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Jodah of the Many Wins

Commander / EDH Alt Win Bracket 3

TheoryCrafter

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Land (40)

Creature (25)

Artifact (8)

Sorcery (2)

Commander (1)

Commander: Jodah, Archmage Eternal

Enchantment (18)

Planeswalker (6)

Hi there!

This is a Deck I have been playing on Untap.in. I've always been a sucker for Alternate Win Cards, so I decided to build one with as many as I can fit and still have some semblance of competitiveness.

For the purpose of this deck an Alternate Win Card is defined as a card that explicitly says that you win the game, that an opponent loses the game or does poison or mill. With so much going on here I will Break down the Alt-Win Cards in Alphabetical Order and how they will win me the game.

His static ability allows for an alternate casting cost. This can allow us to cast cards including, but not limited to, Phage the Untouchable and Worldfire earlier in the game if possible. I did think of replacing him with Ezio Auditore da Firenze, but between the casting cost alternative and the fact that Jodah's ability to fly gives him evasion and a better chance of winning with commander damage, I chose to stick with him for now.

Ajani, Sleeper Agent- Creature and Planeswalker spells together make up half of our nonland cards, meaning there's enough to poison most of our opponents to death. And if we fall short we can use Karn's Bastion to proliferate our way to victory. But Ajani won't just be sitting around. It's first ability cycles through our deck faster to get us the pieces we want. And that second ability will help feed into either Mayael's Aria, Simic Ascendancy, or Twenty-Toed Toad. Or it can just pump up our commander for more damage.

Angel of Destiny- It goes without saying that attacking is the best way to win with it. To speed up the process we just add +1/+1 counters or attach Vorpal Sword to it or activate Basilisk Gate.

Approach of the Second Sun- This is one of those cards where once you cast it, you are a target. That means speed is of the essence. We just need to use Ajani, Sleeper Agent and the many instances of card draw to get to AotSS sooner. We also have three cards that have life point requirements and all of them can use this card to either get there or solidify our position.

Atemsis, All-Seeing- We have spells with eight different mana costs. So winning will be difficult, but not impossible. In the mean time Atemsis can be used to feed into cards that have graveyard requirements, or empty out our deck to win with cards like Laboratory Maniac.

Azor's Elocutors- Five filibuster counters may be all it takes to win but one Lightning Bolt and damage from one creature is all it takes to set us back to square one. The proliferate from Karn's Bastion will help, but at the end of the day it'll end up a blocker that can feed into Persistent Petitioners's mill.

Barren Glory/Near-Death Experience- The strategy for both is the same. Get one of them on the battlefield(using our commander's static ability to cast it if necessary), target it with Oblivion Ring, and then cast Worldfire. Even if this strategy falls to a counter spell, BG would make a helpful beater once Starfield of Nyx's ability needs are met and N-DE will force players to plan their attacks more carefully.

Biovisionary- We just need to exile Biovisionary from my hand with Soul Foundry and we get around the one copy rule. Then, whether we win in three or four turns will depend on how many untapped lands we have left after SF resolves.

Chance Encounter- We need 10 luck counters to win the game. To accomplish this we have Okaun, Eye of Chaos and Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom to flip as many coins as possible. And if we lose Okaun and Zndrsplt, we can still proliferate our way to victory with Karn's Bastion if we have at least one luck counter.

Darksteel Reactor- Getting 20 charge counters on it will be daunting. Even if we can activate the abilities on both Karn's Bastion and Nesting Grounds in the same turn it'll take as few as seven turns and exceptional timing to pull it off. The most effective use will likely be for farming charge counters onto Blast Zone. If we can also get this on the battlefield before a Stax deck gets good and going, patience is our deadliest weapon.

Epic Struggle- a combination of creature cards and enchantments backed by Starfield of Nyx make this a possible late game threat—especially in a late game if attacks become impossible.

Etrata, the Silencer- In most games Etrata will be exiling a commander or two or serving as evasion for abilities that win you the game purely by combat damage. It might be able to win with bounty counters, but we'll need Ajani, Sleeper Agent and a lot of card draw sources on the battlefield.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze- Maskwood Nexus makes the Freerunning ability all the more relevant when you need to do multiple things in the late game and don't have the mana to do it, such as activating his ability.

Faithbound Judge  - when this creature isn't waiting it's turn to go into the graveyard, we can farm the judgement counters and use Nesting Grounds to store onto a hard to kill permanent until we can make it an aura.

Felidar Sovereign- This card is practically insta-win if we avoid losing any life.

Frodo, Sauron's Bane- I once used the Baldur's Gate ability to activate all the abilities in one turn. Maskwood Nexus would allow you to only have to activate the second ability, though you'd have to activate the first to turn it into a 2/3 creature with lifelink.

Gallifrey Stands- Outside of a few creatures with Changeling there are no Doctor creature cards in this deck, meaning we'll have to rely entirely on Maskwood Nexus and likely Starfield of Nyx to pull it off. In addition the graveyard recursion, this card can even feed into cards where you need a set number in your hand to win.

Halo Fountain- The First ability feeds into itself and Epic Struggle. The Second helps get us to our pieces faster. And both abilities will allow us to turn attackers into blockers or maybe even activate the ability of Persistent Petitioners a second time.

Happily Ever After- The easiest way to win with this card is to have a three color card(like the Commander) and a two color card(like Vraska, Golgari Queen), not lose any life and put cards in the graveyard until until you meet the six types requirement. It also works as a group hug that may buy us a turn of we're struggling.

Helix Pinnacle- Do you have ten or more gates and can't get to Maze's End? Use Baldur's Gate to make Tower Counters and achieve victory in ten turns or less! However, most of the time, the best strategy is to just treat it like a mana sink and hope no one notices in the late game.

Hellkite Tyrant- It's more of an expensive control card, but we also have 22 artifacts spanning three types and ways to make treasure tokens to work our way to Victory. And if anyone puts Mycosynth Lattice or Encroaching Mycosynth on the battlefield, victory is a matter of when, not if for us if we can keep them on the battlefield.

Hidetsugu Consumes All  - Sadly, we don't have Burning Anger in this deck, so attacking will have to do. Like with Angel of Destiny, it's a matter of +1/+1 counters and Basilisk Gate's activated ability. In the meantime, with the help of Nesting Grounds the Saga itself can shut down either go wide decks or decks with stronger graveyard interaction than ours.

Jace, Wielder of Mysteries/Laboratory Maniac/Thassa's Oracle- While all three of these cards require is to drain out our library, Thassa's Oracle and Jace give us more to work with. Jace allows us to target ourselves or disrupt someone's game plan with his first ability. Thassa's Oracle allows us to get closer to our pieces. With all this and Persistent Petitioners it's possible to win with these.

Liliana's Contract- there are four creature cards with changeling so if we lose Maskwood Nexus we can still win. Even without the win condition, drawing four cards at the cost of 5 mana and 4 life and having something feed into Starfield of Nyx is a boon.

Luck Bobblehead- The only way to win with it is to attach Mechanized Production to it and hope it sticks around long enough to create six or seven copies. After that our odds of rolling seven 6's in seven rolls is 1:279,936. This card is likely to go if/when a better card comes along. In the meantime it offers ramp and a way to feed into Hellkite Tyrant and Revel in Riches.

Mayael's Aria- The easiest way to win is to activate the Dark Depths/Thespian's Stage combo. Otherwise it gradually feeds into other cards including, but not limited to, Angel of Destiny and Simic Ascendancy. As long as you control a creature with 5 or more power, it's an inevitable killer against Stax decks.

Maze's End- With 20 gate cards it is probably the easiest to win with. There's Dryad of the Ilysian Grove and Walking Atlas to play additional lands to speed up progress. The activated ability is also a low key ramp spell.

Mechanized Production- We don't have any ways to speed up well... production. However, there are fourteen mana producing artifacts in this deck to choose from. It's more than just an alternate win card, it's a ramp spell.

Mirrodin Besieged- There are 20 artifact cards, so while it will be a bit difficult, the real use for this deck is the card draw and graveyard fodder this card offers. The only way we're choosing Mirrodin is if we already have at least two artifact spells in our hand and no way to cast creatures. I really wish I could fit Encroaching Mycosynth into this deck if only for this card.

Mortal Combat- It's a weaker Mirrodin Besieged, but it offers needed redundancy regarding graveyard interaction. Plus, like all the non aura enchantments,it feeds into Starfield of Nyx.

Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God- Speed is important here. Between the Vraska card abilities and Karn's Bastion it's possible to win if the third ability can be activated before any commanders enter. It may not be mana efficient, but the first two abilities helped slow down opponents in games I have played.

Persistent Petitioners- Without Maskwood Nexus there's still six advisors in the deck to get things done. However, unless it's impossible for anyone to attack it's unlikely we're going to win with this card. But the mill will still be enough for disturbing gameplay and feeding our graveyard and deck interactions.

Phage the Untouchable- not an easy card to cast, but a neat insta-win if opponents are caught off guard.

Ramses, Assassin Lord- there are six other assassin cards and another that can create them. In the meantime, once Maskwood Nexus is on the battlefield, R,AL gives ALL your creatures +1/+1.

Revel in Riches- Between Heap Gate, Luck Bobblehead, Mechanized Production and Treasure Vault, There's plenty of ways to make treasure tokens without needing board wipes. Hey, we can even attack an opponent and steal their treasure tokens with Hellkite Tyrant!

Simic Ascendancy- This card needs twenty growth counters. We just need one creature to get a +1/+1 counter and keep it on the battlefield, then I can proliferate to victory with Karn's Bastion in ten turns or less. But even then it's activated ability allows me to put the +1/+1 counters on my creatures—several of which are just 1 or 2 power away from activating Mayael's Aria's ability.

Strixhaven Stadium- While this deck isn't exactly built for an aggro strategy, we can still win in 5 turns or less if we can avoid combat damage and use it to activate Karn's Bastion. Otherwise, it's another mana rock.

The Deck of Many Things- If we roll a 20, Vraska, Golgari Queen is our best bet to defeat an opponent. Otherwise, enjoy the graveyard recursion and card draw.

Triskaidekaphile- At some point we will be drawing more cards than what we can fit in our hand, which makes the no maximum hand size ability important to the other cards such as the Atemsis, All-Seeing and Twenty-Toed Toad. The activated ability will help us keep ahead with cards that require discard like Mirrodin Besieged.

Triskaidekaphobia- Sadly, we couldn't fit Tree of Perdition into this deck. So other than hoping to catch opponents off guard, this card's modal ability will act as a group hug.

Twenty-Toed Toad- There are 16 cards in this deck that create a variety of counters. So while we don't have to rely on +1/+1 counters to win, it would still feed into Simic Ascendancy if we find a opportunity to make an attack.

Vorpal Sword- Attach this to either Outcast Changeling or Etrata, the Silencer and the target of our attack is toast in an instant. Activating the ability is made a little easier due to the ramp in the deck.

Vraska, Golgari Queen/Vraska, Scheming Gorgon/Vraska the Unseen- All of them have control in their second ability and ways to insta kill an opponent with combat damage in their third. Vraska the Unseen's first ability makes it the most controlling of the cards. Vraska, Golgari Queen's first ability gives a little lifegain and card draw. Vraska, Scheming Gorgon gives all the creatures a little more firepower to work with.

Amulet of Quoz and Coalition Victory are banned.

There's not enough lifegain in this deck to justify the inclusion of Celestial Convergence and Test of Endurance. Technically yes, while we have Angel of Destiny, Felidar Sovereign and Happy ever after in my deck, they all have their own ways of making life.

Battle of Wits(which would require a HUGE wishboard), Hedron Alignment(which requires rule zeroing in Claire D'Loon, Joy Sculptor just to make it possible) and Central Elevator / Promising Stairs all require too many cards to make them effective.

Call the Spirit Dragons and Door to Nothingness just had the misfortune of being the odd cards out.

A lot of these cards are here for a single function. However, I wouldn't just choose most of them if they didn't have an added bonus.

Changelings- In addition to synergizing well with Ramses, Assassin Leader, Liliana's Contract and Persistent Petitioners, each of them have their own function. Changeling Outcast and Mothdust Changeling both involve evasion to win with any combination of Phage the Untouchable, Vorpal Sword and the Vraska cards. Unsettled Mariner practically gives all my permanents Ward . Universal Automoton may not have any abilities, but it's artifact status makes it useful for Hellkite Tyrant, Mechanized Production and Mirrodin Besieged. It's mana cost of also gives us an early game chump blocker.

Dryad of Ilysian Grove/Walking Atlas- not only do they contribute to creature, artifact and gate strategies, but in a deck with limited ramp, either one getting on the battlefield makes getting lands out much faster, giving us an early game mana advantage.

Maskwood Nexus- between Advisors, Assassins, Demons and Doctors, Maskwood Nexus makes several of our Alt-win cards extra playable. It's activated ability can especially feed into Gallifrey Stands and Persistent Petitioners.

Oblivion Ring/Worldfire- these two are in here only for the Barren Glory/Near-Death Experience strategy, but both of them can serve as control in a pinch.

Okaun, Eye of Chaos/Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom- while their main job is to feed Chance Encounter, both of them have important jobs. Okaun is a late game heavy beatery that can distlrupt attack plans if enough coin tosses go our way. Zndrsplt allows us to draw cards. Once they're both on the battlefield their abilities feed into each other and allow a variety alt win cards including, but not limited to, Approach of the Second Sun, Atemsis, All-Seeing, Mirrodin Besieged and Triskaidekaphile to either function or get closer to being pieced together.

Soul Foundry- If I lose Biovisionary or face off against cards like Blood Moon and Harbinger of the Seas, SF can create multiple copies of cards including, but not limited to, Hellkite Tyrant, Persistent Petitioners and even cards like Atemsis, All Seeing and Phage the Untouchable. That way, its not an immediate cause for surrender.

Starfield of Nyx- Not only does it turn our nonaura enchantments into creatures, but it moves one from the graveyard to the battlefield each turn, increasing our number of creatures for Epic Struggle. With the help of Maskwood Nexus, that graveyard recursion also will allow us to win with Gallifrey Stands, Liliana's Contract, Persistent Petitioners and possibly with Ramses, Assassin Lord.

At this stage I am kinda at a crossroads. Either keep the Barren Glory/Near-Death Experience strategy or replace it with slightly less linear strategy cards involving Call the Spirit Dragons and Door to Nothingness. If I do that I can replace Oblivion Ring and Worldfire with any combination of Burning Anger, Encroaching Mycosynth, Portal Prototype and Tree of Perdition.

So what's stopping me? Like with Gallifrey Stands, CtSD would only be slightly more useful than Mortal Combat without Maskwood Nexus. Plus, no one is going to see Barren Glory coming when most players aren't even going to consider how much synergy there actually is in this deck.

Well, that's all for this deck. Changes will be made if/when the appropriate cards come in. I won't be taking suggestions, but I'll be happy to discuss ideas and questions.

God Bless!

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