The Song of Phyresis

Commander / EDH Mortlocke

SCORE: 532 | 199 COMMENTS | 57556 VIEWS | IN 270 FOLDERS

Changing Focus —Dec. 31, 2019

After three games of 1v1 commander with a friend the deck's flaws were brought to light - speed and consistency. Game 1 was against U/W control that I could have beaten if I didn't over extend. That game was more so a failure on the pilot. The next two games my friend switched over to his Grixis Nicol Bolas, the Ravager  ^Flip Specter Tribal deck. That deck had a heavy focus on removal and hand disruption - I could barely establish a board state both games.

I took those sound drubbings as a learning lesson (as no deck is perfect or solved) and decided that I need to try and slow games down. This deck has done super well when all opponents are infected, I have multiple proliferation triggers a turn and a means mitigating combat damage. In an effort to get to that point i'm considering the addition of Static Orb. It's effect is similar to Tangle Wire in that it slows the flow of play limiting choices for my opponents. I can mitigate the Orb's effects on mana production through the use of various artifacts like Empowered Autogenerator, Astral Cornucopia, and Storage Lands.

But what to cut? Currently, what's highest on the chopping block is Volrath, the Shapestealer. Regrettably, it feels more like a win-more than something that directly contributes to a cohesive strategy outside of infect - with the right conditions. For such an iconic character I feel the card has a lot of big limitations - namely it's lack of targets. If it could steal the form of any legendary creature then it would be vital as it would always be a 2nd copy of Atraxa. But alas, that is simply not the case. Is Static Orb the way to go? I'd appreciate it if you let me know your thoughts in the comments section below