|
by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist  Mono-White Angel Tribal is a pretty awesome deck, full of some of the most powerful creatures printed in Magic history. Leading the way is Avacyn, Angel of Hope, who makes all of your things indestructible as you bash in for a billion damage…
But what about her second incarnation, Avacyn, Guardian Angel? It doesn’t seem people like to build with her at all as a Commander. Even in the 99, only her original incarnation, Eight and a Half Tails and Linvala, Keeper of Silence really take advantage of her. Considering how well Legendary Creatures are designed these days to be built around, what went wrong here? Or has something been overlooked? Let's take a closer look at Avacyn, Guardian Angel's stats and abilities and see how we may be able to build around them in EDH. Flying, vigilance 1W: Prevent all damage that would be dealt to another target creature this turn by sources of the color of your choice. 5WW: Prevent all damage that would be dealt to target player this turn by sources of the color of your choice. Right away, we see that she's a flyer who doesn't have to tap when attacking thanks to vigilance. As a 5/4 creature, that means she plays a strong role on both offense and defense. Straight off, that's a good start. Then, we get to her abilities. Preventing damage is pretty good, especially when it's a creature that you want to keep around. But giving a player protection is obviously better. Seven mana seems like a high cost, but depending on the situation, it's probably well worth the investment. So far, based on her abilities, she slots in as one of the 99 in Eight-and-a-Half Tails EDH decks, as cheap damage prevention. Her second ability is a really expensive "Fog" that you can use politically to save another player. The real downside of this ability is that only prevents damage from one color (you can pay it again for an additional color, but why would you?) In any case, a 5/4 vigilant flyer for 5 mana is really good, and having the 3 white mana in her cost doesn’t really change all that much since you’ll be running a mono-White deck, regardless. So how can we utilize her as a Commander in EDH? Here’s a list based on a compilation of the handful of Avacyn, Guardian Angel EDH decks currently included in the EDHREC database. There are some other tweaks we have made, as well. Deck List Commander Avacyn, Guardian Angel Creatures (20) Grand Abolisher Burnished Hart Fiend Hunter Solemn Simulacrum Sublime Archangel Guardian of the Gateless Karmic Guide Adarkar Valkyrie Aegis Angel Sun Titan Sunblast Angel Angel of Serenity Angel of the Dire Hour Angelic Arbiter Emeria Shepherd Platinum Angel Resolute Archangel Avacyn, Angel of Hope Reya Dawnbringer Exquisite Archangel Non-Creature Spells (42) Everflowing Chalice Condemn Holy Day Path to Exile Sol Ring Swords to Plowshares Luminarch Ascension Pacifism Pearl Medallion Pollen Lullaby Rest in Peace Revoke Existence Banishing Light Commander's Sphere Entreat the Angels Grasp of Fate Nevermore Oblation Oblivion Ring Pariah Riot Control Rule of Law Ajani Steadfast Comeuppance Marshal's Anthem Moonsilver Spear Quicksilver Amulet Return to Dust Shield of Kaldra Thran Dynamo Wrath of God Gilded Lotus Mind's Eye Nahiri, the Lithomancer Norn's Annex Rout Akroma's Vengeance Austere Command Caged Sun Martyr's Bond Terminus True Conviction Lands (37) Drifting Meadow Emeria, the Sky Ruin Kor Haven Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx 27 Plains Reliquary Tower Secluded Steppe Seraph Sanctuary Tectonic Edge Temple of the False God Windbrisk Heights This Avacyn, Guardian Angel EDH deck list currently costs around $200 to build in paper Magic. A big part of that price tag includes Avacyn, Angel of Hope. You could alternatively swap Avacyn, Angel of Hope in as the Commander and still have a functional deck. The deck plays like a mono-White control list, with only a handful of creatures with a casting cost of less than 5 mana. There are plenty of ways to prevent combat damage and deal with opponents’ biggest threats. However, there are a couple of ways to create a bunch of creatures in a hurry, with the “Miracle” Entreat the Angels and the Enchantment Luminarch Ascension. Those are the primary methods for winning the game outright in the deck. Beyond that, it’s basically just staying in the game until you can drop Avacyn, Angel of Hope and making all of your permanents indestructible. If you want to spend extra money on the deck, Archangel of Thune and Linvala, Keeper of Silence are nice Angels to have, but aren't integral to the success of the deck. Kozilek, the Great Distortion from Oath of the Gatewatch gives you extra card draw and the ability to counter spells by discarding a card that shares the converted mana cost of the one you are countering. It’s a bit tricky to cast, however, due to requiring 2 mana from purely colorless sources to cast. You may have to swap out some Plains for other colorless sources to facilitate him, but it may be worth it. Alternatively, you could build a more aggressive list similar to many of the Avacyn, Angel of Hope deck lists featured on EDHREC. However, the Angel of Hope’s ability to make your permanents purely indestructible is a huge advantage over the more “fair” Guardian Angel. Are there other cards you’d like to play in the deck? Any other Commanders you would like us to cover?
0 Comments
by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist  Looking for a Black/White Commander with a cool win condition? Selenia, Dark Angel is your gal! From all the way back in Tempest, this Angel has a useful ability to be returned to your hand for the low cost of only 2 life. When building a deck with Selenia at the helm, the best option is to build around swapping life totals. Draining your life total for profit, then swapping your low life total to soften up a tough opponent never felt so good! The Commander "I am light. I am dark. I must give my life to serve; not even death can release me." —Selenia, dark angel Selenia is a 3/3 Angel with Flying that costs 3WB to cast. Her ability to evade removal and other combat tricks makes her tricky to deal with and there are cards in the deck to be able to make her deal lethal damage rather easily. She doesn’t have many creature friends in the deck, so she actually plays a pretty big role in your victory.  Key Cards Ad Nauseum (Time Spiral) For those familiar with the Modern combo deck, you’re probably well aware how much card advantage this card can give you. With all the ways you can get life back in a hurry at the cost of your opponents’, you can draw a whole bunch of cards with this little instant. Just be cautious that you play it right. Angel’s Grace (Time Spiral/Modern Masters) A card also seen in the Ad Nauseum combo deck, Angel’s Grace prevents you from losing the game by not allowing you to go below one life. It also prevents any of your opponent’s from winning the game in case they happen to have alternate win conditions. Being uncounterable with Split Second is pretty awesome, too. Children of Korlis (Time Spiral) Gain back all the life that you’ve lost in a turn by sacrificing a one-drop creature? Sign me up for that! This allows you to go pretty deep on Ad Nauseum and other life-loss cards and not pay the price. Hatred (Exodus) An enchantment from one of the older sets in Magic, Hatred allows one of your unblocked creatures to deal an incredible amount of combat damage for the cost of some life. It’s especially good with Selenia. Magus of the Mirror (Future Sight) Sacrificing this creature to swap life totals is fun. Near-Death Experience (Rise of the Eldrazi) While this alternate win condition can be tricky to achieve, it does combo nicely with Angel’s Grace. It’s an Enchantment that’s good to have around just in case. Phyrexian Unlife (New Phyrexia) While this Enchantment allows you to go below 0 life, it gives you poison counters for each point of damage you take beyond 0 so be careful! It’s useful as a safety net, however. Repay in Kind (Rise of the Eldrazi) Bringing everyone down to the lowest life total among all players, then gaining it all back with one of your other key cards seems good! Soul Conduit (New Phyrexia) Making it so that two players exchange life totals, and not simply opponent’s means that you can use this card politically in a multiplayer game to eliminate a particular opponent. Tainted Sigil (Alara Reborn) A better artifact version of Children of Korliss, you actually get the life lost by all players in a turn, which can give you a pretty awesome life total! Deck List This list is fairly budget for Commander, weighing in at about $175 total. This includes Commander staples such as Enlightened Tutor and Cabal Coffers. The deck really wants to have these, but could live without them if necessary. Commander Selenia, Dark Angel Creatures (12) Children of Korlis Weathered Wayfarer Tithe Drinker Vizkopa Guildmage Crypt Ghast Bloodgift Demon Desolation Angel Magus of the Mirror Sun Titan Treasury Thrull Angel of Despair Platinum Angel Non-Creature Spells (48) Angel's Grace Enlightened Tutor Expedition Map Path to Exile Phyrexian Reclamation Sol Ring Swords to Plowshares Blind Obedience Exsanguinate Mind Stone Orzhov Signet Aura of Silence Darksteel Ingot Mortify Necropotence Oblivion Ring Orzhov Cluestone Phyrexian Arena Phyrexian Unlife Pristine Talisman Tainted Sigil Unmake Debt to the Deathless Diabolic Tutor Greed Phyrexian Processor Return to Dust Utter End Wrath of God Ad Nauseam Dark Petition Diabolic Revelation Exquisite Blood Gilded Lotus Hatred Liliana Vess Near-Death Experience Necrologia Promise of Power Rout Sanguine Bond Austere Command Toxic Deluge Merciless Eviction Soul Conduit Repay in Kind Decree of Pain Reverse the Sands Lands (39) Bojuka Bog Cabal Coffers Caves of Koilos Command Tower Concealed Courtyard Godless Shrine Isolated Chapel Orzhov Basilica 8 Plains Reliquary Tower Scoured Barrens 16 Swamp Tainted Field Temple of Silence Temple of the False God Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth Vault of the Archangel Non-Budget Additions
If you want to go out and spend a bit more to upgrade this list, here are some changes you could make as you see fit. Dark Petition -> Demonic Tutor The original Tutor only costs 1B to play, making it strictly better than Dark Petition, even if most of the time Petition will essentially cost you the same anyway. With Selenia in it for the long game, Petition is just fine if you can’t afford Demonic Tutor. Diabolic Revelation -> Vampiric Tutor While Revelation can seek out multiple cards for you, a single Black mana and paying 2 life is just fine to get the card you need the most in a hurry. Oblivion Ring -> Land Tax Having spot removal is nice, but Land Tax assures you that you can fetch out the basic lands you need in case you’re falling behind in your mana base. Phyrexian Reclamation -> Vindicate If you lose the spot removal of Oblivion Ring, Vindicate is a great non-budget option to replace it. Reclamation is nice for being able to reuse some of your utility creatures, but premium removal is always strong in Commander. Anguished Unmaking is also a good, cheaper version of the same effect, and the life loss isn’t really an issue at all in this deck. Scoured Barrens -> Fetid Heath The White/Black filter land is strictly better than a dual land that comes into play tapped, even if that tapped land does gain you one life. Tithe Drinker -> Serra Ascendant Serra Ascendant is one of the most hated cards in EDH because of the fact that many times, since Commander players begin with 40 life, the Ascendant is a 6/6 flying with lifelink for a single White mana. It’s an early drop that your opponent has to deal with, or potentially a finisher if you play your cards right and drop a wide open opponent to a tiny life total. Any particular Commander you would like for us to review? Let us know in the comments! Updated 12/27/16 by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist  Legends is full of legendary creatures. In fact, it's the set that introduced them into Magic in the first place. Most of them aren't very good, some were pretty good at one point, some are still decent Commanders, and a few are actually quite good. Nebuchadnezzar falls into the decent category as a blue/black Commander happy to get into your head and leave you with no options. The Assyrian king himself is an okay creature on his own. He’s a 3/3 Human Wizard for 3UB and the Oracle text for his tap ability reads thusly: X, Tap, Name a card. Target opponent reveals X cards at random from his or her hand. Then that player discards all cards with that name revealed this way. Activate this ability only during your turn. The upside to this ability is that even though it can only be used on your turn, it doesn’t have to be used at sorcery speed. Also, unlike many discard abilities, Nebuchadnezzar’s ability can hit lands, as well. In Commander, this means you can hit multiple copies of basic lands. To make our Commander good, we obviously need to know what our opponent has in hand. Enchantments like Telepathy and Seer’s Vision let us see our opponents’ hands at all times. Wandering Eye is an Illusion from Nemesis that makes it so that all hands are revealed - not my personal preference, but another option to consider. With the sheer amount of other discard cards that are run alongside Nebuchadnezzar, though, we’ll pretty much always have knowledge of our opponents’ hands anyway. Enchantments like Megrim and Liliana’s Caress shock our opponents (deal 2 damage) for each card that they discard. Bloodchief Ascension takes a little bit to get going, but lets you gain 2 life on top of the shock. In addition, Waste Not is an Enchantment from Magic 2015 that lets us benefit from each card that is discarded - based on the type of card that is sent to the yard. Many of our creatures also let us discard cards, such as Blizzard Specter, Guul Draz Specter, and the classic Hypnotic Specter. Then we have creatures like Chainer, Dementia Master, Coffin Queen, and Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni that let us take control of the creatures that end up discarded. We also have a couple of creatures that benefit from lots of cards in the yards, such as Avatar of Will (which can be cast for 2 Blue if an opponent has no cards in hand) and Wrexial, the Risen Deep (who can steal instants or sorceries when he deals combat damage.) Here’s a skeleton list to get you started: The 99: Creature (20)
Artifact (9)
Enchantment (16)
(One note: Wand of Ith is not available on Magic Online. It can be replaced with Wandering Eye, the creature mentioned earlier.)
This deck can be built for roughly $125 USD in paper and 40 tickets on Magic Online (MTGO). The only expensive card in this deck is Minamo, School at Water’s Edge at $20, which is really nice to have to untap our legendary permanents (especially Nebuchadnezzar). You could live without it, though. Every other card is under $10, and most are $0.50-$2. So if you want to build a blue/black discard/control list on the cheap with potential for a nasty endgame, this is a really good place to start. by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist  Ojutai, Soul of Winter may appear to be an awfully pricey Commander to cast, but his payoff is entirely worth it. Using Changelings and value Dragons to activate her ability, you can essentially lock-down players during each combat. Utilizing a powerful control suite, an Ojutai EDH deck can be built on a budget. It won’t cost you more than $250, even with some of the best cards you could use. Let’s break down the list, starting with the mana base: Land (37) Academy Ruins Azorius Chancery Azorius Guildgate Command Tower Evolving Wilds Ghost Quarter Glacial Fortress Halimar Depths Hallowed Fountain 9x Island Myriad Landscape Mystic Gate Opal Palace 12x Plains Reliquary Tower Sejiri Refuge Temple of the False God Tranquil Cove Academy Ruins is good for getting back the few artifacts in the deck, but if you’re on a budget, it’s the first cut you can make. Mystic Gate is a great filter land that helps you mana fix, but you can save a bit of money by replacing it with Nimbus Maze or Skycloud Expanse. The fetchland Flooded Strand could be in here, Creature (21) Avian Changeling Eternal Dragon Frost Titan Grand Abolisher Grand Arbiter Augustin IV Icefall Regent Keiga, the Tide Star Medomai the Ageless Mirror Entity Mulldrifter Quicksilver Dragon Sakashima the Impostor Shapesharer Solemn Simulacrum Steel Hellkite Sun Titan Sunblast Angel Sunscorch Regent Wardscale Dragon Windreader Sphinx Yosei, the Morning Star Who thought Avian Changeling would be awesome? Well, he’s a Dragon, so that makes him worth playing here. Eternal Dragon is sort of iffy, but he cycles for a Plains, and you can get him back to your hand. Frost Titan fits in perfectly with Ojutai’s theme of tapping stuff down. Grand Abolisher stops opponents from casting spells or activating abilities (except on lands) during your turn.  Grand Arbiter Augustin IV is one of the most hated cards in Commander because of the fact he makes everyone else’s spells cost more. But he’s huge in this deck because he also makes your white and blue spells cost less. Ojutai, Soul of Winter is only five mana to cast with the Arbiter on board Icefall Regent is a nice way to lock down a problem creature and is more difficult for spot removal to take care of than most. Keiga the Tide Dragon steals a creature when it dies. Medomai the Ageless can buy you an extra turn when it connects. Mirror Entity is a Changeling that also counts as a Dragon and can make all other creatures you control into Dragons. Mulldrifter is the classic draw spell attached to a 2/2 flyer that you can Evoke just to get the cards. Quicksilver Dragon is a creature with Morph and the ability to redirect targeted spells to another target.  Sakashima the Imposter is a pretty awesome clone that can be reused. Plus, he can even copy your own Legendary creatures, as he keeps his own name despite having all of the characteristics of the other creature. You can use him to copy Ojutai’s ability, allowing you to tap down two permanents. You can end up with two Grand Arbiters, as well, making your spells even cheaper to cast. The budget replacement for this would be the original Clone, but he’s a pretty awesome card that complements the deck quite well. Shapesharer is a different sort of clone that can make a target Shapeshifter, including itself, a copy of target creature until end of turn. There are a good number in the deck, so this effect can be used multiple times in the same turn. Solemn Simulacrum is pretty much a Commander staple, fetching you a basic land and drawing you a card when he dies. Steel Hellkite has a cool ability to wipe out token armies and any permanents with converted mana cost X when he deals combat damage. He also has a colorless firebreathing ability. He’s one of the most underrated cards in Commander. Sun Titan helps you get back anything with converted mana cost 3 or less from the yard when he enters or attacks. He’s a big basher with Vigilance, too, and will provide plenty of value. He’s an awesome target for your Clones. Sunblast Angel can come down and absolutely annihilate a ton of creatures, as she destroys all tapped creatures when she enters. It’s important to be careful that you don’t blow up your own stuff, too, though. In multiplayer, this Angel can make people very bad. Sunscorch Regent is a bit of an odd choice for the deck, but it seems the other best option was Alabaster Dragon, and this is strictly better. Not only is it a dragon, but every time an opponent casts a spell it gets a +1/+1 counter and you gain 1 life. In Commander, incremental advantages like this are always helpful. Wardscale Dragon doesn’t look that exciting, but when it attacks, opponent’s can’t cast spells, which is really good if Grand Abolisher isn’t in play. And it’s a White dragon, always good with Ojutai. Windreader Sphinx may be a bulk mythic rare, but with all the flyers in this deck, you’ll be drawing plenty of cards with his effect. Yosei, the Morning Star taps up to five target permanents when he dies. While it’s only for a turn, it can be enough, especially if you choose the right player in multiplayer.  One obvious creature you could add here is Dragonlord Ojutai, the alternate timeline Ojutai, who’s not quite as expensive now as he was. Quite a decent Commander himself, he’s tricky to remove, and helps you card filter - basically Anticipate on a stick! You can swap out the Eternal Dragon for him if you have a copy.  Artifact (8) Azorius Signet Darksteel Ingot Lightning Greaves Pristine Talisman Sol Ring Swiftfoot Boots Thran Dynamo Winter Orb Like many blue/white control builds in Commander, Winter Orb is a nasty way to lock down your opponent’s lands. Once you have your Dragon force assembled, you really don’t need much in the way of mana anyway. The mana rocks will give you what you need, but there are few enough that if you lose them you aren’t ruined. Sorcery (8) Austere Command Fabricate Ponder Rite of Replication Supreme Verdict Terminus Treasure Cruise Wrath of God The myriad of options that Austere Command provides makes it a white staple in Commander. The other board-wipes are Supreme Verdict, Terminus, and Wrath of God (Day of Judgment is the budget alternate). Fabricate helps you get a mana rock or your Winter Orb once you need it. Ponder is simple card filtering and you could use Anticipate or Impulse in this slot instead if you’d prefer - although Ponder gives you a shuffle effect. Treasure Cruise is usually going to be Ancestral Recall with all of the cards that will end up in the yard for its Delve cost. Rite of Replication lets you make a ton of copies of a cool creature your opponent has or a ton of copies of one of your non-Legendary dragons to force a major lockdown. Instant (15) Brainstorm Condemn Counterspell Cyclonic Rift Disenchant Dissipate Hinder Negate Path to Exile Remand Render Silent Return to Dust Rewind Sphinx's Revelation Swords to Plowshares The control suite in this deck is pretty straightforward. Brainstorm is the classic card filtering spell. Condemn isn’t quite as good as it was now that Commanders can’t simply be returned to the deck, but it deals with enough problems that it’s still worth running. Cyclonic Rift is one of the most busted cards in Commander and can just win you the game out right by sending everyone else’s stuff back. Everything else in here is pretty self-explanatory. Nothing here is too pricey.  Planeswalker (4) Jace, Architect of Thought Tamiyo, the Moon Sage Teferi, Temporal Archmage Ugin, the Spirit Dragon Jace, Architect of Thought gives you valuable card filtering and a very relevant ultimate ability, especially in multiplayer, to steal cards right out of the deck and onto the battlefield. Tamiyo has one of the sweetest emblems ever, but you play her to tap stuff down and potentially draw a bunch of cards. Teferi gives you card filtering and a way around Winter Orb, plus an emblem that can be relevant by letting you play planeswalker abilities on opponent’s turns. Ugin is probably the most expensive card in this deck, but that’s because the colorless planeswalker is super awesome. The value he provides is just worth it. If you have a Karn Liberated, he’d be a solid 5th planeswalker to add to this list.  Enchantment (6) Blind Obedience Detention Sphere Oblivion Ring Propaganda Rhystic Study Xenograft Blind Obedience not only taps your opponents’ artifacts and creatures down when they enter, but it also has Extort on it. While that doesn’t seem all that relevant, in multiplayer, this is actually a really sweet drain ability that can help you win out of nowhere, as long as you keep a White mana open for each spell you cast. Detention Sphere is pretty sweet removal, essentially a slightly better Oblivion Ring. Propaganda is annoying for opponent’s to play around. You could have Ghostly Prison in here, in addition, which does the same exact thing in White, although the Blue version is cheaper. Rhystic Study is a Blue Commander staple that can end up drawing you a ton of cards, as long as you remember the triggers. Xenograft is a card you don’t see too often, but once you declare Dragons, your deck becomes a lot more powerful, as every creature you control becomes a Dragon in addition to its other types, making your Shapeshifters all that much better. As far as EDH goes, this is one of the less expensive decks that you can build that can wreak havoc in the format. A lot of the money is tied up in just a handful of cards, too, so it’s not impossible to build this deck for $100-150 depending on what cards you already happen to own. If you would rather build a Dragonlord Ojutai deck, you’re looking at a deck that will run you a lot more money.
If you’d like to see a Dragonlord Ojutai Commander primer, or have another Legendary Creature you have in mind that you’d like to build around, let us know. |
Keep up with the latest Magic the Gathering and other gaming articles by subscribing below:
FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS
OWNER
Lyn Lomasi is founder and owner of the Brand Shamans Content Community. Services include ordained soul therapy and healing ministry, business success coaching, business success services, handcrafted healing jewelry, ethereal and anointing oils, altar and spiritual supplies and services, handcrafted healing beauty products, and more!
Lyn is your brand healing, soul healing, marketing & content superhero to the rescue! While rescuing civilians from boring business practices and energy vampires, this awesomely crazy family conquers evil and creates change. They live among tigers, dragons, mermaids, unicorns, and other fantastic energies, teaching others to claim their own power and do the same. By supporting us, you support a dedicated parent, healer, and minority small business that donates to several causes. Profits from our all-inclusive store, Intent-sive Nature support these causes and our beautiful family! HIRE OR SHOP WITH LYN | CONTACT LYN Archives
August 2022
Categories
All
|
- Life Successfully
-
- Gift Cards
- Custom Healing Products & Services
- Essential Oil, Spiritual Oils, & Aromatherapy
- Bath, Beauty, & Self-Care
- Rituals, Herbs, & Altar Supplies
- Original Artwork
- Protection
- Orgone Or Orgonite
- Wands
- Yoga & Meditation
- Crystals & Gemstones
- Books & Media
- Education & Homeschool Resources
- Clothing
- Decor And Home Accents
- RV, Camping, And Auto
- BUSINESS, MARKETING, & CONTENT SERVICES
- SUBMIT GUEST POSTS
-
-
- Life Successfully
-
- Gift Cards
- Custom Healing Products & Services
- Essential Oil, Spiritual Oils, & Aromatherapy
- Bath, Beauty, & Self-Care
- Rituals, Herbs, & Altar Supplies
- Original Artwork
- Protection
- Orgone Or Orgonite
- Wands
- Yoga & Meditation
- Crystals & Gemstones
- Books & Media
- Education & Homeschool Resources
- Clothing
- Decor And Home Accents
- RV, Camping, And Auto
- BUSINESS, MARKETING, & CONTENT SERVICES
- SUBMIT GUEST POSTS
-
-
RSS Feed
