Sideboard


HE-MAN but without Humility. Also more cats.

Originally, this list was imagined as a stormier build of HE-MAN, with more emphasis on wheels and wheel-payoff cards as well as its use of Paradox Engine as a one-card wincon. Since its inception, some tech from this list has been borrowed back into HE-MAN (notably Paradox Engine), and the two lists share more cards now than in the past.

The main distinguishing feature in this list compared to HE-MAN is playing a different hate package - in particular, focusing on cards that we can asymmetrically break parity on. For example, this list eschews effects like Humility and Cursed Totem (which also incidentally stops our Thrasios wins) in favor of effects like Linvala. A secondary focus is on wheel synergies - the list tries to make use of both our own and our opponents' wheels to gain significant advantage. Notion Thief is the best combo with wheels, but Alms Collector and Waste Not are decent alternative payoff cards.

The main goal is to draw the deck - typically, this is done by assembling infinite mana and using Thrasios. The best ways to get to this point are the following:
  • Isochron Scepter + Dramatic Reversal
  • Isochron Scepter + Paradox Engine
  • Angel's Grace + Ad Nauseam

There are other common lines that will often result in a win, although they aren't deterministic. These are:

  • Paradox Engine + Thrasios
  • Notion Thief + Wheel
  • Ad Nauseam (typically on end-step)

With deck in hand, there are a lot of options for actually winning the game.

  • Double Scepter using Copy Artifact to imprint Dramatic Reversal and Noxious Revival. Cast Praetor's Grasp infinitely to exile libraries.
  • Double Scepter with Swan Song to make infinite birds and swing for lethal next turn, using counters to stop opponents.
  • Use Timetwister loops to repeatedly cast Praetor's Grasp.
  • Play Angel's Grace with deck in hand, Brainstorm to put Whispering Madness back on your library, then cast Windfall into Whispering Madness to make everyone draw their deck.
  • Use Praetor's Grasp and win using an opponent's wincon, e.g. LabMan.
For opening hands and mulligan decisions, you're generally looking for hands that contain mana (particularly fast mana and ramp) and interaction (either a soft stax piece or countermagic). A midrange grind piece (such as Sylvan Library, Dark Confidant, or Rhystic Study) are huge pluses as well. The wheel focus helps make mulligans somewhat less painful as well.

Being greedy with mana, particularly in the early turns, is the easiest way to lose with the deck. It's important to know your role at different points in the game - you are almost always going to act as the controlling deck in the early game. Unless you have half of a combo piece in hand already, early tutors will often go towards finding mana, countermagic, or stax. Note that the early game is the best time for wheels, as a T1 wheel can reset opponents' openers or mess up their tutors.

After getting through the early game, you can play much more aggressively and devote tutors towards midrange pieces or combo pieces. Wheels get much worse in the midgame unless combined with a payoff card (such as Notion Thief). Your grind game is so much better than opponents that you don't want to help draw them into new cards. One of the best tutor targets at this phase is Paradox Engine, as it helps you convert cards into mana and Thrasios converts mana into more cards. Although nondeterministic, it's frequent that Thrasios will draw towards more rocks to make more mana, or find a way to make the combo deterministic (notably Isochron Scepter or Sensei's Divining Top).

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Top Ranked
  • Achieved #39 position overall 4 years ago
  • Achieved #22 position in Commander / EDH 4 years ago
Date added 6 years
Last updated 3 years
Exclude colors R
Legality

This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.

Rarity (main - side)

16 - 3 Mythic Rares

59 - 2 Rares

14 - 1 Uncommons

9 - 2 Commons

Cards 100
Avg. CMC 1.86
Tokens Bird 2/2 U
Folders CEDH decks (+), 4c Control, Thrasios and Tymna Partners, cEDH decks from reddit, deck plans, cEDH, Saved, cEDH, for Reference, cEDH
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