Xantcha, Woke Agent
Commander / EDH*
SCORE: 102 | 45 COMMENTS | 16880 VIEWS | IN 40 FOLDERS
Command Zone Deck Tech Ideas and Playtest Results —Aug. 15, 2018
Hello all! I just recently watched the episode of the Command Zone (Link to the video here if you want to see their take on it!) where they covered Xantcha, Sleeper Agent and they listed a couple spicy cards that I thought I'd want to share here for likely future additions.The two that stood out to me most were Heartstone and Mana Geyser.
- I theorycrafted a Lyzolda, the Blood Witch deck a long time ago and it was basically a Heartstone deck that just-so-happened to have Lyzolda, the Blood Witch as the commander. It was the key card of that deck and I had it in mind when building this deck, but wasn't sure if it would be impactful enough. Until I watched this episode of the Command Zone I never realized that this effect was symmetrical. The fact that this effect is symmetrical pushed it over the edge of playability in my book. I want to incentivize people to use Xantcha's ability as often as possible and this card does wonders for that. I think it deserves a slot in this deck, but I'm still playtesting to see if there are any cards in my deck I would cut for it.
- I have no idea how Mana Geyser slipped my mind when making this deck. It's a complete ALL STAR in my Zada, Hedron Grinder and my Mizzix of the Izmagnus deck. Even if I don't use the mana for Xantcha's ability, getting a net gain of ~10 or more mana for one turn is too strong to exclude; especially for a deck that wants to be as explosive as this one.
For anyone wanting to know how my playtesting is going, the section below is for you! Here are the overperformers and underperformers:
Eidolon of the Great Revel, Pyrostatic Pillar, and Kaervek the Merciless are really not performing up to expectations.
- Both Eidolon of the Great Revel and Pyrostatic Pillar were cards I had high expectations for, but ended up hurting me more than my opponents. Because we're playing a relatively low-to-the-ground deck, it's loaded with a lot of 2 and 3 CMC cards. It wasn't an unusual experience to lose 4 - 6 life a turn due to these cards while my opponents only lost 0 - 4. It was incredibly punishing against my Karametra, God of Harvests deck because it relies on cheap enchantments to cycle for card draw; but a slight inconvenience for every other deck. Your mileage may vary, I think these cards are meta calls.
- Kaervek the Merciless is a pet card of mine. I really love the effect, but the mana cost is so expensive, it doesn't win you the game when you play it, and it doesn't have any built-in protection. It's just a lightning rod for removal. So far I've drawn it about 3 times, was only able to cast it once, and the next spell cast was the one used to remove it. In the right deck (one with enough protection for it) it can put in some serious work; unfortunately I'm thinking that this is not the right deck for it.
On the other side of the coin, Manabarbs, Sulfuric Vortex, and Dictate of the Twin Gods have been putting in work.
- Excluding the no-brainers like Necropotence, Demonic Tutor, and Insurrection, the cards I listed above have been phenomenal in helping me close out games. Sulfuric Vortex helps keep the pressure on while ensuring no one gains any life back while Manabarbs does a surprising amount of damage over the course of a game. That being said, I really feel like Dictate of the Twin Gods (and Furnace of Rath to a lesser extent) is the real MVP of this deck. Someone could shrug off losing 5 life from Manabarbs and Spellshock for tapping 3 lands to cast a spell; but can they shrug off 10 damage? Taking 4 damage everytime Xantcha is activated under their control? Taking 10 commander damage from a Xantcha attack? It adds up quickly.
Other minor considerations for potential additions in the future:
Varchild, Betrayer of Kjeldor, Sorin Markov, Chaos Warp, Thaumatic Compass Flip, Reforge the Soul, Wheel of Fate, Curse of Opulence