Optimal Discard Spells for Damia, Sage of Stone?
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Oct. 31, 2017, 7:07 p.m. by theindigoeffect
Since Damia, Sage of Stone has built-in card advantage, I wanted to avoid slotting in card draw for myself and focus on creating card disadvantage for my opponents.
Basically, my deck will be divided into five parts: lands, ramp, card disadvantage, disruption/removal, and synergistic win-cons (mill, mass recursion, etc.)
I already have a variety of different discard cards in my possession, but since this isn't a hellbent deck, and I don't want to dedicate a large percentage of my deck to recursion, I'm thinking that cards like Necrogen Mists and Words of Waste would be better suited to the task than cards like Mindslicer. I know that Damia, Sage of Stone will replenish my hand, but I don't want to lose a much-needed card.
What do you guys think? Is discard even a viable strategy with Damia, Sage of Stone? I personally don't care for Nath of the Gilt-Leaf.
I run Amnesia in my Kami of the Crescent Moon deck. I usually wait for the final opponent to cast it. Especially fun after an End of turn Cyclonic Rift.
October 31, 2017 8:07 p.m.
theindigoeffect says... #4
My play group allows those kinds of tactics: all my other decks win via combat damage, and my play group also uses degenerate decks.
Mainly, it's extremely difficult to find a viable commander to build a discard deck around. This is embarrassing to admit, but I have been trying to build an EDH discard deck for three years, only to give up and build a totally different deck. The general's access to Sultai colors, give me ramp, disruption, and the general has a built-in card advantage engine. Plus, I can use my opponents' massive graveyards to cast Rise of the Dark Realms or Keening Stone for the KO.
I have no problem finding other cards like Painful Quandary and Oppression to slot in my deck: given the amount of ramp that I would have access to, it would't be difficult to play cards like Wit's End or Myojin of Night's Reach.
The question is whether it can be a viable deck or not. My only real metric for success is that cards like Edric, Spymaster of Trest and Animar, Soul of Elements perform really well, considering their inherent abilities i.e. card draw and ramp, not to mention their access to powerful colors. By that standard, and considering Damia, Sage of Stone's somewhat respectable ranking on the tier list, I think I can make this deck work, but I really wanted to get a second opinion before I sink a bunch of cash into some overpriced duals.
October 31, 2017 8:07 p.m.
theindigoeffect says... #5
That is pretty sweet, maxon: typically, the control player has better survivability anyway. I was considering using that commander as well, given its inherent ability to draw cards and its access to blue.
I've actually got a copy of Amnesia I'd love to play, considering the deck's ramp.
October 31, 2017 8:13 p.m.
SteelSentry says... #6
I've always been a fan of Bottomless Pit. Discarding at random is always fun
October 31, 2017 8:19 p.m.
theindigoeffect says... #7
Yeah, people hate the card. lol
Could you guys recommend any single-card win-cons for this kind of deck?
The best that I've seen so far are Exsanguinate (ramp helps), Keening Stone, Rise of the Dark Realms, Increasing Confusion, Consuming Aberration, Zombie Infestation, Bloodchief Ascension, Expropriate Psychosis Crawler and Army of the Damned.
Tunnel Vision also seemed solid, but it's not a single-card win-con.
There are some other cards that function basically the same as the ones above, but their cmc is higher, so I didn't list them.
October 31, 2017 8:50 p.m.
Tunnel Vision can win if you pair it with Hinder/Spell Crumple
I'd include some cards like Megrim, Waste Not and Liliana's Caress if you're running heavy discard
October 31, 2017 9:30 p.m.
If you wanted a win condition you could always go with Laboratory Maniac or Necrotic Ooze. Since most mass discard effects will be global, you will easily be able to pitch your win conditon and bring it back with Dread Return.
Also, don't forget to run Geth's Grimoire. I have also been a fan of Lore Broker combined with stuff like Liliana's Caress.
November 1, 2017 12:47 a.m. Edited.
Tyrant-Thanatos says... #10
Liliana's Caress, Megrim, and Waste Not all churn out extra value from all your discard effects. Combined with any strong enough and/or recurring enough discard they can win games. I'd also suggest Jace's Archivist. Mindslicer may be worth considering as well.
November 1, 2017 3:34 p.m.
ArchangelAlchemist says... #11
Words of Waste combos well with Damia as well as Geth's Grimoire. Words of Wind can reset things or demolish your opponents when combined with the many discard effects you already run.
Pieguy396 says... #2
I suppose discard is a viable strategy with Damia, although I would be sure to ask your playgroup ahead of time if it's OK that you play heavy discard. It's generally considered one of the most annoying archetypes to play against, along with archetypes like Stax.
Assuming your group is fine with it (or you decide to ignore them lol), I agree with Necrogen Mists and Words of Waste, although I'm not sure what else I would add.
October 31, 2017 7:28 p.m.