Xenagos, beatdown & draw (Commander / EDH MTG Deck)

Xenagos, beatdown & draw

Commander / EDH Ramp RG (Gruul)

Igjarvi

Land (36)

Enchantment (9)

Creature (21)

Instant (13)

Commander (1)

Sorcery (16)

Artifact (3)

Planeswalker (1)

1x Garruk, Primal Hunter

Sideboard

Creature (83)

Sorcery (29)

Enchantment (17)

Land (10)

Instant (26)

Artifact (25)

Planeswalker (1)

1x Domri, Anarch of Bolas

Maybeboard

Creature (25)

Instant (6)

Artifact (18)

Land (9)

Enchantment (12)

Sorcery (11)

The deck is largely a copy of https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/xenagos-god-of-beatdown/ It was not intended to be close to a copy; I looked and compared that list and others, e.g. https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/xenagos-god-of-revels-and-obscene-power-1/ When I read about peoples experiences, and considered each and every card I would include, I often drew the same conclusions as the author of the first deck mentioned, and thus the lists became very similar.

Compared to many other lists, I've chosen to avoid having to use many support cards that boost beaters or give them avoidance. This is partly because it often requires extra mana in order to use the creature at full potential on the turn it is played, but also to avoid losing too many cards too fast. This makes the deck faster and also avoids potential 2-for-1 from opponents. However, it also means that a lot of really big creatures aren't valid (e.g. Ignition Team, Realm Seekers), which is also true for creatures that get big over time, since they have very low impact the turn they enter and as late draws (e.g. Managorder Hydra). Malignus is an exception since it is quite cheap at 5m and can thus reliably be played the turn after Xenagos (often turn five but sometime turn four), it almost always threatens lethal in one attack, and has great synergy with cards that give draws or mana based on power. In order to lower the mana curve and more reliably get a threat into play the turn after Xenagos, creatures costing 7+ mana are also avoided, unless they give significant value. Taking all this into consideration, it leaves a smaller number of high-impact creatures, and so tutoring and card draw is important.

Of cards that can double the damage dealt, by double strike, 2x dmg, 2x power, dmg to player=power, or an extra combat phase, the extra combat step option is the best overall. With Xenagos out you get another doubling of power (for 50% more damage than other doubling effects), and all but Seize the Day benefit from having multiple creatures. Without the second Xenagos trigger, you need the creature to be 10+ power in order to kill in one attack, which in many cases requires boosting it, or to use creatures without avoidance/protection (like Realm Seekers or Ignition Team). The combined cost of casting + boosting to 10 power is 6-8m, so it doesn’t get cheaper unless you focus on passive boosts (but the cost can be divided over two turns). Boosting and causing double strike uses up more cards and can be responded to with removal, and such 2- or 3-for-1 against you can be a huge tempo loss for a deck like this. Enchantments giving double strike or 2x damage also have 2-3 devotion (the exception being Blood Mist), and turning Xenagos into a creature means it is more vulnerable to non-destroy removal. Still, there are some decent options, like Berserk (mainly for its low cost and extra utility as removal), Temur Battle Rage (low cost, and it gives trample), Blood Mist, and Strionic Resonator. I don't use any of them currently, but they are good options. Effects like Soul's Fire and Gravitic Punch probably also work, since they can be played after attacking and thus more unlikely to face removal.

With Xenagos in play, the best option by quite a margin is Godo + Embercleave, which can do 48 dmg in one turn without any other support. Malignus is another good option if an opponent is open for attack, and the main way this deck can deal with opponents that have a lot of life-gain (the other is to try and inflict commander damage). Other cards with the potential to kill in one attack are the infect creatures Phyrexian Hydra, Phyrexian Juggernaught, and Putrefax. However, Putrefax is a one-off that is too low power for its avoidance to do anything without boosting, Hydra lacks avoidance and becomes too small if blocked by a creature with 3+ power, and Juggernaut both lacks avoidance and would be stopped by blockers even if it had it. Scourge and Atarka (World Render) can do considerable damage, lethal if boosted, and Pathbreaker Ibex boosts others by a big amount while being sizeable itself. Beyond those, any with 7+ attack can do around 40dmg when adding an extra combat phase (due to a second Xenagos trigger), and lower power works if they also do some direct damage or get a boost on attack (like Pathbreaker Ibex). 10+ power work with Xenagos + another doubler (e.g. Blood Mist, Embercleave), and a number of creatures can get that big without other boosting: Voracious Hydra, Rampaging Brontodon, Ignition Team, Realm Seekers etc (Copperhoof Vorrak and Scourge of Geier Reach can reach this, but are generally too unreliable). As said though, I've choosen not to use much boosting effects apart from additional combat phases. The rest of the creatures are chosen for utility (e.g. Hellkite Tyrant, Scavenging Ooze) or give mana on attack/damage, the latter of which is very good in order to utilize the draw-spells.

The most prevalent combos for Xenagos are multiple combat steps, using Aggravated Assault or Hellkite Charger together with something that gives mana on attack or player damage. It's a valid approach, but since the creatures get big enough for lethal with just one or two extra phases, then with good attack prioritization there are options that are better than those two cards when no mana-giver is present. I might switch to using them, but for now I will try without. The deck has some finite combo plays, such as attacking with a mana generator, draw cards based on power, and potentially have enough mana to play additional creatures and get extra combat phases, resulting in a very explosive turn. Another is Inkmoth Nexus + Kessig Wolf Run / Vines of Vastwood, which with two land tutors can happen somewhat frequently. Chandra's Ignition is a card that can often kill multiple players, either when used on something big or on a boosted Inkmoth.

Tooth and Nail is excluded since 9m is hard to reach, and you can get a good beater for 6-7. If I decide to run a two-creature combo then it could be worth it.

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Date added	4 years
Last updated	4 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	16 - 25 Mythic Rares 47 - 110 Rares 18 - 39 Uncommons 9 - 17 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.72
Tokens	5/5 U Token Creature Dragon Spirit, Beast 3/3 G, Beast 4/4 G, Clue, Copy Clone, Eldrazi Spawn 0/1 C, Food, Heart-Piercer Manticore 4/3 W, Honored Hydra 6/6 W, Lizard 8/8 R, Phyrexian Germ 0/0 B, Servo 1/1 C, Spirit 1/1 W, Monarch Emblem, Treasure, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Deathtouch, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Lifelink, Wurm 5/5 G w/ Trample, Wurm 6/6 G
Folders	C. Friends' decks, Outdated versions
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Based on	Xenagos, God of Turn 3 Malignus SwoollyLoxodon EDH
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