Xenagos, God of Revels

Legendary Enchantment Creature — God

Indestructible

As long as your devotion to red and green is less than seven, Xenagos isn't a creature.

At the beginning of combat on your turn, another target creature you control gains haste and gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is that creature's power.

Discussion (51)

MTGBurgeoning on Gruul Stompy Featuring Xenagos, God of Revels

13 hours ago

Lot's of play-testing and game-play has led to the following changes:

Quartzwood Crasher is in. Avenger of Zendikar is out.

Godo, Bandit Warlord is in. Chancellor of the Forge is out.

Ghalta, Primal Hunger is in. Craterhoof Behemoth is out.

Giant Adephage is in. Living Hive is out.

Malignus is in. Gaea's Cradle is out.

Momentous Fall is in. Altar of Dementia is out.

Return of the Wildspeaker is in. Comet Storm is out.

Reap the Past is in. Moldgraf Monstrosity is out.

The Great Henge is in. Temporal Aperture is out.

Skyshroud Claim is in. Thaumatic Compass  ^Flip is out.

Also, on a whim, I decided to swap in Etali, Primal Storm for Stalking Vengeance. Yeah, that took about one attack trigger to make this exchange permanent.

Etali, Primal Storm is in. Stalking Vengeance is out.

Observations: Godo, Bandit Warlord, The Great Henge, Etali, Primal Storm, Return of the Wildspeaker and Quartzwood Crasher were absolute all-stars in game-play and play-testing. Bonafide all-stars. I recommend adding these cards to every Xenagos, God of Revels EDH/Commander deck.

All changes have been made to the current deck list. Thank you for the feedback and comments!

Azeworai on Will Xenagos Return in Zendikar?

1 week ago

Now, do bear with me here.

In the last few sets, a meiny of planeswalkers have been returning to us. In War of the Spark there are a fair few to count, Elspeth in Theros Beyond Death, and _ in _Throne of Eldraine there was Garruk.

Consider one other point, for there are planeswalkers for every single and double colour combination. Specifically I am speaking of the guilds, as it is Kaya in Orzhov, Ajani, in Selesnya, Ashiok in Dimir, Angrath in Rakdos, Kiora in Simic, Dovin in Azorius, Vraska in Golgari, the perfidious Royal Scions in Izzet, and Nahiri in Boros.

Xenagos may have the contender against two planeswalkers for Gruul, being Arlinn and Samut, yet Samut hasn't much of a reason to go to Zendikar, as there are no werewolves, and Samut is an adherent to her people upon Amonkhet, thus she mayn't leave them to journey elsewhere.

Xenagos has two points going for him. One, he is fond of power. He ascended to that of a deity, lead revelers oppugning the gods and goddesses of Theros, and he was arrogant whilst doing so. Secondly, we don't know if he died. He fell from Nyx, but was never told to have a splat, as he could have planeswalked away. Also, Theros has an afterlife, but I doubt WOTC would use that excuse twice.

Perhaps I am reaching, but Xenagos has some of my favourite art in the game and I'd like to see him return.

Thoughts?

MTGBurgeoning on Gruul Stompy Featuring Xenagos, God of Revels

1 week ago

Upon reading your comments:

1) I did swap out Migration Path for Skyshroud Claim. Fetching-out Stomping Ground and Cinder Glade with Skyshroud Claim feels really, really good.

2) I agree with you about Altar of Dementia. I initially failed to realize that it was included as part of the token package. Once the token package was removed, Altar of Dementia was ineffective and a waste of a card slot. Without a bunch of token creatures and Craterhoof Behemoth, Altar of Dementia is easily expendable in this deck.

3) I do like Etali, Primal Storm and am considering its inclusion in the deck. Etali, Primal Storm's attack trigger can be really powerful and add another element to our plan, as you mentioned above.

4) I don't want to be "that guy" with this deck. I do have a copy of Blightsteel Colossus for the purposes of eliminating any unfair or unfun players from the table. I once had the Savage Ventmaw and Aggravated Assault combo in this deck, but took it out. I didn't want to go infinite with this deck.

Upon perusing my collection, I did not find a copy of Bonders' Enclave. When I get one, it will replace Mossfire Valley.

I also did not have a copy of Nylea, Keen-Eyed. I was bummed-out about that, but once I acquire a copy she'll fly right into Xenagos's waiting arms!

I play-tested the following ten changes:

1) Quartzwood Crasher in and Avenger of Zendikar out.

Quartzwood Crasher made some big trampling creature tokens. Its presence was noticeable in the deck and did more in combat than Avenger of Zendikar ever did.

2) Godo, Bandit Warlord in and Chancellor of the Forge out.

This was the biggest difference for me during the initial play-testing of these changes. Godo, Bandit Warlord fetched Embercleave every time. Once, I entwined Tooth and Nail to put onto the battlefield Godo, Bandit Warlord and Worldspine Wurm. The Embercleave came into play and then was equipped to Worldspine Wurm. At combat, Xenagos, God of Revels gave Worldspine Wurm +16 +16 to enable a 32/32 trampling and double-striking beat-down. In another game, Xenagos, God of Revels was cast on turn four followed by Godo, Bandit Warlord on turn five. After he fetched Embercleave and it was equipped to him, combat ensued and Godo, Bandit Warlord got +4 +4 and haste, enabling an 8/8 trampling, double-striking and hasty attacker. Then, after the additional combat phase, Godo, Bandit Warlord attacked as a 16/16 trampling double-striker. This 48 damage knocked the opponent right out of the game. Godo, Bandit Warlord is awesome in this deck!

3) Ghalta, Primal Hunger in and Craterhoof Behemoth out.

As hoped, I was always able to cast Ghalta, Primal Hunger for a handful of mana, and often for just . With a couple of bigguns in front of him, getting Ghalta, Primal Hunger into play with Xenagos, God of Revels on the battlefield was game-ending.

4) Giant Adephage in and Living Hive out.

I did not draw Giant Adephage once. I did not tutor for it either.

5) Here's where it gets a little complicated. I failed to record a change I made to this deck list when I swapped out Malignus for Rampaging Brontodon prior to posting on tappedout. So, technically, Malignus was not in the deck and Rampaging Brontodon was. It just wasn't reflected in the deck list. As play-testing began, I decided to leave Gaea's Cradle in the deck and not make a change. However, after multiple times of putting into a play a useless Gaea's Cradle (that hurts to say!) or one that only taps for , I decided this card deserved a deck more fitting for its level of power. So, I eventually replaced Gaea's Cradle with Malignus and was happy I did. During one of the games I Malignused one of my opponents out of the game on turn five. Malignus is back!

6) Momentous Fall in and Altar of Dementia out.

I did not draw Momentous Fall once during play-testing.

7) Return of the Wildspeaker in and Comet Storm out.

I did not draw Return of the Wildspeaker once during play-testing.

8) Reap the Past in and Moldgraf Monstrosity out.

I did not draw Reap the Past once during play-testing.

9) The Great Henge in and Temporal Aperture out.

As predicted, The Great Henge is bonkers in this deck. In one game, I was able to cast The Great Henge for and then cast Ghalta, Primal Hunger for on the same turn! Having Ghalta, Primal Hunger enter the battlefield with a +1 +1 counter and drawing a card was awesome. Aside from Godo, Bandit Warlord, The Great Henge was the most noticeable game-changing addition made to the deck during this initial phase of play-testing.

10) Skyshroud Claim in and Thaumatic Compass  ^Flip out.

As mentioned earlier, fetching-out Stomping Ground and Cinder Glade with Skyshroud Claim felt good. It felt really, really good. These lands are unfetchable with Thaumatic Compass  ^Flip or Migration Path. Good suggestion!

Additionally, the overall speed of the deck was noticeable as well. I was threatening opponents by turn four or five every game.

I plan to continue play-testing until I have been able to play with all of the potential new inclusions. I appreciate your suggestions and your kind words regarding my responses. The Magic Community is important to me and it becomes stronger with positive communication. Thank you for being a part of that.

Amoskeag on Gruul swarm

2 weeks ago

I would add some Domri, Anarch of Bolas to help with your mana, buffing your dudes, and giving you some interaction once those bad boys are down.

The curve is a bit awkward, I would take the opportunity to change up the creature base slightly so your turns have more presence. A great starter would be another 1 drop, Pelt Collector is sweet for that and fits your deck well.

Drop the Dragonlair Spider for Arasta of the Endless Web.

25 lands is a bit much, I believe 23 to 24 is plenty, Kessig Wolf Run is awesome and always fun, keep that, maybe add a 2nd to make sure you see it more often? Don't be afraid to have some basic lands in there.

Eldritch Evolution can be super spicy and help you get some big dudes out, you might want to find space for Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma, Kogla, the Titan Ape, and or Surrak, the Hunt Caller, big fan of Surrak myself.

In regards to your Bloodbraid Elf. Gruul Spellbreaker is a far better target than Taurean Mauler and gives you more devotion to your Xenagos, God of Revels with those green and red pips. Also, Hexproofs you (yay!)

Have fun!
- Amoskeag

MTGBurgeoning on Gruul Stompy Featuring Xenagos, God of Revels

2 weeks ago

Yes, definitely. I don't want to be misunderstood. I know eliminating one higher CMC creature (Moldgraf Monstrosity) and replacing it with a lesser CMC creature (Quartzwood Crasher) will not lower the overall CMC of a deck in any noticeable way. That potential swap was in conjunction with the other suggestions made for the purposes of lowering the overall CMC of this deck.

I like the suggestion of Bonders' Enclave. Every creature in the deck has power four of greater, so activating this land to draw a card should be easy.

Lifeblood Hydra is an awesome card. I've wanted it for a while but it's forever out of stock.

Nylea, Keen-Eyed seems like a great addition. Reducing the CMC of creatures and digging through the top of a library are aces!

The Great Henge is an automatic inclusion.

I hadn't thought of Godo, Bandit Warlord. It makes sense to include him in order to fetch Embercleave, equip it to him, activate Xenagos's ability, attack, activate Xenagos's ability again and then attack again. Godo, Bandit Warlord curves from Xenagos, God of Revels perfectly. At , under the scenario mentioned above, Godo, Bandit Warlord can attack for a total of 48 damage in one turn. With early ramp that's an early turn knock-out of an opponent. Great suggestion!

I plan to task myself with attempting to include the following cards:

Momentous Fall or Return of the Wildspeaker (card draw)

The Great Henge (card draw and ramp)

Migration Path (card draw or ramp)

Bonders' Enclave (card draw)

Nylea, Keen-Eyed (card draw and ramp)

Reap the Past (graveyard recursion)

Godo, Bandit Warlord (Embercleave-fetcher, opponent-eliminator)

Quartzwood Crasher (big trampler, makes other tramplers)

Giant Adephage (big trampler, makes other tramplers)

Ghalta, Primal Hunger (really big trampler)

My initial thoughts are to eliminate the following ten cards in order to include the aforementioned ones:

Avenger of Zendikar

Chancellor of the Forge

Living Hive

Craterhoof Behemoth

Comet Storm

Gaea's Cradle

If some of the creatures utilized for the token package are going to be eliminated, might as well eliminate the entire package.

Moldgraf Monstrosity

Temporal Aperture

Thaumatic Compass  ^Flip

Mossfire Valley

Again, these are my initial thoughts. I'd like to play-test in order to realize the benefits of these changes. If we proceed with these lists, the potential swaps would look something like this:

Quartzwood Crasher in. Avenger of Zendikar out.

Adding another trampling creature that can create other trampling creatures seems like an improvement. Additionally, the mana investment is reduced by two.

Godo, Bandit Warlord in. Chancellor of the Forge out.

Without an army of tokens and/or other creatures, Chancellor of the Forge is weak. Godo, Bandit Warlord is a great fit for Xenagos, God of Revels and Embercleave. Plus, we save a little on the CMC. This is a lethal addition!

Ghalta, Primal Hunger in. Craterhoof Behemoth out.

Without an army of tokens and/or other creatures, Craterhoof Behemoth is not as effective. Choosing Ghalta, Primal Hunger as a replacement seems acceptable. A 12/12 trampler that will most likely never cost is a great addition to the deck. With almost any of our creatures under our control, Ghalta, Primal Hunger will cost less than Craterhoof Behemoth. Another reduction in CMC.

Giant Adephage in. Living Hive out.

Living Hive was another piece of the token package that seems out of place without the rest of the pieces. This change provides another slight reduction in CMC. Giant Adephage also can create big copies of itself with trample.

Bonders' Enclave in. Gaea's Cradle out.

If the token package of this deck is eliminated, Gaea's Cradle is more beneficial in decks that provide armies of creatures. Adding Bonders' Enclave provides card draw.

Return of the Wildspeaker or Momentous Fall in. Comet Storm out.

Without the presence of a token army and Gaea's Cradle, keeping Comet Storm as a finisher is not optimal. Supplanting it with a form of card draw seems like a reasonable replacement.

Reap the Past in. Moldgraf Monstrosity out.

This is maintaining some form of graveyard recursion while reducing the overall CMC of the deck.

The Great Henge in. Temporal Aperture out.

The Great Henge simply does more than Temporal Aperture.

Migration Path in. Thaumatic Compass  ^Flip out.

Migration Path provides quicker ramp and the potential for card draw if it's cycled.

Nylea, Keen-Eyed in. Mossfire Valley out.

Nylea, Keen-Eyed provides ramp and card draw on the body of an indestructible creature/enchantment. Replacing Mossfire Valley, which admittedly is one of the weaker lands in the deck, is a massive upgrade.

I will mull over these potential changes. Originally, the token package was included in order to provide an additional win condition (Comet Storm). Eliminating this option will put the onus of victory through combat in nearly every game, aside from Altar of Dementia. Perhaps these changes will be effective and additional win conditions are unnecessary. I want to learn more through play-testing before making any official changes to the deck list. We shall see.

Thank you again for your suggestions! I appreciate your time and effort!

MTGBurgeoning on Gruul Stompy Featuring Xenagos, God of Revels

3 weeks ago

1. Yes, the average converted mana cost of this deck is high, as the big, beefy creatures inflate the average CMC (average CMC of creatures equals seven). Due to this, I tried placing a bit of a premium on ways to cheat these creatures onto the battlefield with cards like Quicksilver Amulet, Sneak Attack, Selvala's Stampede, Summoning Trap and Tooth and Nail. There are also additional spells that are more resource-intensive than the aforementioned cards (Vivien's Arkbow, Temporal Aperture, Finale of Devastation and Chord of Calling). With nine ramp spells/mana rocks in the deck, casting spells has not been difficult. As for eliminating some more expensive creatures, I've been thinking about swapping out Moldgraf Monstrosity for Quartzwood Crasher. Additionally, I'd like to include Ghalta, Primal Hunger and planning never to pay to cast it.

2. I agree about card draw. Currently the only card draw in the deck is Greater Good. I want to include Guardian Project but must acquire a copy of it. Adding Momentous Fall and/or Return of the Wildspeaker would strengthen this weakness.

3. Yes, there is little chance of completing the Avenger of Zendikar and Chancellor of the Forge combo without Tooth and Nail or Shared Summons, and hard-casting each of these creatures on the same turn by investing 14 mana is not optimal. Yes, in the majority of games I have played with Xenagos, God of Revels this combo is enabled less than half of the time. These statements are undeniably true. I will consider removing Chancellor of the Forge, Living Hive, Avenger of Zendikar and Gaea's Cradle and replacing them with Momentous Fall, Return of the Wildspeaker, The Great Henge, Ghalta, Primal Hunger or Migration Path. When a copy of Guardian Project falls into my ever-waiting arms I will add it to the deck.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts about our Gruul God! I look forward to more back-and-forth in the future!

Gidgetimer on Fun Commanders for a Timmy ...

1 month ago

Xenagos, God of Revels

Instead of "make tokens and attack" it is "play a single big guy and attack". It still has the core of getting into combat but has different strengths and weaknesses.

KindredDiscovery on Mayael EDH Primer

1 month ago

@bankrupt_on_selling I've used Xenagos, God of Revels in the past, and it was always a good card. I swapped it out for Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded recently and I've been liking that better. Haste is so important that it could be correct to run both.

I'm much more tepid on See the Unwritten and Selvala's Stampede. They seem awfully high variance, and I think I'd rather run tutors in their place. I'm sure they're fun when they work though - just not my style.

Scroll Rack is absolutely great, and it was with great reluctance that I took it out of the deck a while back. I was lacking in card advantage engines, and Lifecrafter's Bestiary offered both card advantage and filtering. It may well find its way back in, but it waits on the sidelines for now.