Any ideas for Xantcha Politics?

Commander Deck Help forum

Posted on Jan. 3, 2019, 10:27 a.m. by BMHKain



Throughout my history of making Decklists, They all have either this quality, or it won't make it:

"You lose all friends on the Table."

Not today though...

I currently have 14 cards over, & this deck seems to have quite some Political Potential. Currently, I dunno what 14 to cut, but the potential is real; though it's sad that still can't evade the nightmare of the Competitive Meter (Why am I comparing it to the Holy Grail of Fate/ Lore?) not being even ~60% Competitive... I know it means nothing... Yet. But I'd like some suggestions for cuts anyway. Plus, Bedevil > Dreadbore anyway. (Puts on Sunglasses, & fails to light a Zippo Lighter; Yamaki Mitsuo-style (Dunno who he is? Ask around, as he is from a great anime you MAY have watched as a kid even. ;) He's a Villain, but also helps the heroes out at one point in a way.).

That said, what adds/cuts would you recommend? I actually used several sources as inspiration; & I give such credit to the makers of those decks (Why do I even do it? It's seems as bad as net decking..X/).

The rest is up to you; What would you add/cut? Maybe something from RNA?

Snap157 says... #2

if you do Xantcha, know that she DOES NOT work with Mogis, God of Slaughter, because the person controlling her can just sacrifice her. I would go for political strategy, using things like Varchild, Betrayer of Kjeldor, Disrupt Decorum, Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs, No Mercy/Dread, Maddening Imp/Nettling Imp, Victory Chimes, Rite of the Raging Storm

Add in wipes like Blasphemous Act, Damnation, Fire Covenant, Last One Standing, and Decree of Pain

With Xantcha is you get infinite mana you can kill someone with her ability, so I would add in Basalt Monolith with Rings of Brighthearth, and she also comboes well with Neheb, the Eternal and Heartstone.

Hope this helps!

January 3, 2019 1:52 p.m.

BMHKain says... #3

@Snap157: Irony: I start started this; & I, at least now know Mogis is crap here. Thanks though; you literally saved my dilemma on how this deck works. :)

January 3, 2019 2:11 p.m.

zjepsen says... #4

I've played Xantcha quite a bit. The experience doesn't always work out as intended, specifically that everyone will be activating her draw ability and working together to kill the one problem player.

More often than not, I was the only one activating her draw ability. And then with the forced attacks: players were more keen to spread the damage around long enough until someone got a lethal blocker in play, then worked together to make the trade.

Don't get me wrong - it was still a lot of fun. I ended up slanting the deck more to keep Xantcha around through combat, to buff her and eventually have her kill other players through commander damage.

But I don't really call this politics (I ascribe to more of the Rachmiel/precociousapprentice definition of politics). Forcing players to do something -- in this instance, Xantcha is literally required to attack each turn -- is different than presenting opponents with a reasonable situation and trusting them to act reasonably in their best interest; e.g., if I have an open Maze of Ith, an opponent is more likely to attack someone else, otherwise they waste a combat step, generally speaking. Yes, I know, you can run Maze of Ith in Xantcha, and I recommend it.

On the plus side, Xantcha's activated abilities were always a nice path to victory if you were able to survive to the 1v1 portion of a multiplayer matchup.

If you're curious about a good take on multiplayer politics, I'd honestly recommend reading through this primer.

January 3, 2019 3:03 p.m.

BMHKain says... #5

Alright...



I had to look up some outside sources for this, & they got quite some ideas for this. I'm currently ~13 over, so the only thing I need to do currently is find some cuts; no additional stuff. I've also decided to give Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer a different path, as well as make some alts for my existing decks. I wonder if any have ideas for cuts as a result... For now, I got some things to do for now...

January 4, 2019 12:54 p.m.

BMHKain says... #6

Updated the OP. Now what are your ideas for suggestions/cuts for Xantcha, Sleeper Agent? Also, Any Color Combinations that didn't have something it had until some point in MTG History? (Xantcha, Sleeper Agent for Rakdos (Politics) for instance.)

January 5, 2019 10:14 a.m.

BMHKain says... #7

BUMPOMANIAX!

After reaching 100 cards for Xantcha, Sleeper Agent, I ask you, what improvements would you make for a deck like this? Just wondering as there might be better ideas I didn't think of. As usual, the Deck is in the OP, so you can suggest there, but you must also suggest a cut as well. Any ideas?

January 7, 2019 10:03 a.m.

zjepsen says... #8

No suggestions for adds, but the following are relatively easy cuts, in my opinion:

Feldon of the Third Path

Grand Melee

Grenzo, Havoc Raiser

Phyrexian Revoker

Sidisi, Undead Vizier

Soul Conduit

Stunning Reversal

Vengeful Pharaoh

January 7, 2019 11:08 a.m.

BMHKain says... #9

@zjepsen: Well, there goes swapping life totals; though Stunning Reversal is also out, so it's not that bad... Since this is a deck that is meant for opponents wanting to target me the least. I wonder what to cut for though, & if I can get a (Censored because I'm the only one who cares about the Competitive Meter, & that Rakdos is failing on such a regard...)... Any ideas?

January 7, 2019 11:51 a.m.

BMHKain says... #10

BUMPABUMPA!

W/ some cuts mentioned, I really need to fill that Void to get to the needed 100. Any suggestions?

January 8, 2019 10:33 a.m.

DrkNinja says... #11

lol Kain I'm actually building this right now.

January 8, 2019 5:53 p.m.

BMHKain says... #12

@DrkNinja: (I'll have to see what I can truly contribute to your decks unlike last time...) Currently, I have 8 cards under, & I wonder what kind of Void to fill for 8 others. I'm literally wondering what 8 cards could be suggested to get to the needed 100. Since you are working on your own deck at the same time DrkNinja, I might want at most 8 suggestions for this (Sad that Soul Conduit + Stunning Reversal was rejected; It can turn a game to an opponent's disadvantage, Master of Cruelties Style.). Any suggestions? Maybe I could find something else as well, but for now, I sense my Creatureless Superfriends Deck is in grave danger...

...(& since Gruul Clans seems to be my favorite Guild currently, I actually have plans to change my Grand Warlord Radha deck to a Ruric Thar, the Unbowed one, Might as well find as many creatures as possible for the deck w/o any use of Instants, Sorceries, basically anything not a Creature or Land. NO EXCEPTIONS, & NO REFUGE.)

January 9, 2019 10:58 a.m.

DrkNinja says... #13

Well honestly I used Jonathan Suarez's (Commander VS.) decklist as a base to get general ideas and a feel for how a Xantcha deck plays out. Here's the list if you'd like to see it...

January 9, 2019 11:21 a.m.

BMHKain says... #14

Huh... Not much help for me, sadly... I wonder what 8 cards I would add for something Political, & something that make me the one targeted the least against the free will of my enemies... I wonder if there are any suggestions in mind... I'll have to look farther...

January 9, 2019 12:09 p.m.

Caerwyn says... #15

It is really difficult to give advice for table politics without more information about the other decks you are playing against and the people who pilot them. Table politics is all about knowing your enemy, and trying to push them into a certain course of action.

If you have a lot of aggressive decks in your meta, consider cards like Curse of Opulence, that reward both you and an opponent for attacking other players.

One other politic consideration that is more gameplay related than deckbuilding related: If any of your opponents generate infinite mana, you this is the player you should encourage others to take out first. After all, they can use their infinite mana to kill whichever player controls Xantcha, causing Xantcha to return to your control, allowing them to use their mana to kill you as well. You have some artifact removal, so that will help, but

Also, personal pet peeve, I am generally against players trying to make political statements with deck names/descriptions on TappedOut. This is not a great medium for insightful political commentary, and there is not a receptive audience predisposed to enjoying political discourse. Frankly, had this thread/deck been made by someone whose name I did not recognize, I probably would have made a conscious effort to ignore it. /rant.

January 9, 2019 12:33 p.m.

BMHKain says... #16

@cdkime: Huh. Another reason to reset all my decks when I'm fully satisfied. Thanks for the Rant. Shame I dunno what else in some way to describe such a thing like a deck (I usually give such names to have some thematic concept in mind (My Muldothra deck's name states it's "Re-Dead", a part of nature, & is an impurity all at once.); but I guess I'll layoff the Political bull from there; & thus, no Jeskai Decks as a result...

That said, I dun want to ush you too far off, but I do, need 7 more suggestions currently. You can ignore this part since I seemed to have pushed you all too much, & I do apologize for this. Though if one doesn't mind, maybe they could help? I'll just stop typing from here. >-<

January 9, 2019 12:54 p.m.

Caerwyn says... #17

For naming a political deck, you can always base it on history or popular culture, rather than current events.

To your actual question, check out some of the other aura - curse cards - there might be some you find worth using.

Darkness is a pretty decent black political card, since you can save an opponent (or yourself) in exchange for a future favour.

Deadly Designs is a fun little card that allows players to work together to remove threats.

Land's Edge is another card that enables your opponents, and comparatively makes you worth keeping alive.

Cards with Will of the Council and Assist might also be worth looking into.

January 9, 2019 6:36 p.m.

BMHKain says... #18

@cdkime: Got them in. Thanks! BTW, what are your thoughts on Capital Punishment? Should it really be added, or what Assist Keyword stuff would you recommend instead? I can't seem to find much of any of note for ... I'll work on other things until then... For now, I have some Creatures to seek out for my Ruric Thar All Creature Deck...

January 10, 2019 1:06 p.m.

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