8x8 Xantcha
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Aug. 5, 2018, 12:52 p.m. by scotchtapedsleeves
I'm making an 8x8 theory Xantcha, Sleeper Agent deck, and I'd like some help with the categories.
If you've read any 8x8 articles or seen any decks of the type, you know what I'm talking about. If not, here's an article written by the creator of the deckbuilding strategy!
Anyway, I wasn't sure how to proceed with my Xantcha, Sleeper Agent deck, and I wanted to ask all of y'all in the community what you think!
So far my 8 categories are:
- Spot Removal
- Ramp
- Draw
- Politics
- Memes
- Preventing me from dying from Xantcha (when the controller dies)
- Pillowfort
- Extreme Ramp/big things
This is currently a sort of pillowfort type strategy, which I'm not sure if red is the best for. I was thinking maybe doing something like This deck (from pokepower116) and focus on a more direct damage approach?
Anyway, comment your thoughts down below! Or if you've made a Xantcha deck, link it and give me your thoughts!
DrukenReaps says... #3
I don't know much about 8x8 so I'll take a look through that article but I did want to mention that I think Words of War and Words of Waste would be rather nice if you went infinite mana or just a lot of mana so you don't draw yourself out and you end up hurting your opponents even more when you activate her.
August 5, 2018 1:31 p.m.
pokepower116 says... #5
Hey! Thanks for the mention :)
Love the idea! In terms of pure win percentage, my deck definitely isn't the right way to go about things and I feel that a more defensive pillowfort strategy like you mentioned would net you much more wins.
While red/black aren't the best pillowfort colors in the traditional sense, they have a few cards that slow or disincentivize attackers; not to mention there are a few land and artifact cards that help too. No Mercy, Dread, Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs, Maze of Ith, Mystifying Maze, Spires of Orazca (flipped from Thaumatic Compass Flip), Uphill Battle, Glacial Crevasses, Vow of Malice, Vow of Lightning, and Crawlspace just to name a few. Since most of the pillowfort cards are in white, another route could be playing a card like Queen Marchesa and running Xantcha in the 99.
I think the 8x8 theory is solid for most of these categories! I feel that the player controlling Xantcha dying is a rare enough occurrence (she'll probably get destroyed or another player could get taken out before them) that you might not need a full 8 slots dedicated to sacrificing her. If this does happen, you could always use your single-target removal on her and run a bit more of it. It's not ideal, but might save you from situations where you have a Viscera Seer or Ashnod's Altar and nothing to sacrifice with it.
Same goes with the politics and memes. Depending on your definition of memes, they could have a lot of overlap there too so you might not need to dedicate 16 slots in your deck to both of those (like Curse of Opulence, Sower of Discord, or Disrupt Decorum).
Overall I think you're on the right track and I can't wait to see what you end up with!
August 5, 2018 1:42 p.m.
scotchtapedsleeves says... #6
pokepower116 Thanks for the tips! I'll change a few things around!
August 5, 2018 1:50 p.m.
shaftdiggity says... #7
Shizo, Death's Storehouse & Dauthi Embrace to give him pseudo evasion, Captive Flame & Ghitu War Cry to pump opponents, Marchesa's Decree & Hissing Miasma for pillowfort.
August 5, 2018 8:27 p.m.
scotchtapedsleeves says... #8
shaftdiggity, I think that Xantcha, Sleeper Agent would love those additions! Dauthi Embrace seems perfect for her since it would also be able to be used with other copies of her I can give away!
August 5, 2018 8:49 p.m.
LittleBlueHero says... #9
I know nothing of 8x8 but wanted to pop in and say that from what I have read Xantcha doesn't come back to you if its controller dies, it would go to your yard/command zone.
The reason for this is that she never enters the battlefield under your control, since control was not switched it is not switched back upon the controllers death. Rather its placed in its owners graveyard (or sent to the command zone if you wish).
Unless a ruling has come out stating otherwise you can come up with a different category :)
August 6, 2018 7:25 p.m.
scotchtapedsleeves says... #10
LittleBlueHero I actually asked this in the rule questions, and Xantcha, Sleeper Agent has really specific wording. It's not a "This card enters the battlefield under opponents control," her ability is technically "This card enters the battlefield under your control then an opponent takes control of it."
This leaves the problem of infinite mana from opponents easily killing both you and the opponent who has control! That's why I left a section to protect me from that
August 6, 2018 9:01 p.m.
LittleBlueHero says... #11
Ahh bummer, yeah I hadn't seen the official ruling yet.
There is a rule that would seem to contradict the ruling but since wizard has declared her ETB a replacement effect it becomes its own monster.
That really is too bad since infinite mana is kinda everywhere nowadays. So yes I can see the need to answers to it in your 8x8 :)
scotchtapedsleeves says... #2
So far I'm thinking about changing the extreme ramp category to direct damage and something else to combat doublers?
August 5, 2018 1:31 p.m.