Mono-white mid range / aggro
A vaguely angel tribal deck, that intends to win via either commander damage or infect. Tons of rocks to get out Gisela, and just start swinging. Once she's out try to use the equipment fetch to get grafted exoskeleton, putting her at 6/6 with infect. If you can, try to get Fireshrieker the next turn to get 12 infect from one attack. Right now only Rogue's Passage can get unblockable on the cmdr, but that is tutorable with Weathered Wayfarer
When go to hard vs when to hold back and play politics?
When to meld vs when is melding a trap?
Let's not beat around the bush, Brisela, Voice of Nightmares
will always be a huge threat when she hits the board. She prevents your opponents from casting almost every tutor, almost every counterspell, almost every spot removal card and puts you in position to kill most opponents
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth? In a mono white deck?
Yes, it's the mill tax. We must all pay it, lest we be sent to horny jail forever. Plus, if you luck out and reach a board state where it's actually a good idea to play him, he's one of the best sources of card draw we can get in mono-white.
Artifact Tutor (Stoneforge Mystic // Stonehewer Giant // Skyship Weatherlight // Steelshaper's Gift // Open the Armory // Enlightened Tutor) targets:
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Argentum Armor - +6/+6 is huge, on it's own, it puts Gisela, the Broken Blade
at a 10 and Brisela, Voice of Nightmares
at 15. This plus Grafted Exoskeleton is a 1 hit in either form, and this plus Fireshrieker is a one hit for Brisela, Voice of Nightmares
or exactly 20 commander damage for Gisela, the Broken Blade
so any previous damage or any other buff (lookin' at you Cathedral of War) will put it over the kill line. On top of that, whenever equipped creature is declared as an attacker you get to destroy any target permanent. Still, it costs 6+6, so unless you're playing it with Stonehewer Giant it might be too slow and draw too much aggro from the table to be a good choice The times you do actually want this card is when you're going for the kill or you need some spot removal. But, if you've got the mana (Sigarda's Aid and Stoneforge Mystic can really help here, same with all the rocks we're running), go for it early. If you get this out before your opponents can get going, you'll probably be able to keep them down with the destroy effect until you kill them.
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Shadowspear - One of the the highest utility cards for 1 mana this deck could ask for. +1/+1 really isn't anything to write home about, but that's not why we want it, we want trample so that our damage can get thru chump blockers, and we want that active ability. This card can, for one generic mana, remove hexproof and indestructible from all your opponents creatures for a turn. Another player at the table thought Hour of Revelation wouldn't touch him? Guess again. Someone trying to stop you from Generous Gifting their creatures? Too bad. In a deck that relies on combat damage to win, this card is a god send. Important note: The active ability can be played at instant speed, so you can use it on other people's turns too! Did someone else cast Wrath of God or Damnation thinking their creatures would be safe? Nah, just say "in response" and see them wilt. Also, If you've got a way to play equipments at instant speed (Stoneforge Mystic, Stonehewer Giant, Sigarda's Aid) you can let someone put those "destroy" board wipes on the stack, then respond by playing Shadowspear and THEN respond by activating it. A nice trick to trap an opponent who thought they were safe since Shadowspear wasn't in play, and it'll only cost 2 or 3 mana to do.
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Grafted Exoskeleton - A big win con, this gives us +2/+2 and infect. Depending on the table, This may or may not draw a ton of aggro, so be careful when you pull it out. If you have access to instant speed equipment, play this after the declare blockers step to surprise nuke someone. If you have Brisela, Voice of Nightmares
out, it's a kill con by itself, but if you still have Gisela, the Broken Blade
in play you'll need 2 attacks or Fireshrieker or Argentum Armor to hit the 10 damage threshold.
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Hot Soup - Sleeper hit card, gives us what we want from Whispersilk Cloak but dodges the downsides Shroud gives us. In a perfect world, we'd always have this + [[]] on our commander, but we can't always be that lucky. Fetch this when you have enough damage to kill someone, but they have blockers. It's not hidden OP by any means, but our commander having first strike helps us avoid the card's big downside.
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Champion's Helm - Single strongest defensive option we have in terms of equipment. +2/+2 is nice, but hexproof is what we really want here. The problem with shroud is that is prevents us from targeting our own creatures, so if we had Shroud on a creature, we'd need to remove that equipment before putting anything else on it, meaning there'd be an opportunity for our opponents to hit the creature were trying to protect in the first place.
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Commander's Plate - +3/+3 and protection from ALL COLORS not in our identity. This is huge for us, it gives us protection from 4 separate colors, and gives us a sizeable buff. Plus, it's only 1+3 to play and equip, absolutely outlandish card. In the MTG lore, it is now canon the mayor of Valuetown ordered 25 of these for his office because he just couldn't say no to such a good deal.
Recruiter of the Guard Fetch Targets:
- Grand Abolisher - Very good defensive option when you're ahead, prevents opponents from countering your spells on your turns, prevents them from using instant speed combat effects to catch you off guard. This is probably the best choice if you're ahead or picking up steam, try to end pretty quick tho, or you'll regret not grabbing Aven Mindcensor after someone tutors a board wipe or wincon
- Weathered Wayfarer - Grab this if you need mana OR your utility lands (see this card's section for more details)
- Aven Mindcensor - Grab this against combo decks or if you want to deny a ton of value to everyone at the table. Possibly the best choice early game, but careful about the aggro you'll draw
- Karmic Guide - Great option if you've been forced to discard cards, or just been board wiped. Don't bother with the echo cost unless you've got nothing in hand, 5 mana for a creature res isn't terrible, 10 mana for a creature res + a 2/2 flyer kind of is
- Serra Ascendant - While it might be the best turn 1 drop in EDH, it may not be the best turn 3/4 drop. Still tho a 6/6 with flying and lifelink for 1. It has no added utility however, so it's probably not a high priority fetch.
- Stoneforge Mystic - Grab it if there's an equipment you need in the next turn or so (see the equipment fetch section when I actually get around to making it)
Weathered Wayfarer Fetch Targets:
- Homeward Path - One of our most reliable wincon is commander damage, we need to be able to get her back if she gets stolen
- Cathedral of War - We play this for the exalted trigger, you essentially lose a turn of mana tempo for a little extra damage. Make sure when you play this, it won't stop you from casting anything.
- Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - Tons of mana, what you'll probably get most often
- Rogue's Passage - Kill condition if your commander is large enough
- Arcane Lighthouse/Detection Tower - remove those pesky untargetable abilities from your opponents high value creatures when you need to remove them
