Who wants some keyword soup?

Commander / EDH* Dazard

SCORE: 14 | 15 COMMENTS | 996 VIEWS | IN 2 FOLDERS


Changes and discussions about shaky prospects —May 13, 2022

So after the input from bushido_man96 (thanks a lot!) i have made some changes. First of all i cut some creatures that were either to expensive or didn't support my general strategies.


These cuts were:

-Tayam, Luminous Enigma - kind of a cool card, but not in this deck

-Avenging Huntbonder - there's better stuff i can do with 5 mana. Getting the double strike counters is nice, but with flickering Kathril, Aspect Warper i will get them anyway

-Grisly Salvage, Satyr Wayfinder i want quality not quantity in my graveyard, so this is just to random and there are better options

-Minion Reflector i totally overlooked the legendary rule, so this one had to be cut

-Cataclysmic Gearhulk I always had my issues with this card, and after adding (and relying) more on artifacts and enchantments this one became obsolete

-Angel of Finality moved to the sideboard. When Graveyard hate is needed, i'll put her in


Cards i added:

-Bassara Tower Archer for that juicy hexproof keyword (and i get reach on top of it)

-Leyline Prowler mana dork with 2 keywords

-Enduring Angel  Flip Not only is this card bonkers on its own, but i also had the urge to give myself some protection from graveyard hate

-Oriq Loremage being able to tutor creatures in my graveyard is always great

-Oketra the True indestructible and double strike? I take it!

-Kodama's Reach to add some ramp. There are better options, but i like to keep this kind of budget and these were the cards i already had in my collection

-Ancient Craving for card draw. Just like Kodama's reach this is the one i just happen to have already, even tho there are far better options out there


Shaky prospects: There are still some cards i am not sure about so i wrote down the pros and cons of it. Please feel free to let me know what you think about my assessments here:

-Solemn Recruit looks a bit mediocre on first sight, but i guess once the flicker engine is online, this one will get some nice amount of +1/+1 counters

-Titanoth Rex Ye big ol' trampler. I'll probably never cast it from my hand but with some reanimation this could be a beneficial creature. And the discard and getting a trample counter option is also nice. But it's also a bit mediocre and expensive

-Splinterfright and Nyx Weaver before i made any adjustments to this deck these two were my main mill engines, but with all the new creatures i have now that let me tutor creatures into my gy i feel like these are becoming obsolete. But after they have done so much for me i kinda feel bad about putting them on the substitute bench now

-Cairn Wanderer do i really need this guy?

-Majestic Myriarch i love this card, but isn't this one better in some sort of wheenie deck?

-Acidic Slime 5 mana for a 2/2? meh...but it's also a removal. Something this deck is a bit lacking

-Selective Adaptation seems nice and useful but 6 mana is also pricy which could have been invested better.

Oh...and the mana curve needs to be fixed a little but this will be the next step, once all the spells are locked in

So there you have it...my thoughts and adjustments about this deck so far. Please let me know what you think!

bushido_man96 says... #1

Oriq Loremage is a tutor you should consider. Very good here, and very budget. Skirge Familiar is a good creature for dumping creatures into your graveyard and ramping for it.

It does appear that you could use some more card draw. I'd cut Selective Adaptation for something like Rishkar's Expertise. Minion Reflector seems ok, but I don't think it's what you want to do here. But, if it's an effect you'd like more of, Dual Nature might fit the bill.

May 9, 2022 11:33 p.m.

Dazard says... #2

@ bushido_man96 Thanks a lot for your comment (and upvote). I'm always happy about some advices and guidance :)

Oriq Loremage is already locked in.

I mainly want to use Minion Reflector to be able to distribute twice as much counters with Kathril, Aspect Warper to either my other creatures or Kathril itself. So while the original Kathril has to hold back with attacking (summoning sickness), the token (copy) of it can already swing in for some heavy commander damage due to the haste ability. To me this sounds like a good plan, or am i missing something here?

Carddraw-wise i feel the same - there should be more in it. But isn't Rishkar's Expertise a bit situational? What if i just got boardwiped? And if i have the "big guys" out already i am probably fine anyways even with a thin hand. Or is this just me, being an unexperienced mtg player thinking stupid stuff like this? Maybe just add "simpler" card draws like Night's Whisper etc.?

May 11, 2022 5:02 a.m.

bushido_man96 says... #3

Here's the issue with Minion Reflector as you explain it: the "Legend Rule." So, you're going to cast Kathril, and then pay an additional to make a token copy of it. Problem is, since it's the same legendary creature, then you have to sacrifice one of them. If you sac the original Kathril so you can attack with the hasty one, then you not only up the Command tax for the next cast of Kathril, you also lose the token copy because you have to sacrifice it at the end of turn. If you sac the token copy, then you still didn't get to attack with it, spoiling the haste portion of it. It would probably be much better suited in a deck that is focusing on lots of creatures with ETB or LTB abilities. In here, I don't think it's going to do as much as you'd like.

You could probably replace it with one of those draw spells. Spells like Night's Whisper are good, reliable spells, and I think I run it my Kathril deck. But don't discount Rishkar's Expertise. It will do more than you think it will, for sure. Players are going to likely key on Kathril once it hits the board, and you don't want to run out of gas, so keeping the grip full is important. Return of the Wildspeaker is another good option. When Kathril comes down, he's probably looking at coming down with more than 5 power. Drawing 5 cards can be game-changing, especially in the late game when you are looking for answers.

As a general rule, I try to run at least 10 sources of ramp and 10 sources of card draw in my decks. If there is card draw on the Commander, I may cut that number down some, but not much. Kathril has a pretty high CMC, so ramping into him is important, so running a few more than 10 ramp spells might be a good idea.

Hope this helps!

May 11, 2022 10:43 p.m.