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Gahiji: Forever War

Commander / EDH* awalloftext

SCORE: 153 | 83 COMMENTS | 25894 VIEWS | IN 81 FOLDERS

Set Exploration: Commander 2017 —Aug. 13, 2017

New Recruits

It's that time again! Time for the wackiest effects in Magic short of silver-bordered stuff; let's take a look at some potential new toys for Political Gahiji.

  • Mirri, Weatherlight Duelistfoil: Wow! I'd be hard-pressed to turn this down in any Gahiji build. This kitten has got some serious built-in evasion for your army when you need to close things out, AND swings for a respectable 5 power (with First Strike) when Gahiji is out. The bonus Pillow Fort effect is the icing on the cat-shaped cake. All for only 3 mana!

  • Disrupt Decorum: A perfect card to play once Gahiji is out and you've given your opponents some gas. Depending on what your opponents are playing, this might just be a straight-up better Master Warcraft.

  • Curse of Opulence: Mono red ramp? Very interesting. Slap it on the control player and get some incremental ramp. Keep in mind that when an opponent attacks the cursed player, both you and the attacking player get gold tokens, meaning you're always ramping more. Not the strongest effect ever, but at one mana, it's hard to say no.

  • Teferi's Protection: Protect your board from a wipe, swing for lethal on your next combat. Tutorable with Sunforger. Seems pretty good to me! However, there is one small downside: phasing out Gahiji means your frienemies don't get to benefit from the buff until your next turn.

  • Stalking Leonin: Cool Pillow Fort card. Might try it in place of something like Mercy Killing some day.

Other Cards to Consider

Maybe these won't make the cut, but they might have some potential...

  • The Other Curses (Curse of Bounty and Curse of Vitality): Not as big of a fan of these. Vitality just isn't strong enough. As for Bounty, I like Benefactor's Draught better; controlling when folks are untapping is pretty important, and while we are running a few tap effects, it's not quite enough to warrant this less reliable Seedborn Muse. That being said, man, it sure would be funny to have this and Selvala, Explorer Returned on the board...

  • Hungry Lynx: Because of the deathtouch on those rats, I don't think I'll run this. We just don't have enough cats to capitalize on it. That being said, there just has to be a Gahiji cat tribal out there, and I'm sure they want this - probably a lot of great new toys from the new Arahbo deck.

  • Traverse the Outlands: High ceiling, low floor. The ideal scenario is ramping post-combat, when your creatures are buffed by Gahiji. However, I like my ramp at 3 or less in most scenarios, and there is a potential to get blown out here. I wouldn't fault someone for running this, but it's not for me.

  • Fortunate Few: Political Cataclysm. Fun, but maybe not quite good enough.

  • Kindred Charge: At this point, just run Insurrection.

Deck Updates

Here's what I'll be trying next:

Panzerforge says... #1

Awesome.
+1

March 2, 2017 1:24 a.m.

Marvell says... #2

Dude, AWESOME deck. I already commented here before but I built your build for real with very few changes, such as Selfless Spirit, Tireless Tracker and Filter Lands(looking to buy these soon).

Just got from a gaming night, 4 games and 4 wins (1 1x1 and 3 against other 3 playes), really great deck. I'm not thinking about switching any card for now, just going to keep testing. But at first I didn't like that much of Warmonger Hellkite and maybe Basandra hahhaah

May 6, 2017 1:09 a.m.

awalloftext says... #3

Marvell - That's great to hear! Happy that it performed well for you.

Those filter lands are pretty pricey these days, so it's probably pretty easy to go without if you need!

May 6, 2017 4:59 a.m.

Marvell says... #4

I'd like to ask you something... don't you miss mass removal? I'm bit concerned about giving or letting opponents get too much ahead but I don't have much experience using the deck yet.

And how do you feel about these cards?

1x Basandra, Battle Seraph

1x Den Protector

1x Warmonger Hellkite

1x Alliance of Arms

I'll check them better during the next games but don't you think there may be more suitable cards? Thanks!

May 11, 2017 3:26 p.m.

awalloftext says... #5

Good feedback, Marvell - Basandra is slow, but she has made a difference in some of the games that I've played. Generally speaking, being able to pinpoint a forced attack is nice, but you bring up a very good point. Master Warcraft is an easy substitution for her, or if you' really hurting for mass removal, I'd probably go with the classic Wrath, or Retribution of the Meek.

Eternal Witness is an easy substitute for Den Protector. I like Protector because Morph kinda plays mind games with people, and with Gahiji buffs, she is able to attack better. However, E-wit is probably more optimal.

Warmonger Hellkite is a great card if you can untap with him (or in a post-wrath scenario). However, I think he's difficult to use to his full potential - you really have to try to get under people's skin with him. They have to attack, and to prevent them from attacking you, it's nice to have mana open (in other words, use the old "don't attack me and I'll buff your dudes" ploy). He also costs 6 - expensive even for EDH; you could easily cut him, but if you cut him AND Basandra I'd consider replacing at least one of the cards with another forced attack effect.

Alliance of Arms tends to create a stalemate situation, which I find funny - I think it's a low enough risk to just play it, if for no other reason than how silly it is. Your mileage may vary of course.

Long story short - you've definitely identified some of the weaker cards in the deck. They've worked for me but they may not work for you - I recommend adding a couple of mass removal spells if you feel you're really lacking in that area. More spot removal never hurts, too. Or, for more optimal aggro, consider Iroas, God of Victory or Beastmaster Ascension

May 12, 2017 5:16 a.m. Edited.

Marvell says... #6

Thanks for you reply and your suggestions! Iroas is in the deck already but I never thought about Beastmaster hahaha

Yeah, actually I considered the cards you mentioned for Basandra and Den replacement hahashah

If I come up with more questions or feedback I'll let you know!

May 12, 2017 10:46 p.m.