Oloro, Ageless Ascetic is op?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Nov. 25, 2014, 12:20 p.m. by Sai
Hi all
Is it just me or does Oloro, Ageless Ascetic as a commander seem like a pretty overpowered card because he can make you almost immortal? I'm probably thinking too highly of him, but what do you think?
Servo_Token says... #3
The best way to get around Oloro is just a bunch of large creatures. (S)He's not that great a commander, really only good when put into a Smokestack build. Otherwise, it just nets about 12 extra life before things start getting out of hand.
November 25, 2014 12:29 p.m.
Yeah the lifegain is irritating, but not really a game-changer. The only thing that I hate about Oloro is when people forget their triggers and then want to gain life as I'm attacking them...
November 25, 2014 12:45 p.m.
lemmingllama says... #5
He gives you extra life, but its fairly easy to deal stupid amounts of damage to compensate for that. Try running mono-green and you can quickly see how an extra 10 life really doesn't save them.
November 25, 2014 12:53 p.m.
SageOfStone says... #6
Oloro is what I'd call a "newb screwer." The life is strong in lower levels of competitive play, but it gets weaker as you get higher on the competitive scale. What's a little extra life when people are swinging for some abstract number, exiling your library, or crushing you with Infect?
November 25, 2014 1 p.m.
It depends on the deck. Oloro himself is arguably the strongest Esper goodstuff commander, since he doesn't require a specific build to work; granted, he is not the best at anything, but at least he's successful at many things. I run him in a control shell as basically two Ajani's Mantras, but regardless, he's not that strong, even in 1v1 (glares at French Commander banlist).
November 25, 2014 1:40 p.m.
You still die to 21 points of commander damage. With Orlo you can pull off some pretty sick combos. I'd say the lifegain ability is secondary to his ability to draw you cards.
November 25, 2014 1:49 p.m.
I've had my Oloro deck for 9 months, and I've only cast Oloro ONCE. It's too risky and way too likely for you to lose your method of lifegain. Using Greed, Necropotence, Rhystic Study and other forms of card draw in Esper colors are both cheaper and less risky in an Oloro deck. Trust me.
November 25, 2014 2:17 p.m.
FalkensteinAZ says... #10
Yeah, I'm not really seeing the appeal in multi-player, but banned in 1v1.
November 27, 2014 10:13 a.m.
SimicPower says... #11
In multiplayer that trigger does not happen very often, as you have to go all the way around the table just to gain 2 life, and over that time you can be attacked by each opponent. In 1v1 he is good because it triggers super frequently. Hence, he is banned.
November 27, 2014 3:13 p.m.
SageOfStone says... #12
Keep in mind that in French 1v1, there is no commander damage, and the starting life total is 30. Oloro is way more of a problem in that format than this one, especially given that pretty much every playstyle except aggro and control is punished severely. Oloro has like the best control color identity, and he wrecks aggro, except for perhaps infect.
November 27, 2014 6:05 p.m.
I run him in multiplayer, because the life gain helps keep you ahead and pay for effects that require life, and his colors are perfect for a control combo deck. Unfortunately, this is slow in casual games and gets much hate in multiplayer games, so although his effect may be strong, he's not overpowered by any means.
November 27, 2014 7:43 p.m.
NotSoLuckyLydia says... #14
In french, Oloro was busted because it made aggro decks pretty much unplayable. Esper is also the best color combination for play degenerate combo decks, and since most degenerate combo decks don't need their general, an extra ten life is a nice buffer to play with, often making your general as good as a free time walk.
In multiplayer, however, most attacking is for several hundred damage or specific effect, so Oloro doesn't do much. Even in lower levels of competition, Oloro providing two life does little against three opponents.
Epochalyptik says... #2
I don't really see how you draw that conclusion. I guess it depends on the playgroup.
Sure you gain some extra life, but it's not game breaking, and your opponents will focus you if the lifegain becomes too much of a threat.
If the second ability functioned from the command zone, we'd have a much bigger problem.
November 25, 2014 12:26 p.m.