Are there any old cards that maybe we should be using?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on March 14, 2021, 9:42 p.m. by griffstick
please read all before you comment
I put my selvala deck here on edhrec to see what my most unique cards are in it. And I found that March of Souls wasn't being used in most decks. It was the most unique card in my deck. But why? It's a token deck so March of Souls is perfect for it. I wipe the board clear of creatures and the problems that they come with, and replace mine with possibly better ones with March of Souls . The deck also uses board wipes to it's advantage. With cards like Fresh Meat , and other cards making March of Souls perfect. Futher more most token decks use token doublers. Or enhancers like Divine Visitation . So this makes March of Souls even better. If you guys think that's cool check out the deck here.
So what's some other older cards that maybe have been forgotten about. Ones in certain decks that need to see more play, in the right type of build. I want you guys to name some cards, and share your decks that you use them in, and explain why it's underused in these kinds of builds. And tell me why they are perfect. Or if its not perfect. Then tell me why they are good.
Btw Spontaneous Generation and Helm of Possession were also just as unique and both perfect here
griffstick says... #3
FormOverFunction I'm really impressed with Homarid Spawning Bed that card is like Aura Mutation and I love that card.
March 14, 2021 11:51 p.m.
I've found a few cool underused cards that are secretly really cool.
I've got a Kykar deck (Kaw-kaw for Kykar) that has some key enchantments and artifacts that I might need to recur so I found Argivian Find which is just a really efficient and effective recursion spell if you care about artifacts or enchantments. Its also in only 904 decks and is under $2.
Another great card if you are in an aristocrats or a reanimator deck is Dawn of the Dead . You really want to have a sac outlet on board so you don't end up exiling your creature, but that isn't too hard to achieve in the right deck. I suppose this could also work well in a Obeka, Brute Chronologist deck too. Its a bit more expensive at just under $4 but it's in only 738 decks. I run it in my Teysa deck (Estate Tax Increase).
And another great card if you like sacrificing creatures or if you just have a lot of tokens and want to keep one creature alive is Fanatical Devotion . It's a bit more common then the other two cards with 2534 decks but its also still under $2. I use it as a sac outlet in my Teysa deck to keep her alive and I also use it in my Alela deck (Faerie Trucking) to keep the faeries churning.
March 14, 2021 11:58 p.m.
seshiro_of_the_orochi says... #5
So have you heard of this new colour "green"? It might actually become somewhat powerful in the near Future. I think Perish might be pretty useful here ;)
March 15, 2021 12:20 a.m.
seshiro_of_the_orochi says... #6
Sorry for the double post, I forgot something:
Are cards like Bone Harvest a thing in Syr Konrad, the Grim ? If not, they should definitely be. There aren't many cheaper ways of selectively taking all or most of your creatures out of the graveyard. And these are great with Gray Merchant of Asphodel and Bolas's Citadel , as well. Just fill your grave, control Bolas's Citadel , cast Bone Harvest / Footbottom Feast / Gravepurge / Forever Young , put all creatures from your graveyard on top of your library with Gary being the last one, then cast all of them and get a massive Gary trigger.
March 15, 2021 12:40 a.m.
IKILLEVERYONE says... #7
Some old cards i use Silence and Darkness . I found Overeager Apprentice works great with Valki, God of Lies Flip. Just for starters.
March 15, 2021 2:28 a.m.
plakjekaas says... #8
The combination of Burgeoning and Ghost Town with any landfall on board is great.
Seeds of Innocence is a great green alternative to Vandalblast that I've never seen anyone else consider, even though it's cheaper than Creeping Corrosion in mana. I'm using it in my cEDH Marwyn, the Nurturer deck, to blow up a lot of opposing fast mana very early. Getting rid of someone's Mana Vault , Sol Ring , Chrome Mox and Mox Diamond on turn 2 is amazing, and your opponent only gains 2 life for that.
In the same vein, Meltdown is an amazing card if your deck is light on artifacts itself.
My Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire deck is all about ramping out the commander fast, give it haste and have fun with the transformation trigger. Orcish Lumberjack and Tinder Wall are very overlooked and efficient mana dorks to help complete that goal.
March 15, 2021 4:50 a.m.
CaptainToll says... #9
Cadaverous Bloom has never let me down in Tasigur. Combine it with Well of Knowledge or Idle Thoughts to draw your whole deck or use it to fuel massive x-spells.
March 15, 2021 5:45 a.m.
reading this makes me so happy
yes there are tons of older cards you should be using!
that's because statistics based on how many people put a card in there deck can never determent how well a card will perform in your deck
March 15, 2021 7:58 a.m.
griffstick says... #11
I love statistics though.
I'm picking up copies of all these cards now lol especially these
I just want to mention Gaea's Touch , this card is criminally underplayed.
March 15, 2021 11:06 a.m. Edited.
FormOverFunction says... #12
Again, forgive me if I’m just totally out of the loop in the high-powered plays, but are people using Infernal Tribute ? Because that’s pretty bomb as well. I also used to keep a Feldon's Cane handy in a lot of decks. And one last thing, even though I haven’t figured out exactly how to break this, the idea of suddenly turning someone else’s creature into an artifact with Ashnod's Transmogrant has been an itch in the back of my mind for a while now.
March 15, 2021 11:38 a.m.
I love statistics too
but there only beneficial if that data applies to the criteria.
March 15, 2021 12:35 p.m.
@FormOverFunction
Ashnod's Transmogrant
is fantastic in mono red, gruul or simlular decks were artifact removal is abundant but creature remove is conditional
its not every day that you can
Artifact Mutation
someones commander :)
March 15, 2021 2:12 p.m.
p.s.
Mycosynth Lattice
,
Sunder Shaman
with a well timed
Temur Battle Rage
can remove up to 3 creatures
thats alot of fun too
March 15, 2021 2:50 p.m.
casualwizard123 says... #16
bribery is is good in just about any blue deck that has space
March 15, 2021 4:09 p.m.
March of Souls also gives your opponents tokens that can then just block yours. that's why it's not used.
March 15, 2021 10:23 p.m.
plakjekaas says... #19
Heliod, God of Tanning
Commander / EDH
SCORE: 1 | 51 VIEWS
This deck uses Meekstone , Crackdown and Marble Titan in combination with Authority of the Consuls , Blind Obedience and Thalia, Heretic Cathar -like effects to neutralise most creatures, keeping them tapped down if they have power 3 or greater. This works especially well with Heliod, God of the Sun , because he gives your team vigilance, making sure your creatures are still able to attack.
March 16, 2021 1:14 a.m.
griffstick says... #21
I did a very similar thing in my old dragon deck (I took that deck apart) where I used Urabrask the Hidden to tap down my opponents creatures and Mudslide to keep them tapped down. Since all my creatures had flying they could swing unaffected by Mudslide
March 16, 2021 10:51 a.m.
Both are great!
I went with
Onslaught
&
Smoke
also
Null Brooch
&
Ensnaring Bridge
in my goblins deck
lol even one card draw per turn was enough to bypass the bridge
March 16, 2021 11:02 a.m.
griffstick says... #23
Erza420 I see your point but I'm the token deck I likely destroyed creatures my opponent controlled that were much more scary than ones I have. They could have say for instance a Beast Whisperer , a Eternal Witness , a God-Eternal Rhonas , and a Voracious Hydra . And I have 10 1/1 soldier tokens, a Selvala, Explorer Returned and a 0/1 eldrazi token. I cast March of Souls and basically replace all those creatures with 1/1 flyers. Now that player has downgraded to 5 1/1 flyers and I have not downgraded and stayed then same with 12 1/1 flyers. But I'm a token deck I prepared for the wipe. So I have casted Cathars' Crusade prior to it. Or I casted Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite the next turn. Or I had Doubling Season out before casting March of Souls . Or I cast Beastmaster Ascension befor I attack with them. This is why it's perfect Erza420 and that's why more people should be playing it in the right token deck and build.
March 16, 2021 11:09 a.m.
griffstick says... #24
March 16, 2021 11:12 a.m.
@ griffstick i took a look at your deck and i completely love it
I cant express how much respect i have for you choosing synergy over tutors
Im posting here becouse my sugestions seem more fitting in this thread
Multani's Presence
,
Safewright Quest
,
Shapers' Sanctuary
, &
Song of the Worldsoul
Are all forgotten goodies that might serve a purpose in your deck
March 16, 2021 11:45 a.m.
Portcullis is a brilliant commander card whose praises I will always sing
March 16, 2021 12:45 p.m.
CaptainToll says... #27
I have no deck for Blood Funnel yet, but therein lies some degenerate jank, I can feel it so badly. Some combination with "can't be countered" or on cast pay-offs like Birgi, God of Storytelling Flip/ Sai, Master Thopterist .
March 16, 2021 12:49 p.m.
Multani's Presence & Blood Funnel seems like they could be friends
March 16, 2021 1:26 p.m.
CaptainToll says... #29
I smell a sweet janky Golgari Enchantress Eggs Brew :D
March 16, 2021 2:15 p.m.
You’d still be better off with Phyrexian Rebirth as a board wipe
March 16, 2021 5:35 p.m.
griffstick says... #31
That's in the deck too. It works great with Fresh Meat . 10 mana to pull it off though. However March of Souls feeds into a token strategy better than Phyrexian Rebirth with the right set up it yields better results nearly every time. These results will vary based on the decks I'm up against and the situation the board state presents. But from my experience since both are in the deck. March of Souls has won me the game and Phyrexian Rebirth has not.
March 16, 2021 5:48 p.m.
The “with the right setup” is the problem. You’re banking on drawing specific cards that are only 1 in 99, and hoping the opponent doesn’t run interaction. By themselves, Phyrexian Rebirth beats March of Souls .
March 16, 2021 9:16 p.m.
griffstick says... #33
I like that there is at least one person who disagrees I enjoy the banter. My point is laid out for you and I will not go through it again. The ceiling for march of souls is higher than the other.
March 16, 2021 10:10 p.m.
DevoMelvminster says... #34
Raging River may be one of my favorite magic cards, hands down. It also does serious work in an aggro deck. I run it in my Grenzo, Havoc Raiser deck to very good effect.
March 17, 2021 1:30 a.m.
plakjekaas says... #36
A creature that is goaded, must attack if able, and it must attack a different player than who goaded it if able.
Disrupt Decorum is not an old card, but it has brought me great fun ^^
March 17, 2021 9:55 a.m.
I can't say i agree with the comment "By themselves, Phyrexian Rebirth beats March of Souls"
If both cards were played by themselfs they would both wiff so the lowest cmc would win
Both cards are board state dependent there for there value can only be determined by the board state at the time of casting
since we don't know what the opponents boardstate will be you can only determine both cards value off of the board your going to create and probabilities of opponents responces
The deck in question specializes in creating a large number of weenies
The deck does have some populate mechanics but it is more likely to Anthem
So based on what im seeing in the deck
Phyrexian Rebirth
had a potential to create (2-4) 12/12 - 14/14 tokens that may benefit from a +5/+5 anthem with in 2-4 turns
While
March of Souls
in the same circumstances would create (10-20) 10/10 - 20/20 tokens that will benefit from a +5/+5 anthem with in 1 turn all this for 1 mana cheeper
As for opponent responses
Both cards could be countered so that factor is void in comparison
however your opponent is much more likely to have single target removal then a board wipe
I think its very clear that in this deck
March of Souls
would be the better choice
March 17, 2021 10:57 a.m.
P.s. as for banking on 1 in 99 that simply is not true
The two cards in question is 1 in 99
The rest is banking on what the deck is designed to do
March 17, 2021 11:03 a.m.
DevoMelvminster says... #39
I agree Ramble, especially since Phyrexian Rebirth makes an artifact creature so the options to remove it are even more abundant. My son and I play magic together, and he has cast this SO many times... I don’t think he’s ever gotten to swing with the token created.
March 17, 2021 11:14 a.m.
griffstick says... #40
Wow thank you RambIe for doing what I was to lazy to do. Those stats are awesome and you know I love statistics.
March 17, 2021 11:44 a.m.
plakjekaas says... #41
Phyrexian Rebirth is like, the greatest followup to March of Souls anyway, I'm not really sure what we're arguing about, you already admitted to playing both :P
March 17, 2021 12:30 p.m.
Becouse the forums would probably die if everyone didnt debate everything.
P.s. aurging is when you get emotional trying to prove your right
Were debating, thats when you stay calm becouse you already know your right others just dont realize it yet
March 17, 2021 12:48 p.m.
griffstick says... #43
I think if we were to continue there is also Martial Coup (that's in the deck too)
March 17, 2021 1:34 p.m. Edited.
Nerdytimesorwhatever says... #44
Reverent Silence feels like it belongs here.
March 17, 2021 1:37 p.m.
DevoMelvminster says... #45
I always forget about Martial Coup that probably take the cake over the other 2. In a token focused deck, even just X=5 is gonna give a very strong board while wiping everyone else. This makes me want to fully commit to making my selesnya token deck...
March 17, 2021 1:50 p.m.
Short version
March of Souls
>
Martial Coup
>
Phyrexian Rebirth
but redundancy = consistancy so all 3 is the correct awnser
2 more redundancies for a total of 5 would be best awnser
March 17, 2021 2:15 p.m.
P.s. 5 becouse it its 75% chance at 26 card draws which this deck averages between turns 10-11 which is a fantastic time to wipe out the board while also having enough mana to cast
March 17, 2021 2:22 p.m.
griffstick says... #48
There are 5 creature based board wipes in the deck an 4 of them make tokens. The 4th one is Ezuri's Predation . That card had a very interesting interaction with token doubling. The extra tokens created do not fight.
Anyways enough about that.
Reverent Silence is awesome. The fact that it can be free is soo cool I'm surprised I've never seen it in action or I've never seen it in my searching. What else do you guys got? Oh and DuTogira I've been raving about Portcullis to alot of my friends with super friends decks. That card is so good.
March 17, 2021 11:10 p.m.
Ramble: "by themselves" does not mean "no creatures on board". in almost any given boardstate, Phyrexian Rebirth outperforms March of Souls if the conditions are the same.
March 18, 2021 1:12 p.m.
Ramble: and yes the "banking on 1 in 99" is absolutely true. its a singleton format. you can only have 1 copy of any given card.
FormOverFunction says... #2
I’m sort of surprised Heat Stroke isn’t used more. I know it’s too slow for red burn, but I would assume token decks would get value from it (my goblin deck certainly does). Artificer's Hex is an all-time favorite of mine for my haunted house deck. Equipment cards bug me almost as much as planeswalkers so I love messing with them. It’s strong because it doesn’t outright destroy it, so GY recursion doesn’t save it. It’s weak (but more fair) because the player can still choose to use it if it’s worth the creature dying, which makes the play more engaging. Similar to equipment, other artifacts are so core to Standard EDH Decks(tm) that something like Corrosion can jack up a 4-player game big time. Clearly, I get a great deal of enjoyment out of dragging other players back to 1996 by destroying their insane swords and 1/3 flying first strike 1cmc creatures (or whatever). Giant Oyster is far from flashy, but killing things (even fliers!) with -1 toughness is strong, and especially brutal if they have to watch it happen over five non-untapping turns. (Note: sorry if you’ve looked at my decks before, I’m obviously just scrolling through them at this point) Walking Sponge can sometimes make wild swings in momentum in multiplayer. Hilarious. Homarid Spawning Bed produces so many tokens that I’m certain that if I was better at making functional decks I could misuse that in some sort of sac-outlet jank. How do you get giant creatures into play that are worth sacrificing? Glad you asked! Iceberg is such a crazy amount of ramp for blue I’m astonished that it’s not more popular. My guess would be that it’s practically impossible to find, because blue always wants blue mana rather than colorless and because cool new blue stuff is basically free anyways ;p but I've loved it ever since I found a (one!) copy of it for my Briny Deep deck. Breaking Wave might be something The Cool Kids are still using (sadly I wouldn’t know) but if it isn’t it absolutely should be as it can be bonkers. Paralyze was a lot of fun to use on your own creature that wouldn’t otherwise untap in your untap phase. I hope that still works nowadays. Transmutation had always been fun, and I hope it’s still useful. If you enjoy making deals cast a Callous Oppressor and start the bidding high! Do you like hurling insults down at the two strangers fighting in the ring? Get yourself a Whipkeeper and turn it up to eleven! This is way too long a post, so I’ll stop and see what else comes up in the posts. I’m looking forward to hearing about other people’s favorites!!
March 14, 2021 11:22 p.m.