Could I use Vela the Night-Clad as my Commander, or does she cost too much?
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Dec. 19, 2015, 8:14 p.m. by Argy
I am building my first EDH deck and want to use Vela the Night-Clad as my General.
I am worried that she might be too expensive to recast.
What do you think?
Personally I haven't played much EDH, but I am instantly curious as to what direction you would take the deck? Would you be flickering creatures, or would it be more angled towards sacrificing creatures?
Sorry that I have no actual advice, I'm just curious
December 19, 2015 8:19 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #4
I would agree that she's too costly. I typically don't run any commander over five unless it infinite combos to win the game right then and there.
December 19, 2015 8:20 p.m.
It depends entirely on how tuned your 99 is and how competitive and streamlined your group tends to be. You can make Vela the Night-Clad work in anything that isn't high-level play as long as you're willing to work with your list and fork over some money.
I think I could put together a relatively decent list for... maybe $200?
December 19, 2015 8:27 p.m. Edited.
Miist sacrificing and using my graveyard as my library was the idea.
How about Wydwen, the Biting Gale?
I like the idea that I can Flash her and also return her to hand so that she can be recast for her original cost.
December 19, 2015 8:43 p.m. Edited.
Wydwen, the Biting Gale is probably Dimir's best pure control general. She's largely underrated. I'm also a sucker for faeries, so there's that.
December 19, 2015 9:05 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #8
Wydwen, the Biting Gale doesn't do anything is my problem with your suggestion of her. Vela the Night-Clad could work but it isn't going to be the most powerful deck ever.
December 19, 2015 9:07 p.m.
Wydwen is nice a 3/3 flying body for 4. Has built-in protection if you leave mana up. Although if you're wanting to mill yourself or use your gy as your library then I would suggest Phenax, God of Deception. Lazav, Dimir Mastermind is another U/B general who can utilize creatures hitting the yard. Aaaaand hexproof, doesn't get much better than that. Though I would err on the side of caution if you go this route. Gy hate is cheap and can be as simple as dropping Bojuka Bog.
December 19, 2015 9:08 p.m.
I'm not married to the idea of utilising my graveyard.
I would like a lot of Control primarily.
I was looking at Lazav, Dimir Mastermind. He looks interesting, although I'm sure board wipes could get around his Hexproof. I do like his other ability, though.
December 19, 2015 9:14 p.m.
Sygg, River Cutthroat is looking more and more like the obvious answer.
December 19, 2015 9:15 p.m.
I'm telling you, my good man. Wydwen, the Biting Gale, get yourself some swords, a jitte, a suite of utility/draw/control, and some efficient backup threats. Done deal. You've got yourself a deck.
December 19, 2015 9:18 p.m.
Not everyone using this site is male.
I may or may not be.
I take the point above that she doesn't actually do much for me as a Commander.
December 19, 2015 9:22 p.m.
If you like Vela then you can build a deck around her, you just need to put a bit more focus on protection and mana ramp artifacts like Thran Dynamo. Six mana is on the expensive side but it can be workable, especially if you are playing group games with a less competitive crowd. She can also work as the kill card for the Palinchron+Deadeye Navigator combo, just like Oona, Queen of the Fae (the general go-to UB commander in the 6 mana slot). I've seen Oona played often enough that I wouldn't be that biased against a 6 mana commander.
December 19, 2015 9:30 p.m.
Yeah I was aware that Oona gets played.
I have a lot of ways to protect Vela and I REALLY want to use her.
I've only played with my group once and they seemed pretty laid back.
I'm OK with ramping through artefacts as I want to play Stormtide Leviathan. Sol Ring is legal I believe.
Thanks for the options you've given me.
TheDevicer the meme is funny!
Neutral language is the way to go. It shows that Magic is an inclusive pastime.
December 19, 2015 9:48 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #17
Shit posting aside, the point of a control deck in commander,imo is for the general to be strictly a win condition not some elaborate thing to be abused like other decks (unless we're talking about going infinite as a win con). In that spirit, the fae has my vote though honestly this strategy in general is far more suited for 1v1 play anyways. If you're looking for something for group play while remaining a control deck, you're likely to need either a general that draws you bunches of cards or provides insane utility. With that in mind, i suggest oona or phenax.
December 19, 2015 9:51 p.m.
What about if I'm planning to use reanimator mechanics?
That's what I'm now leaning towards with Exploit Creatures.
December 19, 2015 9:55 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #19
Then you're looking in the wrong colors. You'd be better off running orzhov or golgari for that
December 19, 2015 9:58 p.m.
Reanimator is do-able in UB. I run a Grimgrin, Corpse-Born commander deck that makes good use of reanimator effects. BG or BW decks tend to be a little better at those sorts of strategies though.
December 19, 2015 10:03 p.m.
Deckologist says... #21
Vela can be built and is pretty underrated. I built her but I also spent a pretty penny on her to get her to do what I wanted. Essentially it was turn 1 or 2 cast vela with counter back up. Tutor for right of replication and twin cast. Cast it kicked in vela and twin cast it. Win game by turn 4 pretty consistently. But there's no other real option for her if you want competitive. If you're just goofing around build her ninja tribal because why not?
December 20, 2015 1:37 a.m.
logansullivan says... #22
vela loves ninjas I made a deck myself and it was a whole heap of fun
December 20, 2015 2:03 a.m.
You can use Vela as your general. You should build the list to get extra value out of her rather than building the list around her though. She's too expensive to be an absolute necessity. Don't expect the deck to be super high-tiered competitive, but you can have fun with it. Blood Artist + Rite of Replication + Vela the Night-Clad is pretty funny.
If you want a reanimator deck, Meren of Clan Nel Toth is very good in a casual group. Karador, Ghost Chieftain is better for more competitive, but also more expensive. I personally play Ghave, Guru of Spores.
December 20, 2015 3:35 a.m. Edited.
Big problem is I have an intense hatred of the colour Green.
Not the mechanics of it, the colour itself.
While I have a couple of decks with it in, I don't want my first EDH deck to include it.
You know if I stuck Zulaport Cutthroat in as well as Blood Artist ... that might be a thing.
December 20, 2015 6:40 a.m. Edited.
Gidgetimer says... #25
Green is strong in commander because degenerate mana ramp. Having said that the commander ban list is closest to legacy and UB reanimator is best reanimator in legacy. The problem is with the increased deck size, color restriction, singleton restriction, and banning of Griselbrand it is a bit harder to get as strong of a deck out of the colors. If I were you I'd try Esper Reanimator if you want Reanimator. It gives access to other less popular reanimation spells like Breath of Life, Defy Death, and Miraculous Recovery. White also gives you access to Karmic Guide, Reveillark, and Mirror Entity.
December 20, 2015 7:21 a.m.
If your looking for ideas. I run an oona deck that used to use vela instead. She was a fine commander and would help me win often, the only problem was my meta loves its fliers oona, the unblockableVela loves deadeye,ninjas and creatures that are naturally unlockable anyway... LikeBlighted Agent as well as the cards that halve lives life Scytheclaw and Quietus SpikeMost important part of picking your commander is to find one you have fun with.... Good luck with Ur deck
December 20, 2015 10:34 a.m.
Interesting comment above as I have a love of using Unblockable Creatures in my Standard decks.
Something to think about.
December 20, 2015 1:39 p.m.
I think you are going to run into having the issue of trying to figure out a way to win the game. Dimir is great for control but you have to have win conditions in there. Usually you are either going to have to mill or thrive off of the graveyards, dimir beat-down doesnt work to often. I just recently made a Dimir deck with Dragonlord Silumgar as my commander. If you are interested here it is Dragonlord Silumgar's Controlling Magic
December 20, 2015 3:26 p.m.
Dimir does have some decent beat-down options. The first that comes to mind is Grave Titan, which works great with Vela's abilities and can produce infinite tokens if you have the Palinchron+Deadeye Navigator engine going. Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni is another good option that loves the evasion that Vela gives. Scion of Darkness is like Ink-eyes but can cycle itself into the graveyard early if you have a reanimation spell in hand.
Vela strikes me as more of a combo commander though, capitalizing on Cloudstone Curio shenanigans or producing a bunch of tokens that can be sacrificed to drain a bunch of her opponents' life.
December 20, 2015 4:42 p.m.
Too expensive, if you factor in the 2 more each time you play it...
December 21, 2015 9:55 a.m.
I currently built a deck around her and I really enjoy the idea of making her work mainly with Ninjutsu/Ninja Creature types.
nerotree says... #2
She is too expensive and there are better legends in that colour combo.
December 19, 2015 8:17 p.m.