would recommend Iroas, God of Victory as the commander. I think he's the best for general Boros agro. The convenience of being able to swing freely is sooooo good--especially with mass-vigilance like Brave the Sands and its ilk.

Aurelia, the Warleader is a decent choice but is expensive, mana-wise. Even Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer is better than Agrus Kos though (with some more artifacts). Tajic, Blade of the Legion is an underrated choice too--can definitely make a great budget deck with him at the helm. Go wide and then suddenly Tajic is a commander-damage threat. Gisela, Blade of Goldnight is decent, but also quite expensive. Some folks love having bombs, like the two angels, in the command zone when the deck more or less functions without the commander (like most tribal decks). Some prefer lower CMC generals that can get out more reliably. It's all about what you like.

Argus Kos is pretty bad though. Unless you're in love with having a janky commander I'd highly highly recommend Iroas or Tajic, with Aurelia as a distant third-place.

For a new deck builder your list looks really good! Good creatures, good utility, a proper amount of ramp. Only thing missing is card draw, which you may know is nearly impossible in Boros colors. Mentor of the Meek is a good addition, so good on ya for that. Some... tolerable... draw options are Staff of Nin, Endless Atlas (somewhat suspect in a two-color deck, but I've seen it work), Icon of Ancestry, Vanquisher's Banner, Arcane Encyclopedia, Arch of Orazca, Farsight Mask, Infiltration Lens, Herald's Horn, Key to the City, Mask of Memory, Tome of Legends, Rogue's Gloves, Avarice Amulet (doesn't get .given away if it's on a commander).

slashdotdash on Green stompy

1 month ago

This is not bad at all. I have a couple of suggestions off the top of my mind though...

-----Organization-----

First off, I highly recommend using custom tags to sort your cards. To do this, go into the "edit" mode where you can see your card list. It will look something like:

1xArbor Elf

1xBeast Within

1xShared Summons

You can then add tags by using #Category after a card. For example:

1xArbor Elf #Ramp

This will assign Arbor Elf to the "Ramp" category. Unsorted cards are assigned to "Other" by default.

I recommend these categories;

• Ramp (Aim for 12-16 of these. A card that costs more than 4 mana is too slow to be reliably called Ramp)
• Draw (At least 12)
• Removal (Around 8, make sure you can deal with other commanders/creatures!!!)
• Sweepers (Boardwipes, Green doesn't really have many it's okay)
• Support (Stuff that isn't obviously powerful but makes certain cards in the deck busted. Examples are your equipment)
• Lands (Obviously. Aim for 34-37. This deck wants 34-36)

The remaining cards can be categorized based on the specific inner-workings of your deck. For example, this deck might have a "Big Bois" category for creatures that are just huge.

Depending on your sorting preferences, it can by okay to tag one creature with multiple tags. For example;

1x Thorn Mammoth #Removal #Big_Boi

Onto my Card Suggestions:

-----Suggestions-----

• Soul of the Harvest is nice for card draw and comes with a big smashy body + Trample.
• Arbor Elf and Elvish Mystic are fantastic replacements for Leaf Gilder and Druid of the Cowl , assuming you want to go for efficiency.
• Beast Within and Acidic Slime are super helpful for dealing with nonsense of all kinds.
• If you are willing to pay $1.50 a pop for them, Cultivate and Kodama's Reach are good additions and could replace Explosive Vegetation and Circuitous Route in a pinch. -Other really nice Ramp includes Rampant Growth , Wild Growth , Fertile Ground and Utopia Sprawl . Ramp is life. - Fierce Empath is cheap and very effective at finding your creature answers. I run it in any deck that likes to use specifically powerful creatures, AKA green ones, lol.
• These ones are a tiny bit janky and unreliable, but Ezuri's Predation , Whirlwind and Monstrous Onslaught are green boardwipes.
• Swiftfoot Boots . Assuming you really like haste and hexproof on a 12/12 trampler, it is worth having another copy of Lightning Greaves by a different name. Also, this card is hilarious: Fleetfeather Sandals
• Apex Altisaur can cause some havoc. Often, getting rid of your opponents' engine pieces is the difference between life and death.
• Surrak, the Hunt Caller is an overlooked Green Haste Boi who could do work in this deck.
• Silklash Spider just because I'm very used to going toe-to-toe with flying decks. Granted, that's just my meta, but Silklash still does work as a defender in the case of no fliers. Heck, you're still happy even if you don't see any fliers - you want a ground game in the first place!
• Yeva, Nature's Herald is CRAZY. She effectively also gives Ghalta haste, which is all kinds of sweet.
• Rogue's Passage . It doesn't even take up a nonland slot!!! Free VALUE!!!!
• Zendikar Resurgent because cards + mana = happiness

Onto the cards I would suggest cutting:

-----Cuts-----

• Elixir of Immortality . Your deck doesn't ever want to be in a game where this utility would be useful. This card simply doesn't do much. You already have Eternal Witness and if you really want a late-game reload, try Creeping Renaissance or Seasons Past .
• Gigantosaurus is alright, but I'm not in love with a 10/10 with no abilities. I know, I know, he makes Ghalta cost only 2, but I still think there are better options. Trust me when I say a creature with some sort of utility is preferable here. Ideas include the aforementioned Soul of the Harvest , Primordial Sage or a fight creature such as Thorn Mammoth or even another removal creature like Woodfall Primus or Terastodon (sorry, I know these are all really high CMC). Generally, cards that don't have some sort of utility are just not going to save your life when things get ugly.
• New Horizons and Gift of Paradise could be replaced with faster ramp. For the sake of having creatures (for cards like Guardian Project and Beast Whisperer , not to mention Ghalta, Primal Hunger ), it would even be better to run Wood Elves , Springbloom Druid , Yavimaya Dryad , or Farhaven Elf .
• Diamond Mare just isn't relevant. Sorry, but if you are in a position where gaining a small amount of life matters, odds are any other good green card would have done more to prevent you from being in such a bad spot. Your deck wants to be the aggressor, and quite honestly your offense will be so scary that most opponents wouldn't even consider attack out of fear of provoking you and simultaneously tapping their defenders. It isn't uncommon for a Green deck to retain the highest life total for a long time without the need for lifegain.
• I think you have a few too many artifacts. Remember that your commander LOVES having creatures on the field, so finding ways to turn your artifact utility into creature utility will go far.
• Staff of Nin is very slow and could be something like Garruk's Packleader instead.

-----Conclusion-----

All things considered, you've got a reasonably strong lineup. In a broad sense, I would recommend finding ways to include creatures with utility, since Ghalta appreciates bodies on the board and interaction allows you to curb your opponents' shenanigans as much as possible. Additionally and as I noted, there are fairly budget-friendly ramp options for the deck that are purely faster. Remember to keep a close eye on your Ramp and Draw, as these are the lifeblood of a commander deck, midrange especially.

It is worth mentioning that I never go below 34 lands. 35, and 36 are usually safe, so if you find yourself land-starved just add like 2 Forests and that should help.

Overall, you've done a good job though. Good luck making edits and please feel free to contact me about further changes/advice. I LOVE deckbuilding and Green is one of my colors ;)

Nexus523 on My Brand Spanking New (for me) Gisela EDH Deck

1 month ago

Staff of Nin

shadow63 on Why should someone play boros? ...

1 month ago

If you want to play boros well in comannder your gonna need to get all the good red and artifact card draw effects. Luckily most of them aren't that expensive. Outpost Siege Mind's Eye Staff of Nin and Vance's Blasting Cannons  ^Flip are where I would start. Stolen Strategy is also a good optin