Paradox and Iona: In Memoriam

Commander (EDH) forum

Posted on July 8, 2019, 9:33 p.m. by Free_Iona

Please share your greatest stories / plays involving both cards ( Paradox Engine and Iona, Shield of Emeria ) in EDH as we say goodbye to both from the format for the foreseeable future. #rip

I was ONCE able to get Iona out on turn 5 because of P Engine...that was cool...

July 8, 2019 10 p.m.

DrukenReaps says... #3

I laughed manically when my opponent played Iona against my mono-black deck but I already had my combo sitting on board.

July 8, 2019 10:18 p.m.

Rzepkanut says... #4

My Selvala, Explorer Returned deck ran both cards, so its a particularly sad day for her. She was so fond of going off with Paradox Engine and dropping an early Iona, Shield of Emeria . Totally a bummer they are gone. I truly don't think they were OP in that deck, they were just good cards for the strategy.

July 8, 2019 10:21 p.m.

_Delta_ says... #5

My favorite time was using my Sliver Overlord deck, I got my commander out on turn 4 and then the following turn proceeded to have a Manaweft Sliver + Heart Sliver in play alongside Galerider Sliver and a Paradox Engine . From there on turn 6, I played basically every sliver ( Sliver Legion and the like of course) in my deck and to add insult to injury stole one of my two opponent's commanders, in this case The Scarab God using my commander via Unnatural Selection and they just called it game there.

July 8, 2019 10:30 p.m.

twistedmage says... #6

I feel as if ive wasted alot of money getting these cards kinda felt the same when i got griselbrand and then a month later oh look hes banned. sorry kinda salty over the news about the ban

July 8, 2019 11:54 p.m.

Evry1sfavteddy says... #7

twistedmage In fairness the Griselbrand ban was obvious as he is stupidly powerful in the format where as neither Iona or Engine strike me as broken on their own.

July 9, 2019 12:11 a.m.

CastleSiege says... #8

A few years back, I sat down to a 9 player commander game. I was the only person playing a mono-color deck, and I was also the only player playing green. The guy sitting across from me opted not to play a land on turn 1 and discarded Iona to hand size. Turn 2 he cast Reanimate, targeting Iona and chose green. THERE WERE SIX BLUE PLAYERS but he chose to be a jerk and completely shut one person out of the game. No one had any reason to get rid of Iona so I scooped to go play a game with another group. I've never been as salty about anything else in my life. I'm glad it's banned.

July 9, 2019 12:26 a.m.

Free_Iona says... #9

CastleSiege I think that's exactly why they banned it.

July 9, 2019 1:53 a.m.

Sarkhan420X says... #10

CastleSiege: how many other colors were those blue players using though? if they were using 3+ color decks, it makes sense to pick the color of the mono-color deck. not really a jerk move to instantly take down 1 player. look at it from the other guys perspective. he had 8 opponents, and an opportunity to take 1 down instantly. it was a smart tactical decision.

Chhris

July 9, 2019 1:59 a.m.

Free_Iona says... #11

Personally, I'm overjoyed that Paradox Engine is banned. I don't think the rules committee believed they were OP, their reasoning was that they were demonstrative to the spirit of the game, and with deck building in general. Nothing could be more true in regard to P Engine. The card is just so good, it can go in nearly every deck, and break it.

Take for instance Vedalken Orrery . It can also go in any deck. It is also very powerful, and if unanswered, will help you win games. Engine, however, powers out ridiculous turns and combos and essentially makes you go 'off' without you really needing to put much work into it all.

I'm personally devastated Iona is banned, as she has been a staple of my deck The Safari Zone {Primer} {M20 Update} for so, so many years. But I understand why.

I once cheated her out on t4 against 3 players playing black. Iona herself didn't win me that game, but it took 2-3 turns for my opponents to draw an answer in another colour, which for me was like having 2-3 extra turns. Crazy -- and decidedly not fun for my opponents.

July 9, 2019 2:01 a.m.

smackjack says... #12

My greatest story about Paradox Engine is when i bought it. Never got to use it. :(

July 9, 2019 4:22 a.m.

12hrr says... #13

I can't believe they didn't ban Urza instead.

July 9, 2019 3:38 p.m.

CastleSiege says... #14

Sarkhan420X 6 of the decks at the table were predominately blue. It would have made sense to shut out the majority of the decks that would have the majority of answers before they could do anything. Instead he chose to shut out one player. I'm glad I left that game because it was over an hour before that Iona was removed.

July 9, 2019 3:42 p.m.

Sarkhan420X says... #15

CastleSiege that still doesnt tell me how many other colors those players used. they could have drawn an answer in a different color, so it makes more sense to shut down the monocolored player. blue is also not a color with "hard" answers to things. blues removal comes mainly in the form of counterspells and bounce spells. if the iona is already out, its not being countered. if its bounced, it can simply be re-played giving the Iona player a chance to name blue. i'm betting you don't know the entirety of the players decklist either, meaning its quite possible that the deck was built in such a way it just didnt care about the usual blue commander cards.

July 9, 2019 8:13 p.m.

Free_Iona says... #16

Sarkhan420X it may have been a smart strategy decision, but its honestly a dick move too. I would've changed tables too.

July 9, 2019 11:56 p.m.

SerraMeya says... #17

my Azami, Lady of Scrolls will miss her Paradox Engine . there were so many games where the board was filled with wizards that got tapped in response of the untap trigger of paradox engine to draw a bunch of cards till the main win-con showed up. it was so easy to dig deep in my deck that i can understand the banning... lol

July 10, 2019 8:26 a.m.

12hrr says... #18

Definitely lost a win-con in my mana rock tribal Xancha deck...

July 10, 2019 9:25 a.m.

Sarkhan420X says... #19

Chhris: it can't be a dick move and smart strategy at the same time. by itself, it just sounds like a smart move. if the player had made inflammatory comments that would be one thing, but if all he said was somethin like "i put iona into play naming green, then pass turn" then theres no problem.

July 10, 2019 11:07 p.m.

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