Talisman of Hierarchy

Artifact

: Gain .

: Gain or . Talisman of Hierarchy deals 1 damage to you.

Discussion (51)

SideBae on Sir Gwyn Historic Knights

1 week ago

Hey man! I got a few suggestions. Feel free to ignore any/all of them:

1. I kinda agree with PhaylogenX: Valiant Knight seems pretty good here (I see you've included it). Another pair of cards to consider for this type of role are Knight Exemplar and Kinsbaile Cavalier . They're like... good.

2. I think Wear / Tear is likely better than your Crush Contraband . It costs less to cast if you're only targeting one or the other, and it still costs less than Crush Contraband if you're using both halves. However, it IS destroy rather than exile; this is frequently not an issue, but if it is a meta call please do ignore me.

3. Since you're in black, you have access to the best tutors. Unfortunately, many of them are expensive: Things like Demonic Tutor , Vampiric Tutor and Imperial Seal are gonna set you back a lot. Consider running things like Dark Petition , Diabolic Tutor and Mastermind's Acquisition are all good cards.

4. Your rocks could use some work. I like the signets, but I like the talismans more. Talisman of Hierarchy , Talisman of Conviction and Talisman of Indulgence are all better than their respective signets.

5. You may want to consider some of the death and taxes staples. Mother of Runes and Giver of Runes are good ways to protect 'ya bois. Rest in Peace can hose a lot of decks, especially the ones I play. More generally, Stax and Hatebears can blow chunks on OPs. Winter Orb can slow down opponents from responding to your on-board pressure; Trinisphere is similar but expensive. Price of Glory can disincentivize counter-magic; Aura of Silence taxes one-sidedly in your favor.

6. You're running a lot of basic lands. Consider Blood Moon and/or Magus of the Moon to punish more expensive decks.

7. I think Cataclysm is probably better than Tragic Arrogance .

Right. That's all I got. Good luck!

KidEnkidu on Aristocratokens

1 week ago

Solid deck thus far, you may want to lean a bit more heavily into true instant-speed, repeatable sac outlets like Viscera Seer rather than one-off outlets like Hell's Caretaker . Only being able to activate Caretaker during your upkeep is a pretty real restriction, you'll probably be serviced better by Dread Return taking up that slot. Maybe look at Yahenni, Undying Partisan or Spawning Pit for more true sac outlets. Also, minor thing, but you could replace Orzhov Cluestone and Orzhov Locket with Talisman of Hierarchy and maybe Millikin or Gold Myr / Leaden Myr . 2 Mana rocks/dorks are so much better than 3 mana, and Millikin will probably ultimately provide more card selection for you in this deck than the cluestone or locket.

Cheers on joining the Orzhov aristocrats club! My Elenda, the Dusk Rose deck is probably my favorite deck if I had to choose.

SideBae on Alela, control-aggro

1 week ago

Hey! So I have some suggestions: feel free to ignore any/all of them.

1. There's a reason Ponder and Preordain are banned in Modern, and it's because they're stupid-good cards. Being able to dig you to what you need and past what you don't for one blue mana is a REALLY powerful effect, even if the cards themselves may not look as powerful as they are. I highly suggest including them. I like that you're already running Brainstorm , though I think running two+ more fetches would be ideal; you don't want to get locked with two dead cards on top of your deck.

2. I do not think Path to Exile is good in EDH. Ramping your opponent in a format with everyone trying to do busted things is rarely anything short of a bad idea, and is frequently dangerous. (Note that your Ashiok, Dream Render does not stop opponents searching off YOUR spells.) As I see it, you may be better off just running another card-draw spell, which would dig you to more potent removal; I suggest Painful Truths . Three-mana: draw-three is a hard rate to beat, and I've been very impressed with it in my Tasigur, the Golden Fang list.

3. You have some good artifact ramp, but I think it can be improved. I really like that all your rocks are two or less mana -- three-mana mana-rocks are simply not good enough a lot of the time, especially with a four-mana commander. Unfortunately, a lot of the best ramp in EDH is very expensive: Mana Crypt and Mox Diamond come to mind. I do have some other suggestions though. Consider at least a few of the following: Talisman of Dominance , Talisman of Hierarchy , Talisman of Progress , Fellwar Stone (which is admittedly a worse Arcane Signet , but still good), Mind Stone , Everflowing Chalice and/or Thought Vessel .

4. Whir of Invention is a card you may wish to consider. It can grab your Bolas's Citadel late-game, but more importantly it acts as a to-battlefield tutor for things like your Cursed Totem or Skullclamp . Also, it's instant speed.

5. If you want to run things like Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite or Consecrated Sphinx , I suggest you think about a reanimation package. In general, these duders will be tough to cast, and being able to cheat them into play will give you a competitive advantage. Entomb and Buried Alive are the best ways to bin your targets (though there are others, like Liliana of the Veil or your maybe-board Frantic Search ), and you can then use spells like Animate Dead , Dance of the Dead , Necromancy , Reanimate or Unburial Rites to profit for less mana than usual. Intuition is a fun (if not cheap) card to pair with Unburial Rites and some reanimation targets, thought the precise pile may be tough to determine. Also, due to your colors, you may even consider Dreams of the Dead . The cumulative upkeep can be tough, but if you run something like Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur then you'll be able to do your damage within a turn-cycle or so, and the upkeep won't matter.

6. Your mana curve is pretty consistently low. I think you should at least playtest Counterbalance , since you already have the Sensei's Divining Top . Counterbalance does tend to be a high variance card, and it may end up being more of a preference-call than a meta-call. But I like it, so I figured I'd mention it.

7. I'm not sure how good Hushbringer is, since it stops your Skullclamp from triggering... You may be better off with just a Spirit of the Labyrinth or such.

8. Depending on how often you get to five mana, Divine Visitation could be a win-condition in itself in this deck. Making a 4/4 every time you cast an artifact or enchantment seems... good.

9. Mystic Remora is good. In less-experienced metas, it is often an Ancestral Recall ; even if people know that it's better just to wait it out, Mystic Remora will still buy you time to develop your board and make land-drops while opponents try to outlast it. Being one mana was a mistake, but it's here, so what the hell.

Right. That's all I got. Good luck!

Wargru on Knight Tribal

1 week ago

Add: Wayfarer's Bauble Sword of the Animist Solemn Simulacrum Burnished Hart Smothering Tithe Despark Kaya's Wrath Knights' Charge Etchings of the Chosen Irregular Cohort Silent Clearing Talisman of Hierarchy Belle of the Brawl Murderous Rider Silverwing Squadron Smitten Swordmaster Syr Alin, the Lion's Claw The Circle of Loyalty Wintermoor Commander Corpse Knight Midnight Reaper Cavalier of Dawn Cavalier of Night Icon of Ancestry Haakon, Stromgald Scourge

Remove: Temple of the False God Myriad Landscape Plains Swamp Mortify Call the Cavalry Harsh Mercy Return to the Ranks Shared Triumph Northern Paladin Eastern Paladin Kwende, Pride of Femeref Southern Paladin Student of Warfare Stromgald Cabal Knight of Glory Knight of Infamy White Knight Black Knight Knight of Grace Knight of Malice Paladin en-Vec Dauntless Bodyguard Odric, Lunarch Marshal Commander's Sphere

HyperViper191 on Teysa, Orzhov Scion: life and death

1 week ago

any reason for no Ashnod's Altar ? Also should be waaay more fast mana. I'd include Talisman of Hierarchy , Mind Stone , Commander's Sphere , Thought Vessel , Orzhov Signet , Worn Powerstone and Arcane Signet . I'd take out a few enchantments like Haunted Crossroads and Proper Burial for some better effects like Victimize , Animate Dead and Blind Obedience .

I would also suggest cutting some generic "goodstuff" cards for more synergy and to make room for the rocks.

Cruel Celebrant is better in the deck than Wurmcoil and Grim Haruspex is better than Erebos.

The deck seems pretty powerful once it gets going, but any early interaction and it doesn't feel very resilient.

SideBae on Corrupt Aristocracy (Ertai)

2 weeks ago

Hey man! I always like Esper. Here're some suggestions; feel free to ignore any or all of them:

1. In your description, you say you need help with win conditions. I think it's important to keep in mind, if you don't already, that too many win conditions will actually hinder your deck. This is because with more discrete combos, you raise the number of 'dead' draws in your deck; drawing half of two combos that don't go together makes Jac a sad boi. So while I do agree you could use more win conditions, I think only adding another one or (maybe) to is probably the best route.

2. In the spirit of (1), you may find that having a powerful reanimation package can be one of the secondary win cons you're looking for. Tidespout Tyrant used to be one of the top reanimation targets in legacy (maybe it still is -- I don't understand that format anymore), and running him will let you draw Animate Dead sans Leonin Relic-Warder and still have a good shot at winning.

3. To that end, you should run Entomb and Buried Alive . Tutoring to the 'yard not only puts your Leonin Relic-Warder right where you want him, but also your Sheoldred, Whispering One /any other reanimation targets you may want. There're some other reanimation spells to consider, some that work with Leonin Relic-Warder and some that don't. Consider: Reanimate , Exhume (if you wanna get spicy), Dance of the Dead and/or Unburial Rites . Unburial Rites is one of my favorite cards, especially since you can tutor it with Entomb .

4. I think Path to Exile is strictly worse, in EDH, than Swords to Plowshares . Ramping an opponent in a format where everyone is doing busted stuff is dangerous, but giving them six or more life points may be irrelevant, especially since this seems to be a combo deck.

5. Your Brainstorm is good, but it'd be better with more shuffle effects in your deck. While Prismatic Vista and the other generic fetches (see Marsh Flats , etc.) can be very expensive, slow fetches like Flood Plain and/or Bad River are fine alternatives.

6. In addition to your Brainstorm , I cannot recommend Ponder and it's lil' brother Preordain highly enough. These two may not look like much, but being able to dig to what you need and past what you don't for one mana is a pretty great feeling. I run them in all my blue decks, and (with very limited exceptions) always like drawing them.

7. You've got some pretty good rocks, but there're ways to improve your ramp base. I've been very impressed with the talismans ( Talisman of Dominance , Talisman of Hierarchy and Talisman of Progress ) as slightly-better signets, and it's important not to discount Thought Vessel , Everflowing Chalice or Mind Stone .

8. You have some very powerful artifacts: Bolas's Citadel , Thornbite Staff , and Lifeline all seem like game-changers in this deck. Consider running Whir of Invention to get them out when you have the mana. Reshape or, if you're rich, Transmute Artifact are also good. Non-to-battlefield tutors, like Demonic Tutor , Enlightened Tutor or Vampiric Tutor are good, but expensive; like with fetch lands, there're other, more accessible options. Consider Diabolic Tutor , Lim-Dul's Vault , Beseech the Queen and/or Dark Petition , which are all fine tutors in themselves.

9. If you don't have fundamental issues with counter-magic, you should run some -- it'll protect you and your combo. Gold-standard counters ( Force of Will and Mana Drain ) are expensive AF, but you can consider other perfectly powerful options as well. Counterspell is good, and I've been very impressed with Spell Snare (which counters an overload-ed Cyclonic Rift REALLY nicely). If you've got Ad Nauseam players like me in your play ground, Dispel can be a worthy inclusion; Dovin's Veto is another combo-breaker for high-power tables.

10. You may wish to have access to some more card-draw. Some cards to consider: Dig Through Time , Treasure Cruise , Fact or Fiction , Painful Truths , Phyrexian Arena , etc.

11. To return to (1-3), you may want Aetherflux Reservoir as another win condition since it combos so nicely with Bolas's Citadel . If you can get a Sensei's Divining Top in the mix, things get nutty pretty quick.

Right. That's all I got. Good luck!

SideBae on Pretty Provocative Provocateur

2 weeks ago

So I'm kinda surprised no one has suggested this (apologies if someone did and I didn't notice while I looked at the other comments), but Skullclamp seems stupid-good with an X/1 token producer in the command zone.

I really like RNR_Gaming's comment. Retract and (especially) Paradoxical Outcome seem really powerful here. He gives good advice.

You may want to revisit your artifact-ramp suite. I see you've included the signets, but I think the talismans ( Talisman of Dominance , Talisman of Progress and Talisman of Hierarchy ) are probably better. You may want to run all three of both -- that's a call playtesting will help a lot with. In general, two-mana mana-rocks are a lot better than three- or four-mana rocks, and that rule is especially true with four-mana generals. (...because landing a rock turn two into a land-drop turn three means you're casting your general a turn early.)

Though it may go without saying, I feel like I should mention that tutors are good cards. If you have access, you should consider running Enlightened Tutor and/or Demonic Tutor . If not (or even if you do have access to the former and just want more tutors), consider Dark Petition , Diabolic Intent , Diabolic Tutor , Beseech the Queen and/or Lim-Dul's Vault . The more tutors you have, the more consistent your deck will be. More importantly (at least in my opinion), you have to have fewer redundant effects, since you'll just tutor a card when necessary. This frees up card slots for more powerful spells.

In a similar vein, I see you're running Cloudstone Curio . I've obviously never played your list, but intuition tells me that that card is pretty busted in this deck. I suggest you try running something like Whir of Invention to tutor it to the battlefield at instant speed. Also worth considering is Reshape or, if you have a few spare kidneys to sell, Transmute Artifact . Granted, this does not get you a cast-trigger for the Cloudstone Curio itself, but I think the effect more than makes up for that fact.

I feel like I suggest these in every blue-deck comment I make, but I really, really think Ponder , Preordain and (if you have fetches/other reliable shuffle effects) Brainstorm belong in every blue deck. They're just that good. Having one of them in your opening seven means that a borderline hand goes from OK to good pretty easily, since they'll dig you to land if that's what you need, or past land if you don't. Your Terramorphic Expanse and Evolving Wilds are good for shuffle, but I'd add two or three more fetch-type lands before I'd add Brainstorm .

I'm unsure of what your meta is like, but I think you may have luck running Ghostly Prison instead of Hissing Miasma . Unless you're facing something like a Splinter Twin combo-kill, I feel like having a second Propaganda -effect is a better deterrent for potential attackers. Worth noting is that if you don't want to run two Propaganda effects, I think Ghostly Prison is better than Propaganda itself since Ghostly Prison does not die to Red Elemental Blast or Pyroblast .

I've always LOVED Tidespout Tyrant . You should consider a reanimation package, in order to turbo that mo' fo' out onto the field. Buried Alive or Entomb are good ways to put him in the graveyard, and running Animate Dead , Necromancy and/or Dance of the Dead will all bring him back while triggering your general.

Depending on how much mana you have access to in a typical game, you might want to think about a Words of Wind loop. ( Words of Wind has, since I first saw it, been one of my favorite cards.) If you pair it with a permanent you can trigger your general with that draws a card on ETB, you can make your opponents return their stuff all while netting faeries. Some such ETBers to consider: Ichor Wellspring , Alchemist's Vial , Baleful Strix and Disinformation Campaign . I especially like Disinformation Campaign .

Idk how many creatures you usually have on the field, but I have a feeling that Slate of Ancestry is worth running if you have 3+ creatures out on a routine basis.

Right. That's all I got. Good luck, man! Looks like a fun deck.

multimedia on Where is your god now?

2 weeks ago

Hey, interesting version of Orzhov.

Something to keep in mind is the avg. CMC of your deck. It's 4.6 which is very high. You're right to want to ramp into big creatures, but 34 cards with five CMC or higher is overkill. You have your seven drop Vish Kal; Avacyn, Elesh Norn and Ulamog are by far the best other high CMC cards. Sheoldred, Knell and Karmic Guide are good sources of repeatable reanimation which is good with Ashen, Angel of Despair and Archon of Justice . These three are good with Vish Kal for value, sac and repeatable reanimation.

Five drops to keep:

• Dictate of Erebos
• Gauntlet of Power
• Gilded Lotus
• Archon of Justice
• Karmic Guide

Six drops to keep:

• Massacre Wurm
• The Immortal Sun

Seven drops to keep:

• Debtors' Knell
• Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• Angel of Despair
• Sheoldred, Whispering One

Other high CMC drops to keep:

• Ashen Rider
• Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre

This example has cut 34 cards down to 14.

---

Cards within the budget consider adding:

• Command Tower
• Caves of Koilos
• Ash Barrens
• Ancient Tomb
• Orzhov Signet
• Talisman of Hierarchy
• Mana Vault
• Crypt Ghast
• Smothering Tithe
• Diabolic Intent
• Enlightened Tutor
• Animate Dead
• Entomb
• Buried Alive
• Luminarch Ascension
• Aven Mindcensor
• Knight of the White Orchid
• Solemn Simulacrum
• Mimic Vat
• Swords to Plowshares
• Anguished Unmaking
• Wrath of God
• Day of Judgment
• Nim Deathmantle

Good luck with your deck.