Hello Sweetie

Commander / EDH* DukeNicky

SCORE: 65 | 95 COMMENTS | 16968 VIEWS | IN 21 FOLDERS


Update —June 2, 2017

Hello again all I am back from a hiatus from the site and slightly from the game been keeping up but haven't really been playing etc. I want to get my deck back on track and was scouring the newest sets for some cards to add into my beloved Merieke deck Which has always been my main EDH Build and has money sunk into her - now with some updates and all I am in need of some help from you all. I am now over the limit sadly and can't see what to cut/swap etc. So please send me all your ideas and lets make this deck more of a pain in the ass than she already was And please check the custom categories option to see how i organized it whether it is ramp, draw, tutor, counters, game enders, commander enablers, or things to interrupt the opponent - Hello Sweetie

gbjfrtswym says... #1

+1, I still think the two lands I suggested might be fun cards to add, especially the Vault of the Archangel . I've just seen that card be incredibly mean, and I can only imagine it is more so in EDH. I imagine you didn't go with the Celestial Colonnade because of it coming into play tapped. I've always just thought that card was a lot better than most people thought.

(I hadn't logged on since my last comment, been really busy!)

Still really llike this deck.

June 9, 2013 3:12 p.m.

DukeNicky says... #2

Thanks for the upvote and the suggestions gbjfrtswym I haven't finished tweaking and updating this final list, I just wanted to toss the deck up here in the first place. I am toying around with those lands.

June 10, 2013 5:29 p.m.

Bloodchief Ascension so thine enemies take damage when you cancel spells kill demons and whenever they cast their spells you will still smite them for 2 and heal thine wounds for 2 also adding a mindcrank would make an insta boss combo.

June 15, 2013 10:11 a.m.

Profane Command as well

June 15, 2013 10:13 a.m.

Epochalyptik says... #5

You have a lot of slow lands, and they don't all seem necessary. Land bases are tricky to design. There's a balance between speed and utility, and you need to find where that balance is for your deck. I don't think cards like Sejiri Refuge and Mistveil Plains aren't ideal.

You mentioned that you might soon be able to make some improvements. I would aim for the 3-3-9, which is 3 ABUR duals, 3 shocks, and 9 fetches. It's the most stable and consistent foundation for any tricolor deck, and you can build the utility lands and other duals around that setup.

Cards like Amber Prison and Soul Conduit are ponderous and unnecessary.

What exactly do you do after you tap down important permanents? And why is there no Sunblast Angel ?

June 16, 2013 4:53 p.m.

senken12 says... #6

Not much of a suggestion for deck improvements, but Crusader of Odric looks exactly like Amy Pond from the pirate episode.

June 20, 2013 2:17 p.m.

NoPantsParade says... #7

Instead of Swiftfoot Boots , you could use Lightning Greaves just because it costs 0 to equip.

June 21, 2013 1:32 a.m.

DukeNicky says... #8

senken12 I love it she does! LOL

NoPantsParade I prefer Swiftfoot Boots over Lightning Greaves due to that fact that they offer Hexproof which is many time more valuable then shroud and a 0 equip cost. I need to be able to target my field, Greaves stop that whereas the boots do not, but thanks for the suggestion

June 21, 2013 2:24 a.m.

Grimaldii says... #9

@Epochalyptik - By ABUR, what exactly do you mean? The original dual lands such as Underground Sea ? You're the expert too, so is 9 fetches really needed? They don't produce mana themselves of course unless you have something like Chromatic Lantern , so it just seems a bit slow to essentially have a delayed basic land.

June 21, 2013 4:46 p.m.

ABUR is shorthand for Alpha, Beta, Unlimited, and Revised. ABUR duals are, as you guessed, the original dual lands.

Although fetches cannot produce mana on their own, they are invaluable to decks with three ABUR duals and three shock lands. In these kinds of builds, the fetches allow you to color fix immediately. Even if the fetch finds only one of the three relevant land types, you can still find the dual with that type and the type you need most. They also work extremely well with Crucible of Worlds because they ensure continual land drops even if you aren't drawing land.

June 21, 2013 4:53 p.m.

Grimaldii says... #11

Hmm, ideally yeah I'd have those, but I can't justify $140 on an Underground Sea for instance. In budget EDH (if there is such a thing, lol) there's still a lot of interesting choices. Hadn't connected Crucible of Worlds with fetchlands though, so thanks for the idea!

June 21, 2013 5:07 p.m.

If you can afford them, they're absolutely worth the money/trade. As you said, though, there are budget options. Things like the checks and filters can be useful, but they falter in the early game, which is when the fetches really shine because they can give you the mana you need to have explosive starts.

June 21, 2013 5:12 p.m.

DukeNicky says... #13

I totally forgot that I had a 5DN Crucible I'll have to work it in there perhaps. So aside form the mana base that will be reworked over the weekend after work. What else can I do to make this a lil more competitive without dropping the whole theme of it. I completely forgot about the Sunblast Angel you recommended Epoc, although I was on the fence about her due to the fact she'd blow up most of my field as well which I'd rather not have. The conduit was a place holder for a bit and was slightly thematic in nature, but you are correct there are better cards for life fixing if I need it. As for the Prison it was just another tap down card, if I take the time to look, I may be able to find something better then it for sure.

June 22, 2013 5:10 a.m.

DukeNicky says... #14

Well now with all the changes and the clean up I would love to hear all of your guys' suggestions.

June 24, 2013 1:02 a.m.

gufymike says... #15

Lets see, first I run a b/w combo edh/deck myself. Not the same here, but there are some staples I think you're missing.

enchantments (all for card draw/advantage):

you want more tutors.

creatures:

artifact:

Sorcery: * Debt to the Deathless * Bribery

instant:

land:

  • Reliquary Tower (there are artifacts that do the same as this, with no maximum hand size, might be nice to have a couple also)

For the most part these suggestions I consider to be staples in edh. Especially b/w. Card advantage is the one area I think you got it wrong mostly. Next, the sideboard, Why have one, if you don't have wishes? EDH decks are big enough to come up with enough answers. I'm sorry to just leave some suggestions and not much of an explanation, if you have questions, please ask. I also might have more cards later as I think a little more.

Check out my deck 1 million ways to die, choose one to see some more combos in b/w and sac engines.

June 24, 2013 10:44 a.m.

Joshuawesome says... #16

DukeNicky, first off, I love the strides this deck has taken, and I never see anything but improvements come out of it.

That said, I really have no suggestions. This deck is one that I playtest against often as a means of benchmarking my own EDH decks, and 10 times outta 10 it whoops my ass.

Shame I can't +1 it again. Keep up the good work.

June 24, 2013 11:33 a.m.

DukeNicky says... #17

Ok so first of all thank you for the comment/suggestions gufymike I really appreciate it. I do like some of your ideas, others not so much.

  • Mystical Tutor is already in the deck list actually lol so no need to suggest that one. And yes you are correct one can never have too many tutors, but what all should be swapped out for them?
  • I can't believe I actually forgot to include the auto include of Sensei's Divining Top !
  • I can see the value in Land Tax but with so few basics with which to fetch with it and the synergy I obtain from fetchlands/Crucible of Worlds ensuring I always get a land drop would it really be a necessary card? I feel like it would just clog a space that could be better reserved for something else.
  • I do not understand the value of having Necropotence at all in here. I don't want to pay life just to delay my draw phase basically and I don't have much use for using the Exile zone either. Would you please clarify this suggestion.
  • Phyrexian Arena is another great option ensuring I can get extra card draws, though I will need a way to counter the life loos at some point or sac the arena all together, but as you say card advantage is key.

The SB is in effect an extension of the Maybe Board, they are cards that I could easily use, but haven't fully decided on what to pull or if to run at all, and some provide a versatility that I may lack in the main board. It can never hurt to be too prepared and having a SB is always a good idea in any deck in my opinion. Spell Crumple is another great "deal with their general" card and I do like it. I suppose it can never hurt to have too many "you have no max hand size" cards in a deck especially when each will give me a different boon. As for your creature suggestions I'll take a closer look at them and how they could have some synergy with the deck as a whole. Oh and if you enjoy the deck why not upvote it :)

Joshuawesome As always thank you for that I am trully glad you enjoy my deck and both surprised and pleased that you enjoy playtesting against it and that it actually works the way I wanted it to! Especially since this is my first EDH deck build :D

June 24, 2013 1:09 p.m.

gufymike says... #18

Necropotence is a draw engine. pay x life to get x cards. That's what it does for you. It's pure card advantage. Delayed draw phase doesn't hurt, cause you get the benefit from the draw engine, the first turn it comes out. Also things like Teferi's Puzzle Box and Underworld Dreams something in my current meta are nullified to a point. Opponents Consecrated Sphinx is not a big deal either. Since you don't draw these cards, draw effects are essentially nullifed (exile -> put in hand).

As for swapping, I'll give suggestions on that after work. I have to really look at how everything works with your idea.

June 24, 2013 1:26 p.m.

DukeNicky says... #19

Ah I see, I don't have too much in the way of life gain at the moment, but I could possibly test it digitally and see how it works. It's still delayed card draw since you won't get it till your next End Step. But it might be worth it, especially since it isn't considered a "draw"

June 24, 2013 1:31 p.m.

gufymike says... #20

Ok.

Things to take out:

Nephalia Smuggler - I see it as a too expensive activation cost.

Angelic Overseer overall not enough humans.

Absorb -- replace this with Force of Will

Esper Charm -- never played with, but too expensive to draw with (Think Twice would be better)

Austere Command -- Merciless Eviction is a better choice. exile vs destroy.

Jace's Ingenuity -- again expensive card draw... Ancestral Vision would be better.

Mistmeadow Witch -- same as Nephalia Smuggler

Punish Ignorance ... too expensive for what it does.

Finally Far / Away and a single land.

Another card to consider adding Serra Ascendant .

June 25, 2013 10:07 a.m.

DukeNicky says... #21

Esper Charm is in here for the versatility it provides. It is exceedingly good at what I can use with it - draw, force discard or pop an enchantment. Now granted if you look at it in terms of just drawing and in 1 turn it's a lil more expensive over something like Think Twice , but to get the same effect from Think Twice you need to dump 5 mana over all which isn't convenient in my experience.

The Overseer has saved my hide a few times, So I'm gonna continue to run her until I can find something that is equal or superior to run in her place.

I like what Merciless Eviction can do, however while in most cases where Exile trumps Destroy if I have Avacyn or whatever out, then all my creatures will take the snuff as well, As such I'll side board it for now and test it along side Austere Command to see who wins out more often.

I will consider Serra Ascendant thanks for that, she can be of great use.

What's the opinion on Jester's Cap would it be worth running?

June 26, 2013 1:25 a.m.

miracleHat says... #22

i am not really a fan of Icy Manipulator , it requires too much mana to be of any use. Saving Grasp in my opinion doesn't do much of anything for this deck. Why is Sorin Markov in here? more Counterspell s such as Spell Crumple and Cyclonic Rift is really good too.

June 27, 2013 12:49 p.m.

DukeNicky says... #23

Thanks for the feedback m12fox - I have always enjoyed Icy Manipulator since I opened up my first one (as a foil no less) back in Mirrodin days and it annoyed my friends to no end back then. It is a simple 1 mana to tap what ever of theirs that I want. I also used it in combination with Blinkmoth Urn quite a lot to gain extra mana and deny my opponent any mana. It serves many uses.

Saving Grasp is used as a counter to usually spot removal of some kind I could bounce Merieke back to my hand or any other piece I wanted to keep around longer. It's just 1 mana bounce back to safety card.

Sorin Markov is in here due to him being a beast. 6 mana to put any opponent at 10 life is pretty ridiculously useful, even if I don't use that ability asap I can bleed them for 2 and gain it back. Not to mention his ultimate is Mindslaver His versatility is worth running as he is just another form of control.

I do agree that I could use more counters I suppose I will swap both Saving Grasp and Tragic Slip for another Counter and Cyclonic Rift since once it is Overloaded it becomes Board wipe > spot removal.

June 28, 2013 2:40 a.m.

gufymike says... #24

DukeNicky here is what you should do, take the deck and sideboard and maybe board, make 5 piles, 1 land, 2 combo pieces, 3 combo enablers/helpers, 4 combo protection, 5 edh/staples. Eliminate the unnecessary cards that do not do anything to help you attain the combo(s) you want. From there, if you have slots open, add in only the best cards that work with 3 or 4. Ultimately you want to streamline this for your combo and be able to protect it from any disruption, everything else is just fluff and 'nice to have'. I still need to do this for mine tbh, I still find it hard to reach some combos.

June 28, 2013 10:23 a.m.

dbdecker says... #25

cool, I would still suggest trying out Avatar of Woe most times i've had it playable its only cost BB since i've killed everything else. Also consider it as a post board wipe.

July 7, 2013 10:25 a.m.