Reyhan and Ishai's Counterattack

Commander / EDH KibaAlpha

SCORE: 138 | 130 COMMENTS | 14606 VIEWS | IN 57 FOLDERS


austintayshus says... #1

Nice deck! I would check into some of the simic graft creatures from the very first Ravnica block. Cytoplast Manipulator and Plaxcaster Frogling and Cytoplast Root-Kin are some of my favorites.

February 16, 2019 10:19 p.m.

Moosh528491 says... #2

Atraxa is sweet. Might I suggest Oracle's Vault ? You only have to put one brick counter on it, then ignore it for a couple of turns. Come back later and you can pop a free Enter the Infinite . I know it's super janky, but in Atraxa it becomes slightly better.

February 16, 2019 11:08 p.m.

KibaAlpha says... #3

austintayshus

Thank you for your comment. I will absolutely look at the Simic Graft creatures. I wasn't familar with "Graft" until I looked at your recommended cards. Pretty sweet.

It does appear to fit in to the +1/+1 counters build. Thank you for the card suggestions.

February 17, 2019 8:19 p.m.

KibaAlpha says... #4

Moosh528491

Thank you for your comment. I don't mind a little jank in a deck. It wouldn't be the first time jank found it's way in to my playgroup. lol. Just not from me as of yet.

Cheating mana costs I'm all for and support. Thank you for the card suggestion.

February 17, 2019 8:25 p.m.

Last_Laugh says... #5

Have you considered Reyhan, Last of the Abzan and Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker as your commanders? Proliferate is great for loyalty counters and other counters that are harder to get. +1+1 counters on the other hand Atraxa is a bit slow for.

Feel free to check out my list for ideas. Different commanders, but either way it's the same color combination and same point to the deck. Feedback, Upvotes, and/or Ideas on any of my decklists is appreciated. Atraxa-less Atraxa (Reyhan/Ishai +1+1 counters)

February 17, 2019 8:36 p.m.
February 17, 2019 9:44 p.m.

KibaAlpha says... #7

Last_Laugh

Thank you for your comment. I have not considered swapping, Atraxa for Reyhan, Last of the Abzan and Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker . I did at one point have Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker in the deck but the card was under performing.

While it did grow quickly as my playground consists of typically 4-8 of us it also quickly became a target and more often than enough was taken out before I could utilize it.

February 18, 2019 2:27 p.m.

KibaAlpha says... #8

SilentClockwork

Thank you for your comment. Demonic Tutor is out of place in this deck as this is about card draw and Counterspell within my playgroup is countered 8 out of 10 times it's cast.

Overwhelming Denial and Last Word are better choices just for the fact they themselves can't be countered.

They are more expensive but at least they will resolve and that is important. I feel with Counterspell I'm wasting a spell and mana for something that 90% of the time will get countered.

February 18, 2019 2:36 p.m.

cvillpunk says... #9

February 18, 2019 5:24 p.m.

hejtmane says... #10

You are missing one of the best flash counter cards for your deck Selfless Squire and my two favorite proliferate cards in my Atraxa deck are Inexorable Tide and Contagion Engine . I have literally dropped Inexorable Tide and the next turn proliferated 5 times before my commander proliferated at the end of the turn.

February 18, 2019 5:29 p.m.

KibaAlpha says... #11

cvillpunk

Thank you for your comment. All suggested cards are good cards and ones I had in the initial build of this deck excluding Viral Drake . However with the change over of my commander from Atraxa, Praetors' Voice to Reyhan, Last of the Abzan and Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker I felt the need to pull them in favour of better choices.

With that said though I've currently swapped back in Inexorable Tide .

February 20, 2019 10:54 p.m.

KibaAlpha says... #12

hejtmane

Thank you for your comment. Selfless Squire a good card but not something that would really benefit my deck. My playground is anywhere from 4-8 of us and no one in the majority of our games swings with a swarm of creatures where Selfless Squire would truly shine. I see the benefit of her and I'm on the fence atm but I'll add her to the "Maybe" category should I change my mind.

February 20, 2019 11:01 p.m.

Last_Laugh says... #13

I see you made the switch. Just play the deck almost as if Reyhan were your only commander. Only play Ishai extremely early, after a boardwipe, or when you don't have anything else to play.

Oh, and have fun with Reyhan moving counters with Corpsejack Menace out. Add Jarad to this mix throwing dudes while counters keep getting doubled and that's a lot of damage.

February 20, 2019 11:20 p.m.

Last_Laugh says... #14

Also, reading through your comments... up to 8 players!?! Damn. I'd make room for more 'protect your board' kinda stuff like Inspiring Call (this one 100% needs a spot), Ready / Willing , Rootborn Defenses , and if you either own or can afford one, Teferi's Protection .

Also, Selfless Squire is good but Spike Weaver is better as it's more easily abused here and it's reusable. Also more expensive, much older, and thus harder to find locally though.

February 20, 2019 11:32 p.m.

Last_Laugh says... #15

Err, not Rootborn Defenses... that's the token one, my bad. Unbreakable Formation though.

February 20, 2019 11:38 p.m.

AkaAkuma says... #16

You my friend has taken the good choice on picking up Reyhan and Ishai as generals! They have been my favorites for years. However, I think you can add some more spice to your brew.

Now i could shamelessly paste my own decklist here, which comes with its primer on the generals, but instead I'm going to write down I think matters to your playstyle.

One core aspect of Reyhan you seem lacking are sacrifice outlets. Jarad is great and all, but Yahenni, Undying Partisan and Greater Good are also outstanding on their roles to protect counters and grab your win-cons. In the end, Reyhan's core strength is to shift power from one to another creature (mid combat)!

I also wouldn't rely to much on creatures that ones a turn give a counter (or at least add Winding Constrictor and Hardened Scales ). There also are allot more creatures like Forgotten Ancient I think do more to the deck than Loyal Guardian . This guardian just like Juniper Order Ranger want to be in a Selesnya or Trostani deck, not here unless you add more weenies.

Also cards like Bioshift and Fate Transfer feel like cold additions to this deck. Reyhan does not interact with moved counters, but he does interact with "semi-death experience" cards like Gift of Immortality or Together Forever . Look and add those!

Have fun brewing and playing! These two are certainly worth your time!

February 21, 2019 3:11 p.m.

Cool build, neighbor!

How about an Incubation Druid - she loves counters, and you don't have to pay her adapt cost w/ the +1 counter support your deck is running.

February 21, 2019 7:49 p.m.

KibaAlpha says... #18

Last_Laugh

Had Inspiring Call in back when Atraxa, Praetors' Voice was my commander and it was situational at best for me.

Teferi's Protection again situational for me. No doubt it's a good card for protection.

During my early build of this deck I found I worked to hard on having an overabundance of protection taking away from me having any hope of defeating my friends.

February 21, 2019 11:23 p.m.

KibaAlpha says... #19

AkaAkuma

Thank you for your comment. I owe Last_Laugh all credit for suggesting switching from Atraxa, Preator's Voice to Reyhan, Last of the Abzan and Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker as my commanders.

I removed a lot of the weaker +1/+1 cards. Began looking more at the "Graft" mechanic suggested by austintayshus. Great call.

Together Forever is a great suggestion. Thank you.

February 21, 2019 11:32 p.m.

KibaAlpha says... #20

VesuvanDoppelbanger

Thank you, neighbor. I had Incubation Druid initially but in the end it became either Incubation Druid or Bloom Tender . I may remove Boreal Druid for Incubation Druid but I haven't settled on that decision yet.

Deck is getting to the point of quick swaps aren't as easy as they once were.

February 21, 2019 11:42 p.m.

Last_Laugh says... #21

Is it too many boardwipes that you see that make the protection cards not-so-good? Understandable with 7 opponents... that'd drive me bonkers. Those games must grind on and get political as help. Or is it actually few if any boardwipes?

If it's too many, you may be better served by the reusability of Cauldron of Souls . If it's few if any boardwipes, I'm jealous.

February 21, 2019 11:51 p.m.

KibaAlpha says... #22

austintayshus Moosh528491 Last_Laugh SilentClockwork cvillpunk hejtmane AkaAkuma VesuvanDoppelbanger

Thank you for every idea, suggestion, piece of feedback and upvote. It's all welcomed and appreciated. With all of your help this deck is progressing to a state I'm very happy with. Again thank you to each of you.

February 21, 2019 11:53 p.m.

KibaAlpha says... #23

Last_Laugh

It’s few board wipes. We are more of “oh that’s a problem” targeted removal.

The games can sometimes still drag on but with so many players and it being free for all there is a lot of “what does that card do” and “can I see that card”.

Also with this many people things get spread around a lot.

Rarely does any one person get targeted at the start.

February 22, 2019 4:02 p.m.

AkaAkuma says... #24

I've been thinking. With all the graft, is Enduring Scalelord not a good addition? I used to do some clone and infinite counters shenanigans until I decided to not play infinites no more.

Also any thoughts on Ordeal of Nylea ? Every Reyhan should run this.

Lastly I'm just gonna mention that I'm missing allot of fatties. Think of Realm Seekers , Prime Speaker Zegana , Selfless Squire nearly always hits my board with lethal power or perhaps Endless One . Or even Increasing Savagery .

February 22, 2019 5:01 p.m.

KibaAlpha says... #25

AkaAkuma

Enduring Scalelord was in the deck to start with but over time it just became one of the cards to be cut. I'm not a fan of infinite combos myself. They are also rare in my playgroup. There are a couple people who have a deck that has one or more infinite combos but they play those decks to just mix things up on occasion.

I have few basic lands to fetch with Ordeal of Nylea This deck is also more about draw than search or fetch.

February 24, 2019 9:30 p.m.

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