Volrath's Laboratory

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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy 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
Oathbreaker Legal
Planechase Legal
Premodern Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Volrath's Laboratory

Artifact

As Volrath's Laboratory enters the battlefield, choose a color and creature type.

, : Put into play a 2/2 creature token of the chosen color and type.

Coward_Token on Commander Masters Previews and Speculation

1 year ago

Maybe something like Volrath's Laboratory or Arcane Adaptation? I'm guessing changeling anyway, since flavor isn't a problem. (Also, universal tribal payoffs like Shared Animosity.)

SideBae on Yuriko Ninja EDH

4 years ago

What I suspect is going on is that your opponents are doing a lot on the aggro front. There're a few ways you can deal with this.

First, you can discourage your opponents from attacking you. Propaganda is probably the best-known card for this, but there're plenty of others. No Mercy comes to mind -- it was one of my favorite cards when I was a kid. Crawlspace and Silent Arbiter are good ways to limit the number of attackers an opponent can pressure you with, and assuming no trample, you likely can just chump away whatever they're hitting you with. Finally, Meekstone will keep the most dangerous ones tapped. I think any of these will probably be better than AEtherize , especially since none of them are 'single use.'

I don't know your meta. However, a lot of the time fatties come down without being hard-cast, like through Natural Order or Reanimate . Running hate cards, like Grafdigger's Cage , can prevent this.

You also seem to be light on wrath effects. Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow ninjutsu ability gets around commander tax, meaning he'll really only ever cost to put down -- so feel totally free to wrath with him on the board. Kindred Dominance strikes me as being way too much mana to do real damage in the earlier stages of the game, especially if you're fighting a bunch of aggro decks. Damnation is, I think, preferable here, as are Toxic Deluge and Cyclonic Rift . Damnation and Toxic Deluge being four and three mana, respectively, means you can conceivably cast them before you're getting smacked but while your opponent has a summoning-sick army. Cyclonic Rift 's overload ability IS seven mana, but being instant speed makes up for that (at least in my opinion).

If you include wrath effects, non-creature token producers are worth including -- they'll give you creatures to 'return' with Yuriko's ability while surviving the wrath themselves. Bitterblossom is the best here, though like most good cards, it's relatively expensive. Other options include Breeding Pit , Graf Harvest (if you wrath Yuriko to the 'yard, you can exile him to the command zone to create a token, then ninjutsu him out on the token when it attacks), Spawning Pit and Volrath's Laboratory (which can make ninjas).

If you decide to run some of the above cards, they should replace your one-for-one removal cards. In general, EDH games will have you facing three opponents, and therefore three times the number of cards you have. You therefore want cards that will effect more than a single card your opponent has. Hero's Downfall and Grasp of Darkness may be great in one-on-one formats, but in EDH they simply don't pack enough punch. (One interesting exception to the 'limit your one-for-ones' rule is the inclusion of counter magic. In general, I think of counterspells in EDH as more than one-for-ones, since A) they can save more than one of your cards if you counter something like By Force or Fire Covenant , and B) they can stop combos cold, making your opponent waste all the combo pieces s/he/they cast before the countered card.)

I have some non-combat related suggestions, too -- I hope I'm not being presumptuous in offering them:

I'm sure you've noticed how awesome your Treasure Cruise is: being eight on a Yuriko flip but often costing around two or three mana at most to cast is pretty busted. There're other delve cards to consider, though I do think it is likely more than one or two in a list will occasionally cause issues when delve gets in its own way. Dig Through Time is a primary candidate here, as it is also eight mana, but it also happens to be an instant (yay!). Temporal Trespass also comes to mind.

In magic, there're a bunch of alternate casting-cost cards that work well with your general, as their CMC is usually pretty high. Unfortunately, some of them are expensive -- I'll just mention them, in case you have more money to blow than I typically do: Force of Will and Commandeer . Spinning Darkness , Gush and Misdirection are all more affordable and alright cards in their own right, though they are significantly less powerful.

Nexus of Fate is a pet card of mine, and I think it'd be genuinely good here. It hits for seven, but doesn't 'really' make you tap out since if it resolves you get another untap step right away.

A creature to consider is Baleful Strix . Having deathtouch and flying make it really hard to block, and if you keep ninjutsu-ing it back to your hand you can keep casting it for the draw trigger.

Top-deck manipulation is a good way to make sure your general hits his hardest, and your Brainstorm is a good start. Mystical Tutor isn't too much money, though the black version, Vampiric Tutor , definitely is a lot of money nowadays. Scheming Symmetry is an alright replacement, though you'll want to be sure to kill the opponent who searches, or at least remove his top card. Though they're pricey, Sensei's Divining Top and Jace, the Mind Sculptor really are the best ways to mess with your top few cards in the game; Jace has the added bonus, like Brainstorm , of being able to top cards that you want to reveal with Yuriko's trigger again. Dream Cache and Telling Time are both OK top deck manipulation.

Cantrips are good. I suggest running Preordain in addition to your Ponder and Brainstorm . It's not as good as the two you have (in this deck), since it can only leave one card on top of your deck for Yuriko triggers, but I still think it's worth playing. As a turn one play, it's gonna be hard to beat. (Of course, Ponder does still beat it.)

Finally, mass card-draw is a good thing. Even if it doesn't trigger Yuriko, having spells to cast is always preferable to not having them (exception: Mindslaver ). Windfall is excellent, especially if you put in Narset, Parter of Veils (I think you should). Fact or Fiction and Chemister's Insight are both good instant-speed draw spells.

Only good things! Hope this helped.

SirQuixano on Slimefoot fungal bros

4 years ago

AN interesting note is that Changelings count as Saprolings, so cards like Birthing Boughs , Universal Automaton , Chameleon Colossus , Changeling Outcast , Graveshifter , and Woodland Changeling , along with Mirror of the Forebears , Volrath's Laboratory , and Mirage Mirror , among others, will give you +1/+1s when killed. I would also suggest cards with populate, such as Druid's Deliverance , Full Flowering , Horncaller's Chant , and Selesnya Eulogist . I honestly quite like this deck other than that.

Vulnoth on Scarecrow

4 years ago

The first thing you should figure out is the direction of the deck, and adjust things accordingly. It's a lot easier than it sounds, and it really is that simple. Since this is Tribal EDH and Reaper King is the general, most of what we want is stuff to facilitate both his casting, abuse of his removal effect, and the consistency with which those are done. Granted, I'm not an expert with multicolor EDH, but there are some basic principles that apply, so this is where I am drawing from.

Fielding the 'Crows

Popping with King is great, but with limited deck space, vanillas just don't make the cut. To that end, you need to look for what you get in addition to a card triggering King's removal.

Irregular Cohort - Pay 4 to get a pair of 2/2 Changelings, which means a field day for Reaper

Unsettled Mariner - Changeling plus a hint of protection

Birthing Boughs - Simple Changeling production, which of course means Scarecrows at a decent price

Riptide Replicator - Largely, it's a watered-down Boughs, but a slow format like EDH can give you better opportunities with Replicator

Volrath's Laboratory - Largely, it's a watered-down Replicator, but for a budget deck it can get the job done

Call to the Kindred - Assuming your creature doesn't get vaporized, you can generate free board presence and possibly get pops with Reaper

Descendants' Path - Easier to keep around than Call while harder to actually use, but is an option

Kindred Charge - Swarm tokens, obliterate things with Reaper King , swing for game

Kindred Summons - High costed, but can snowball hard

Acceleration and Mana Fixing

Since this isn't fully funded five-color EDH, you need to compensate for your lands' blandness with artifacts, and possibly a touch of ramp if it fits into the deck. These things are widely used because it's more than just fixing your mana, it's having more mana at your disposal for when your general dies and you need to recast at an inflated price.

Darksteel Ingot , Manalith , Spectral Searchlight - Never underestimate an omni mana rock in EDH, because this both speeds you up and eases your mana needs. There is a point at which too much mana fixing of this nature is bad, but for a budget deck, don't worry too much about that until a little further down the line when you start shifting away from being strictly budget

Coalition Relic - Additional option of planning for next turn

Firemind Vessel - More generation at the cost of being pretty slow

Coldsteel Heart - Not as good as omni mana rocks, but is an option

Rampant Growth , Harrow , Explosive Vegetation , Far Wanderings , Kodama's Reach , Primal Growth - All slight variations of mana ramp

I'm short on time right now, so I'll pick up where I left off tomorrow.

Hoobynobber7395 on Cephalids Give Syphilis

4 years ago

what about Pongify ? im taking out Volrath's Laboratory , Deluge , and Turnabout for Birthing Boughs , Alter Reality , and Whim of Volrath , just trying to figure out something for Sleight of Mind , i misread Turnabout not realizing it was an or card not an and card

Hybrow on Cephalids Give Syphilis

4 years ago

I might consider getting rid of Volrath's Laboratory , but if you are keeping it you could consider switching for for Birthing Boughs , technically the same thing for less mana.

Maybe Turnabout or maybe Deluge - removing cards is always the tougher than finding new cards to add

Coward_Token on EDH: Universal Tribal Supplements

5 years ago

(Edit: Updates now on (List) Coward_Token's custom cards)

I feel that some tribes are only partially supported. Rather than trying to fix each individual tribe, I've tried to think of some cards that would be good enough for the lesser tribes but not so good that the established ones like Goblins & Merfolk would also benefit. This way, the situation would be remedied for all underdog tribes, both present and future. Hopefully this isn't too misguided; let me know what you think.

Width token makers

The following are meant for tribal cards which would appreciate going wide but have difficulty doing so reliably, e.g. Thundercloud Shaman or Admiral Beckett Brass (why does Grixis only have one Pirate token maker available?). One concern I have with these is that they could be problematic with some cards, e.g. Reaper King , Soulcatchers' Aerie and Gilt-Leaf Archdruid .

Obelisk of Creation Show

Genesis Blade Show

Artificial Sire Show

Height cards

These are meant to help tribes who suffer from having few cards to choose from within singleton limitations, giving them some extra fatties.

Familiar Likeness Show

Kindred Colossus Show

Misc. cards

Seal of Unity Show

Representative's Ring Show

Tribal Mantle Show

Vesuvan Braclet Show

(new) Volrath's Implant Show

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