Elenda Deck Help
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Nov. 24, 2021, 7:15 p.m. by LivingThing
In the middle of building Elenda, the Dusk Rose (see the decklist on my page), and I’m having trouble getting a good ratio of sac outlets to sac fodder I can use to start the engine. The deck feels a bit creature heavy and it feels a bit clunky at times as well, which is an issue I need help solving. Suggestions are very welcome
Xenaphix02 says... #3
Esper Sintenel and Mentor of the meek aren't the best draw pieces when you have access to Black's card draw. Night's Whisper and Cemetery Reaper have a lot more to do with your strategy, though I might not run whisper either. I'd also look into more combo-y ways to win so you don't have to rely on swarms of tokens that usually take a long time to build up. But then, you might need more tutors and that's a really contentious discussion. Diabolic Intent is the most aristocrats themed tutor. Butcher of Malakir might synergize with your vampire sub-theme, but even still, it is a needlessly overpriced pay-off for what you're doing. Consider Grave Pact or Dictate of Erebos for cheaper effects, it definitely isn't too greedy to run both either. Secure the Wastes might be a bit better than Bitterblossom since you don't have to wait. Vito is generally a powerful effect that fits your vampire tribe, but you should consider cutting him to hone in on your aristocrats theme. In general you might also want to consider getting down to 34-32 lands, and adding something like Phyrexian Altar which also has a number of infinite combos.
November 24, 2021 8 p.m.
LivingThing says... #4
enpc forum said I couldn’t link decks
Xenaphix02 Thanks a lot for the input, I can’t afford Phyrexian Altar but I’ll be sure to consider your other suggestions. I like bitterblossom only because it gives bodies every turn consistently on that can be played really early, and gives recurring value
I’m not really looking for this deck to anywhere above PL 5/6, so I’ll probably be sticking with tokens and blood artists effects for my wincon. I like esper sentinel/mentor because you can sacrifice them whenever you don’t need them to fuel the engine (although mentor is pretty high costed, so I might take him out). Thanks for the input about Butcher; I was mostly putting him in for flavor reasons - I don’t think he’s particularly efficient. Thanks again for the input my dude :)
November 24, 2021 8:07 p.m. Edited.
She's an awesome commander, no doubt :) I'm a huge fan of Elenda in flavor, in design, and in game too. Even now when we have vampires in wedding dresses and things, Elenda is still the most classy one around. There are a few things I can think of that might help with the deck. Not sure how amazing they are, but here's some ideas:
Blade of the Bloodchief is almost made for Elenda and can just be a good play just to have it on board with it's super low cost.
gravepact I mean, it's grave pact, and it's the best at being grave pact.
Nether Traitor and other creatures that you can recur over and over are pretty great. Just scooping it back to power the sac engine can be well worth it. Bloodghast is good too, and I think there are a few zombies with similar effects. I mostly run traitor because the price tag on a lot of this type of card is kinda up there.
Deadly Dispute is such an awesome card. It is going to do everything you want and then some.
Hero of Bladehold can be a great way to make creatures. She works best with some kind of evasion, but just getting two free bodies per turn can be very good.
Seraph of the Scales can take out the best flying threat on the board and give you two spirits on the other end.
Dire Fleet Poisoner is a card I really love, and I get that it doesn't always work and it requires adding pirates, but when it works, it's excellent. Flash in deathtouch on their blocker and then get a deathtouching blocker of your own can really make a big swing. Changelings or Dire Fleet Hoarder work so well with the poisoner.
Lingering Souls Soul Warden and Soul's Attendant are good cards from modern soul sisters that can work in commander. One mana for warden to gain you maybe 10 life and also give you a body is great. And if they really have to use removal on your one mana creature, that's almost better.
Vampire of the Dire Moon anything with deathtouch works well with Elenda and if you give dire moon something like the blade of the bloodchief to make her an attacking threat, it will start pinging small creatures left and right.
Karn's Bastion might be a good utility land to put extra counters on walkers and Elenda. Manlands might also be good to give you creatures if you get flooded. Mutavault Inkmoth Nexus Mishra's Factory pretty much anything that can give you mana early and be a creature to sac late game is useful.
Trading Post is one of my favorite sac outlets. It will give you creatures or sacs as you need. Also, it pairs with Unwinding Clock if you have enough tap artifacts to make it worth it.
Pyre of Heroes can be amazing if the deck has enough CmC and same types to make it work. When it does though, sacs plus tutors is solid.
Lolth, Spider Queen when she's good in a sac deck, she's really good, but when she's not, it's hard to justify her in the deck. May not be great, but I have had times where she was just the best card.
That's all I can think of right now, but I'm sure there's a lot of ways to go with this one. You've got a great looking deck, these are just the things that came to mind. You might also find that it plays better to remove some staples for things that go along with the theme. Like, Esper Sentinel is really great, but you might actually get more value in a game out of Soul Warden And, when I play Elenda I always try to give her evasion somehow or use Sanguine Bond to make her lifelink into damage. Sometimes she can get really big and not actually do a ton, I feel like.
Hope you have fun tuning up the deck :) I'd be interested to check in and see how it goes. Looks like a fun one.
November 24, 2021 8:24 p.m.
Harbinger69: That's just for the Commander Forum - you're free to post links in the deck help section, though I can see the confusion.
November 24, 2021 8:38 p.m.
Uggh, I forgot Orzhov Enforcer as a deathoching blocker who can take something out, die in the process, and then give you a spirit back.
November 25, 2021 7:47 a.m.
Xenaphix02 says... #8
Really sorry for this, the suggestion I was trying to make is Midnight Reaper, not the zombie that got suggested. otherwise, I am glad to have your thanks.
November 25, 2021 10:05 a.m.
LivingThing says... #9
@xenaphix Haha yeah, I figured as much. Thanks again for the suggestions dude
Niko9 Thanks for the suggestions! The afterlife cards are super interesting, and I’m probably gonna try out seraph. Dire fleet hoarder seems fun, but I don’t think I’ll end up running it, since it takes a lot of setup and really only performs well conditionally. I don’t really have a good lifegain payoff aside from Vito, so I prefer getting cards off esper sentinel. Pyre of Heroes is super interesting though, and I’ll be sure to test that one out
November 25, 2021 3:25 p.m.
All makes total sense :) Hope it turns into a fun deck for you. Some decks definitely take a lot more playing around with than others to get it all to work. Pyre can be really good, and I play it some, but I always find I have to look over the deck a number of times to make sure it works. Because it's same type and exactly 1+ CmC, it's very much based on the creatures that you've got. But if it works, then awesome!
And yep, seraph is always great. I just love versatility and she gives you a ton to play with.
enpc says... #2
Is That Garlic?
Commander / EDH* Harbinger69
SCORE: 1 | 24 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER
Generally a good rule of thumb is to link the deck rather than saying "it's on my deck page" - remember you're asking people for help, you should make it easier for them to help you.
November 24, 2021 7:44 p.m.