Welcome to the inaugural 99EDH deck clinic where we help you with your EDH deck problems. This took a little longer then I thought, but finally we’re here. Not really this much else to say, is there? Let’s get right to it.

Billy chimes in with his problem (and suddenly I feel like Casey Kasem).

My name is Billy, and my general is Rafiq of the Many. I want to have my deck be the subject of a deck clinic because I’ve found that my EDH games are very non-interactive, linear, and predictable. My EDH games go from 1v1 to 6 or more people, so I try to be versatile in the face of a metagame that involved token (Rhys), general damage (Uril), prison (Hokori, Numot) and combo (Sharuum, Blue Braids, Niv-Mizzet) strategies.

My favorite type of EDH game involves lots of bickering and vying for control of the field, and I found that my games are usually a Reveillark combo or a Strip Mine lock, and is overly dependent on a few spells like Intuition. It seems like my deck has 20 or more cards devoted to combo and 20 to tutoring them. My deck is so linear that I frequently play Pithing Needle naming Relic of Progenitus before one is even in play because my deck doesn’t do anything without graveyard recursion.

I have trouble making room for dramatic, fun, social effects like Twincast, Bribery, and Pheldagriff, and even basic utility cards like Path to Exile. I also find myself scrambling for my 1 answer to a specific threat. Card availability is not an issue but has one caveat: I am hesitant to spend money on cards that aren’t a rock solid investment like Force of Will. In short, I’ve got 99 problems and a too linear deck is one.

Yes, the final line sold me.

What I love about EDH is the fact that you don’t have to play a linear deck if you don’t want to. Sure, there’s going to be cards that you would prefer to see every game, or close to every game, but with 99 different cards, it allows you to do different things. Having a deck that’s just trying to be the same thing over and over will get the people in your playgroup hip to the type of game your doing. I suggest going several different routes of winning if it’s not just smashing face.

It looks like Billy has some game ending plays where he tries to win. However, most of these look like they are 1v1 specialties instead of hitting all players. Here’s what he says he tries to do with the deck:

• I use Hinder/Condemn and Tunnel Vision to deck someone.
• I one-shot somebody with Rafiq and Might of Oaks/Finest Hour.
• I lock someone out with Strip Mine and Life from the Loam, sometimes with Azusa, Lost but Seeking.
• I lock someone out with Counterbalance and Sensei’s Divining Top.
• I mill my entire deck with Hermit Druid/Tunnel Vision, and cast Reveillark/Open the Vaults to get my combo pieces into play.
• I use some combination of Reveillark, Eternal Witness, Body Double, Mirror Entity, and Karmic Guide to either lock with Acidic Slime or deal infinite damage with Aeolipile/Triskelion.
• I intend to add Brain Geyser/Stroke of Genius so that I can use Saproling Cluster, Ashnod’s Altar, and Fecundity to generate infinite mana and deck an opponent.

It’s good to have different paths to victory in an EDH deck if they don’t revolve around your General (where you currently have one, the always good Rafiq and Might of Oaks finisher (3/3, exalted, double strike, and +7/+7 = 22 Damage (4/4 + 7/+7 = 11 x double strike = 22)). Here’s the issue with what you have currently: You’re playing either “infinite combos” or really annoying locks, and it’s a race to see which one you can get to first. Now, if it was a combo deck you wanted, I’d say that’s alright, and get some more combos in there.

But, you said you like to play games where you control the board. You’re in great colors for board control: Blue, Green and White all have good cards to do so. Looking at your list, you really don’t have a deck for that. Most of your combos do make use of the graveyard and if they have any graveyard removal (which any good EDH player should) you’re screwed. Plus, like I said, most of these are great combos 1v1, and you want something that can battle against other Generals as well. Let’s change some things up with your deck.

Here is a link to a Google Spreadsheet of the deck with the proposed changes. It’s separated by card type and by Old Deck/New Deck. Cards that are Red in the Old Deck category are ones I’m removing while Blue cards in the  New Deck are ones that I’m adding. And, if you go further down, you can see other cards that didn’t make the cut but were considered. I only added two cards above a couple of bucks (minus one part), and both of those are used in older formats so they’re a good investment.

I’d like to make note here: this is just some helpful advice. While I was given what kind of decks they usually play against, there may be some cards that I tossed out that you might say are essential to beating those decks. Anyone trying to build a deck like this might not like any of my advice and build the original deck. That’s fine, I don’t care. But here is my opinion, it was asked.

What follows here are just the changes I made to the deck. Cards like Eternal Witness and Finest Hour and Cryptic Command were in the deck and remained in the deck. The link is above to see the full list, but here are the changes, which is what people care about.

Lands

OUT – We take out some lands that don’t always work in these decks. Yes, the cycling lands are great, especially with Life from the Loam which you have, but you only really need one of them. Cephalid Coliseum might be good if you’re trying to deck someone and bring it back with Life from the Loam and could get thrown back in there. Riftstone Portal is cute, but not enough discard in the new deck to make it effective. Sunpetal Grove is worthless in a deck with only two lands that make it come into play untapped (and would be better played as one of the new Worldwake man-lands). As for Magosi, the Waterveil, I haven’t had too much success with it yet, so it’s gone as of right now.

IN – This is mostly bookkeeping. I’ve found that with my Rafiq deck, I’ve relied on those hybrid lands so I’ve completed out the set. The Dual lands can be anyone you want, either the original ones (If you’ve got the money or have them), or the Ravinca ones (which are pretty cheap); it’s all to personal preference. Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree works well with a combo that didn’t make it in here, but does with a couple of combos that did.

ALMOST – Fetchlands are always good, maybe if you take out the Vivid lands; the fetchlands are better if you have more lands with basic land types (like Duals).  Treetop Village is always a good attacker and is less prone to removal, but was just short of making this list.

Artifacts

OUT – Aeolipile was part of a combo, but also the grandfather to Pyrite Spellbomb (but can fit in any EDH deck). While it’s sad to see Whispersilk Cloak to get pushed off the stage as it’s great with Rafiq, but sadly cannot combo with Might of Oaks (but does with Finest Hour).

IN – And this is where we start to see the deck more over to more of a controlling aspect, which is funny, because more of these artifacts help with combos as well. Crystal Shard can help tap opponent’s mana or bounce a creature, but let you bounce your own, like say, Eternal Witness? Engineered Explosives help with token populations and other various problems. Mind’s Eye is just good in multiplayer. Proteus Staff is a fun artifact that some people forget. While it doesn’t completely Polymorph a creature, it does put them on the bottom of the owner’s library which is good if you’re using Tunnel Vision (the main combo this deck is keeping). Or, if you have a token generator (Vitu-Ghazi), lets you get your own creatures instead. Reito Lantern is there to help with Tunnel Vision and with graveyard removal.

ALMOST – Again, Whispersilk Cloak is right on the edge, as well as Lightning Greeves. Sol Ring isn’t in here (a lot of colored mana costs), and Blasting Station for a combo that got cut.

Enchantments

OUT – You did have Counterbalace/Top combo, but tossed that due to it being an “un-fun” combo and makes you a huge target. Faith’s Fetters and Prison Term both help shut down attacking creatures and can shut down their abilities and are always a second glace. As for Saproling Cluster? This isn’t really a Group Hug deck and I think could hurt you more times than help you even though the Genesis/Riftstone Portal interaction is cute.

IN – If you take a look at the list enchantments considered, this was going to be a much more enchantment based deck. It was whittled down and instead added two more instead of the 50 I had planned. Each of the concerns you had with a deck type now has a silver bullet enchantment. Arcane Laboratory/Rule of Law shuts down combo decks. Aura of Silence slows down other enchantments/artifacts. Dueling Grounds go against token decks and helps Rafiq with double strike. Island Sanctuary is a nice almost-Moat where you do have to give up your next draw step, but you can’t be attacked accept by flying or Islandwalk creatures (anti-Uril). Ivory Mask and Privileged Position help protect you and your stuff against other combo decks (Niv-Mizzet/Sharuum).

ALMOST – Every other available enchantment. Seriously, Glare of Subdual works amazing with Vitu-Ghazi and Aura Shards. Fool’s Demise was part 2 of an amazing combo, and Mind Over Matter would replace Saproling Cluster.

Creatures

OUT – And gone are most of the graveyard interaction cards. Azusa with Strip Mine and Life From the Loam is again, not fun for anyone (plus you have no landfall to abuse). Not enough creatures to recur with Genesis (but that could be the point too, almost made it back in). The rest of the cards were used for combos so they were left off, though Karmic Guide was on the list as, well since it’s so good.

IN – When you want to play a creature, it has to do something in EDH, either an “enters the battlefield” trigger or some game changing effect that people will look at you and take you seriously. While you want the controlling aspect of the game, this deck lacks a true EDH “Finisher”. No Akroma, no Darksteel Colossus, nor Inkwell Leviathan. Why is that? While Terastodon can sort of be considered a finisher (however without evasion), but that’s not the point. I left them out because out of all the different ways that you can win by creatures, Rafiq on its own is still pretty good (which would be different than if you wanted to win by smashing with fatties with double strike).

Each of the new creatures brings in something that helps you take control of the board (sans Noble Hierarch who’s just good). Academy helps go get enchantments and acts as a wall who don’t want you to do something nasty. Aven Mindscensor nullifies tutors really, really well. Grand Arbiter slows down the game for your opponents (taking combo down a notch) while proving some acceleration for you. Seedborn Muse gets around Hokori decks (and is the creature most easily replaced in my opinion). Solemn Simulacrum help gets your third color of mana early in the game and replaces itself if it goes to the graveyard. Terastodon, combos amazingly with one of the Sorceries, and can be Body Doubled if it’s in your graveyard (enter the battlefield triggers still happen).

ALMOST – You can slide in a finisher if you feel like you need it (and you may, it all depends on your playgroup). The card I want to talk about is the third of the mysterious combo: Academy Researchers. Play Academy Researchers, enchanting it with Fool’s Demise. Blasting Station, sacrificing the Researchers. Fool’s Demise goes to your hand, Researchers back onto the battlefield, Station untaps, you can then enchant Fool’s Demise onto the Researchers again for an “infinite” damage combo, killing everyone at the table. Seems a little more playable for multiple players than emptying your library into your graveyard and hope everything still happens ok.

Sorceries

OUT – Austere Command I assume was used for token creatures and a more flexable version of Akroma’s Vengeance. Three tutors (Fabricate, Idyllic Tutor and Merchant Scroll) were too expensive to other options or too little reaching. Open the Vaults was part of a combo which is now gone. Restock got replaced for something more abusable. Tooth and Nail would’ve been better if we had more finishers in the deck.

IN – Let me address that foil card to the right. Yes, this is the other “big” card that I added to the deck. It too is a wise investment especially if you want to play Legacy. With Vitu-Ghazi, it allows you to go get the following creatures in the deck: Acidic Slime, Cold-Eyed Selkie, Eternal Witness, Noble Heirarch, Seedborn Muse, and Terastodon. It’s a great toolbox card that allows some silly things early in the game. Akroma’s Vengence is included instead of Austere as it also cycles. You wanted Bribery, you got it (which allows you to get an opponent’s finisher). Regrowth is cheaper than Restock, though it doesn’t go return two cards. Rite of Replication lets you kill opponent’s Generals or let you copy, I don’t know, Terastodon? Does that seem good? Supply//Demand lets you make tokens, or tutor for multi-colored spells.

ALMOST – Reap and Sow lets you go get any land you want, but you already have Wayfarer for that. Hallowed Burial is a great alternative for Wrathing effects (and Wrath of God is in the almost list as well) and gets rid of Uril. Balancing Act, while fun in idea, may get you a target thrown on your head as well.

Instants

OUT -Actually, all of these Instants are great for EDH, so cutting them for something else is a little hard to do. The main one, Condemn, goes in with the Tunnel Vision combo of this deck. That one, out of all of them, barely missed it. Dream Fracture really doesn’t belong in this deck (again, more of a Group Hug card). Intuition gets left out when we ditch the graveyard idea. Pact of Negation is a metagame call.

IN – Brainstorm. While not only good by itself, is really good when you have a creature in hand and Proteus Staff on the battlefield. Enlightened Tutor replaces both Fabricate and Idyllic Tutor for something cheaper that you can play on the first turn. Why does no one play Oblation? Look at it. Who cares if they draw two cards (a little oxymoron since I’ve been screaming about this Group Hug deck thing. The issue is that you can also can also target your stuff and save it, and draw two cards). Twincast is fun; I don’t think I need to say any more.

ALMOST – Evacuation is a card that bounced Uril and destroys his enchantments, as well as gets rid of a token army. Path to Exile still didn’t make it, but I didn’t know what else to cut. Teferi’s Response is a very fun card to handle with Numot. More Disenchant type spells? I listed a few. Wordly Tutor works amazing with Proteus Staff.

Planeswalkers

ALMOST – Jace, the Mind Sculptor because of his Brainstorm ability. Elspeth makes tokens as well, but with Garruk’s, you can Natural Order them.

Final Thoughts

So there are the changes to the deck. What you’ve got here are some combos that are still intact such as the Tunnel Vision route of winning. When Rise of the Eldrazi comes out, that new “wall” should go in this deck too, returning Tunnel Vision to your hand. We’ve completely changed this deck from relying heavily on the graveyard to putting more game-altering permanents in play. Yes, there is less game ending combos in the deck, but there are small ones which means something for everyone. Crystal Shards will help abuse your “enter the battlefield” creatures as well as control your opponents. Proteus Staff will make them think twice of playing their General as well as abusing the ability for yourself. The list goes on and on.

Now, hopefully, you can take different routes to victory besides on just relying on the graveyard. Not everyone will agree with my changes and that’s perfectly fine. Others will shake their head, ask why I don’t have more infinite combos and shove those in there as well. With this deck, I believe that things are more synergistic than they used to be which will cause the pilot to not have a linear time playing this deck. These cards should now give you a little more interaction with the rest of the players in your group.

If any of you readers have any thoughts about what should go into the deck, please voice them below. Billy, I hope you’re happy with some of the changes that I suggest. It was a very interesting and fun experience. Hope you guys liked it as well.

Additional link to the spreadsheet.

Try reading the rest of this post in his voice

Earlier this week I participated in the heavily EDH friendly “MTG Radio” podcast. I was the featured guest on episode #27 I Prefer Pecan (a joke which I don’t get and was chosen before recording but found out the answer here). I would highly recommend you check it out. You actually get to hear my voice which is why Professor Farnsworth is on here (and to the chagrin of  Adam Styborski, the writer for Serious Fun on DailyMTG.com). It’s always different to hear someone’s voice after reading their writing, because you have a different tone for what they sound like. Of course, no one likes the sound of their own voice and you think you sound more mature than you actually do. I picture my voice with more of a Zapp Brannigan type of voice, but I know that’s not the truth.

And with three references to Futurama in three posts, I think I’ve reached my limit. Back to the podcast and why you should listen.

1. I’m in it.
2. We talk about their new segment: hidden EDH gems. We all throw out some cards that people have overlooked in EDH play (my top pick: Tainted Pact). This is something I too shall be doing in due time (more on this later).
3. I talk about my Sygg, River Cutthroat deck. it was (spoiler) the EDH General of the week! (/spoiler).

It was a very good time and was a whole lot of fun to do. With the weekend here, I’m sure you can take a hour and listen to it when you’re doing something else (listen to the show and you’ll know what I mean).

But the good news doesn’t in here folks:

Next week, your EDH decks will start to get the help that you want!

As I’ve been going through your requests, it’s been a little tougher then I thought it would be. Every time I see certain Generals, I’ve wanted to go and make it like my decks, instead of what you want them to be. It’s been a tough habit to break, and I think I’m getting better at it. I will post two decks next week that have asked for help. Yes, that is my goal.

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Also, in case you didn’t notice (and you’re on the internet so I hoped you did), DailyMTG debuted the first Eldrazi. All of the Eye of Ugins online are gone. Hope you’re happy. I recommended it to decks who had artifact creatures (currently the only cards you can tutor with it), well, you can add at least one more to that in a month or two. Confused about what this could mean for Rise of the Eldrazi? Check out my post on MtColorPie.com (and if you aren’t reading that blog in the first place, shame on you!) if you want some answers, well, what we have at the moment.

In the future, I’ll be writing a preview about the guy (he is a General after all), but figured it might be too early for that. Anyway, what more can I say than “Build a Karn deck, use him instead”? I’m sure there will be more no need writing about it now.

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As I was talking before, the Sygg River Cutthroat deck I featured on MTG Radio will be talked about on here. In fact, I’ve decided to make it my new 99EDH video. Plan on seeing it soon (and by soon I mean by the end of the month). I figured it might be easier to show the synergy on video than by writing. The last time I did that, that graph took forever to do. Yes, that post was pretty much the genesis of 99EDH. Bask in all of its glory.

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If you aren’t following me on Twitter, I don’t know why. Twitter.com/mtgcolorpie is my twitter page. If you’ve never used twitter, if you want to get a hold of me, just type “@mtgcolorpie” and whatever you want in less than 128 characters (140-12=128, 127 if you add the space after my name).

If you have an EDH question, Magic question, or just want to say hi, please do. There’s a whole bunch of us that gather on Twitter (including some notable Wizards employees such as Mark Rosewater (@maro254), Aaron Forsythe (@mtgaaron) and Ken Nagle (@Norrytt), and some bloggers as well (I won’t list any here to play favorites, but you’re more than welcome to pimp yourselves out in the comments below). You’ll also get updated to know when I actually publish new posts. I do have to pimp MTG Radio (@mtgradio) for having me on; only fair.

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As for what I hinted earlier about having new columns, that will always happen. If there is anything you want to see on 99EDH, leave it in the comments below, twitter it to me, or send me an e-mail (99dhproblems @ Gmail . com, but minus the spaces). I’m always listening to what you readers want, because this blog is for you guys.

I can’t think of anyway to end this “post.” Goodbye, from the world of tomorrow!

Last one, I swear.

Flex those muscles!

Now that the entire list of the new Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs The Coalition has been released (here and here), it’s a good time to take a look and see what goodies it holds for EDH.

Yadda, yadda, yadda. Why should we care? I mean, it’s not like the put anything good in those decks anyway. It’s just for noobs, right?

Wrong! Not only is it good for getting old cards in the new frames (which can help with the “pimp” factor), it also helps if you weren’t playing much in those days. Yes, Urza’s Saga and Invasion were over 10 years ago. Yes, that makes me old.

Let’s see what each deck has to offer for EDH. Now, while these decks are meant to be played together against each other, not all of the time will you keep them together. There might be a good portion of you who do, and that’s great, we’re here to see what would happen if you tear it apart and add or create to your EDH decks. A chance to buy 4 Generals, some awesome never before printed cards in new frames, and to get your hands on a couple new foils, might be worth the $20 MSRP (hint: yes it will be).

We will look at the Coalition’s deck which was first chosen randomly in alphabetical order.

The Coalition

This is mostly a 5 color Green deck with Black splashes. There’s some great things for mostly all decks, but certainly for multi-color EDH decks.

Land:

• Elfhame Palace
• Shivan Oasis
• Terramorphic Expanse

Sadly, the Invasion tap lands have been outclassed several times (Coldsnap tap lands, Shards of Alara tri-lands, the M10 Duels and the new Worldwake duel manlands). In EDH, it’s never bad to double up on effects with different names, so these will always see play or if you’re on a budget, they’re great. Terramorphic Expanse will always be a good card in decks with 1 or 2 colors and I hope will never be out of print.

Creatures:

“New” Generals

• Darigaaz, the Igniter
• Gerrard Capashen
• Rith, the Awakener
• Treva, the Renewer

Three, (yes three!) of the Invasion Dragons being reprinted? While all could’ve benefited from Painter’s Servant not being banned, what are you going to do. Each of them are Green based and two of them (Rith and Treva) could benefit from token generation (Avenger of Zendikar perhaps) to really increase their awesome abilities.

Darigazz can easily fit with Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund (damage from Darigaaz’s ability does not count as General Damage) and deciding between the two as a General might be tough. Rith is seeing a third printing (after From the Vault: Dragons) so if you missed out there, it’s going to be here (attach a Armadillo Cloak for even more fun, even the pros did it). Teva gives Bant decks another option, not that they needed another good General.

As for Gerrard, he might not get the same love as the dragons. EDH players might be disappointed in such Weatherlight crew such as Captain Sissy not being reprinted, but Gerrard might bring back some mono-White control EDH decks. Each turn you can target a different opponent and work with Cradle of Vitality to make any creature you want huge.

Notable creatures

• Nomadic Elf
• Quirion Elves
• Yavimaya Elder – New Art

Nomadic and Quirion both help filter mana once in play, and should not be included in Mono-Green decks (no need). Nomadic can see play with Onmath, just not with Onmath as General. Yavimaya Elder is always a welcome sight in decks as helps ramp mana and does work with landfall effects pretty nicely. Plus, new art and new frame, can’t go wrong with that.

• Sunscape Battlemage
• Thornscape Battlemage
• Thunderscape Battlemage

All three battlemages have nice kickers for their respective colors. If you note, each one of the battlemages fits into a certain wedge (Bant, Naya, Jund); the same wedge as each of the three dragons. Coincidence? I think not. All of them have EDH relevant abilities when kicked.

Non-Creature Spells:

Notable Permanents:

• Armadillo Cloak – New Art
• Coalition Relic

Yes, not only do you get to be like Brian Kibler and play Rith, but also get to use Armadillo Cloak as well. New art does help, but there will always be a foil Invasion and FNM version for you to pimp out your deck. If you’ve never got one, then this is your chance (Please note: it doesn’t say lifelink, there’s a reason for that). Likewise, if you have never played with Coalition Relic, now’s your chance. Don’t dismiss it at first as saying it’s weak. Give it a few times and see how powerful it really is. Where’s Fertile Ground on this list? It’s been reprinted 20 times; if you don’t have one, ask a friend.

Notable Spells:

• Rith’s Charm
• Urza’s Rage – New Art/Foil

Yes, the Charms match up with with Dragons once again, but Rith’s is the only one that seems reasonable for EDH land (Treva’s is borderline). Harrow’s was reprinted in Zendikar and most of the other spells are Domain-based which if you’re looking for those kind of spells, here you go; but they don’t go well in less than 5 colors. The only other spell worth mentioning is Urza’s Rage, which is foil and has new art. Tell that annoying Blue mage to shove it as you deal 3 or 10 damage to him, uncounterable (or if kicked, unpreventable).

Phyrexia

A mono-black deck that’s all about sacrificing. It should be noted that a majority of these creatures would work well with Grave Pact or Butcher of Malakir. No mono-Black Generals or non-basic lands here, but there are some interesting cards that are being reprinted that you will see in EDH decks soon. Would’ve love to seen Urborg in here, but can’t have ‘em all.

Notable Creatures:

• Carrion Feeder
• Phyrexian Broodlings
• Phyrexian Ghoul
• Phyrexian Plaguelord

Ah, ways to get your guys into the graveyard from play. Again, with effects like Grave Pact and the Butcher, these are pretty much auto include in those types of decks. Of course, the real beneficiary of these cards is a Savra, Queen of the Golgari EDH deck. Her ability works on sacrifice effects, which is what all of these cards can do. Don’t mess around with the Plaguelord, it’s big enough to take down a lot of Generals.

• Bone Shredder
• Phyrexian Colossus
• Phyrexian Negator – New Art/Foil
• Priest of Gix

Bone Shredder costs less than Nekrataal and can be sacrificed to the others abilities. I used to have that in my Ichorid deck before, you know, dredge. Colossus gets the awesome old art in the new frames, and with a handy artifact that’s included in here, can be untapped for free. Though paying 1/5 of your life to swing again or untap at any time might be good (especially in a mono-White deck). The Negator brings a possible 5/5 trampler on the first turn (new art, and foil). Just watch out for those Red decks. And Priest has his old errata back: Flicker him or bring him back from the graveyard does produce mana.

Non-Creature Spells:

Notable Permanents:

• Lightning Greaves
• Whispersilk Cloak

Both of these are General friendly equipments (gives it shroud) and have seen, and will continue to see play in EDH. If you didn’t get it in Mirrodin, or didn’t get a chance with FNM, here’s your opportunity to get Greaves.

• Phyrexian Arena
• Phyrexian Processor – New Art
• Voltaic Key – New Art
• Worn Powerstone

Arena is very nice, you’ve got 40 life to play with and it makes even the players who treat every life like it’s their last want to play it. Processor’s the same way only (once again), will it really shine in mono-White decks or Black decks that drain life. Voltaic Key gets new art in a new frame, and if you don’t want it, trade it to Vintage players. ‘Course, it’s only ok with Colossus, Processor, Powerstone, and almost every other artifact. Powerstone, while not Sol Ring, still accelerates mana.

Notable Spells:

• Dark Ritual
• Living Death

Printing Dark Ritual again is like saying “Hey, we know this is a format warping card, so we’ll print it in everything besides sets.” Yes, it works in this Duel Decks, and it’s new border, but nothing to throw a parade for. Living Death, on the other hand, you might as well do that. Living Death changes board position instantly. With “enters the Battlefield” effects that trigger, this is going to be one of the more powerful spells you can ever play in EDH. Yes, you build your deck around this card, it’s that good.

In all, both of these decks are pretty good for EDH players. If you’re shelling out MSRP of $20, you’re getting your money’s worth. 33 of these cards are EDH playable and for $20 (less than a dollar a card), really worth your time. If you haven’t been playing long enough to have gotten a majority of these cards, do so. This is a recommended buy.

The Duel Decks: Phyrexian vs. The Coalition deck lists:

Goes on sale March 19th.

Horray! I'm Helping!

I asked a question on Twitter and boy did it get responses. “Do you want an EDH deck clinic?” Yes was the response, overwhelmingly. In fact, I don’t think I got a single “No” answer. Whatever the people want, we do.

Here’s how it’s going to work: Send your decklist to 99EDHProblems AT gmail.com. Tell us why you want it fixed (having trouble with the local metagame, deck’s not working right, people laugh when I play this card), and your access to cards (Can get older (pre-Onslaught), just started out, etc) so we know what kind of cards to suggest. Yes, original duel lands make every deck better but we know not everyone can get access to them.

We can’t promise we’ll get to all of them quickly, but we’ll scatter these deck clinics out, maybe once every two weeks or some variation of that. We’ll always be looking for new decks, so keep submitting them, please. It could be your first EDH deck or your 25th, it always helps to have another pair (or several) take a look at your deck.

So, to recap:

• Send decklist to 99EDHProblems AT gmail.com
• Tell us why you want us to take a look at it
• What kind of cards you can get access to
• Any other notes you think we should know

Do NOT post them to comments down below, or send them to me on Twitter; please e-mail them to the e-mail address.

Thanks everybody and the DOCTOR IS IN!

No, not everything is foil and foreign, yet...

Worldwake release has come and past and now you’re sitting at home with a stack of new cards. You’re looking at your EDH decks thinking if you should update them with your shiny new cards you pulled or traded for.

And you should.

While EDH isn’t a rotating format (like Standard and Extended are), there are always new exciting things that you can add to your decks with each new set. Even if you think that you deck is perfect the way it is now, why not take a look at it with some of the new cards from the set. I do it each time a new set is released as it’s always the most logical time to update you deck.

Timing-wise, it gives you a chance to play around with the new cards. Maybe something is better than you thought it was, or didn’t give something a chance and now it’s seeing play in all of your decks. Maybe I was wrong with my Worldwake review and you saw something I missed and it’s been frustrating your friends ever since. Maybe you ditch the old way of playing in your old deck and develop a new way that your friend can’t deal with.

And isn’t that always the best feeling?

The cards that you should include in any multi-color deck are the man-lands. They are now replacing your Invasion tap lands, or going along side them. Yes, the inclusion of these will automatically change the way your decks play out. My Sygg, River Cutthroat deck now has Creeping Tar Pit, suddenly a man land that does 3 unblockable damage triggers Sygg can change the way I play that deck. Celestial Colonnade in your Rafiq of the Many deck now makes a 5/5 flying vigilant double-striker. You see what I’m saying?

Both of these open up new ways of playing the deck. With Creeping Tar Pit, suddenly I have a nice bluffing land that my opponent will want to kill since it will whittle them down, but I don’t have to activate it until I want to. I used to have Nantuko Monastery in my Rafiq deck, but I wouldn’t get Threshold to trigger all of the time and it didn’t have evasion. Now, I get a land that produces colors and a more efficient way to kill opponents.

But the man-lands aren’t all, you can find plenty of cards that benefit what your decks are doing already. My friend has a Savra, Queen of the Golgari EDH deck (that hopefully you’ll see soon on this site) that has benefited from Butcher of Malakir. He can now pay two life and have each opponent sacrifice 2 creatures. Terastodon is a great reanimator target that will completely change the board once it hits. Seer’s Sundial turns a deck that runs Crucible of Worlds into a card drawing machine.

There are even cards that have inspired me to build new EDH decks to abuse them. Bazaar Trader has now made me start to build Red decks that I can run much more politically (like what I’m doing with my Kazuul, Tyrat of the Cliffs deck). Stoneforge Mystic might make me run more Equipment in decks rather then just Auras and since I’m running White, I can “Flicker” her out and have her trigger again and again.

It’s not just rares that are making a difference. Halamar Depths and Trade Routes go amazingly well together (and if you don’t have Trade Routes in a landfall dedicated EDH deck, then shame on you). Quest for Renewal has found a place in my Rafiq deck because of it’s interaction with Stoic Angel. Even Arbor Elf might want me to think about running more Forests in decks where I’d run non-basics instead.

You don’t have to feel like you have to run Jace in EDH decks or it won’t run well. Your deck is 100 different cards to find combos and synergies to do different things with your cards and your opponent’s mind. Except for the dual man-lands (which will always see play, pick them up and hold onto forever), nothing I mentioned will break the bank and some of the more competitive players will gladly throw in during trades. I was ecstatic that I was able to find a foil Bazaar Trader this weekend and traded for it right away. Luckily, he was another EDH player so he was happy that someone wanted it.

But it’s not just adding Worldwake cards to your EDH deck (which has been the main part of this post), it’s also taking the time to see what’s not been making the right plays. Has that certain card been sitting in your hand and you really haven’t wanted to play it anytime? It might be best to cut it and see if you miss it. Is there a sub-theme that you feel could get stronger in your deck? It doesn’t have to be Worldwake cards that might be the best fit.

Decks don’t get better by staying the same. Even if you think everything is running smoothly, it won’t hurt to see what else is out there. Maybe there’s a new counterspell that’s a better fit for your deck (just kidding, counterspells aren’t good anymore). Cards change, Wizards’ philosophies change, cards get banned and unbanned. People will start getting wise to your deck and maybe have some cards to counteract your deck.

Wrong Maeby...

If you’ve noticed I’ve said “maybe” plenty of times in this post; that’s because I just don’t know. You have to have an open mind when editing decks and realize that the card that you’ve been playing with for the past year may not be the best fit for the deck anymore. But, and here’s the best part, it’s not my decision do decide what’s best for your deck, it’s yours. All I can do is suggest things (sometimes strongly), not pound you over the head with a bat until you put it in there.

You’ve been told to go to the dentist every six months, change your oil every 3000 miles and check your smoke alarms at daylight savings time. Your decks (no matter how often you play), should be looked at every three months, the amount of time between sets being released. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with doing changes every month or every week if you get new cards in trades or open new packs. If your playgroup is good, they will have adapted to your deck within that three month time and you won’t be winning as consistently, so a change of pace should be in order.

It’s not buying 30 boxes of Worldwake, it’s looking through a trade binder and seeing that Chain Reaction you need for your mono-Red deck. It’s about working with your deck to take care of it, nurture it, and in return, it will be kind to you. If something could be improved, fix it. Don’t be afraid to take out that foil if it doesn’t work anymore. After all, you could trade it to another EDHer for something you do need to improve your deck.

‘Cause they’re looking to improve their deck too.

Never mess with the Fatties!

Ahh, you smell that? That’s the new set smell.

It’s the time again where every Magic blog in the world does a new set review. Since you guys voted in such overwhelming numbers, I’m going to be doing a Set review of EDH here on 99EDH. A whopping 69% of you wanted an EDHtastic review (75 votes) and only one person voted no (sorry, but I guess you’re going to have to skip this post then). Luckily you didn’t want me to do every single card which is good; but you know what surprised me when I went through the list: about half of the cards can fit into an EDH deck.

Please note: pretty much every card in this set can be used in this format, though some of them aren’t really all that exciting (Twitch?). If you want to try out some of the other cards that I didn’t mention here, feel free.

At the end of this post, you’ll get my Top 10 list for EDH from Worldwalke. On to the reviews!

White – 8 Cards

• Admonition Angel

A 6/6 flying Angel for 6 is going to be pretty good powerwise, but of course that’s not the reason that it’s here on this list. The Oblivion Ringing landfall ability is just nuts. It’s a target when it comes into play (and they’ll get their cards back) so protect it. This creature can and will take over a game. The downside: even if you remove a General, they can still replay it without waiting for the Angel to get killed (something I’m not a fan of). The ability is a “May” trigger, so pay attention.

• Archon of Redemption

For one less mana, you get this guy. His big thing he gains you life? Really, that’s EDH relevant? Suddenly a mono-white Angel/bird deck can get you pretty high on life becoming “that guy” at your table. With the high life total for you to abuse, I’m sure you might be able to draw some cards, pump some dudes, or just sit back and laugh as everyone’s trying to keep up with you.

• Iona’s Judgment

Some people might say that this is a little expensive to see serious play (in limited it seems ok), and for 5, you more likely want to be playing something more global. But, it does exile any creature (wished Generals stayed exiled for a while) or enchantment and eliminate any re-animation issues. Not the best option, but does give you that choice.

• Kor Firewalker

Great against mono-red decks (obviously), but the interesting part is the second ability. “Whenever a player…” that’s the meal ticket. You pay a Red spell, Firewalker triggers, and Searing Meditation then can do 2 damage. Great in multiplayer keeping those Red decks manageable, just wish Painter’s Servant was still legal.

• Marshal’s Anthem

You don’t want to play this without kicking it. Yes, it’s an awesome pump spell that effects all of your creatures (not just White ones), but to multikick it you return any creature (not just White ones) to the battlefield is the key. Not to your hand, but back into play. Paying 6 for this is equal to a Honor of the Pure and Resurrection. All this on one card.

• Ruin Ghost

Sure, he triggers landfall anytime you want which means he’s an auto inclusion in any deck that can support it, but there’s some fun stuff that you can do with him. The new Blue land (Halimar Depths) will get you great card advantage, but this is a trick I learned during the prerelease. This guy and the new White land (Sejiri Steppe) means that you can protect any creature you have, which can turn tides.

• Stoneforge Mystic

Jitte, Sword of Fire and Ice, Skullclamp. Get these all in your hand and then onto the battlefield at instant speed? Nice. There are plenty of cards that put equipment into your hand and she throws them into play for you. Repeatedly. Goes in any deck that Stonehewer Giant goes in, along side it.

• Terra Eternal

Finally, a great way to combat the Strip Mine/Crucible of the Worlds lock that the guy in your playgroup plays. Obliterate doesn’t kill all the lands (nor this enchantment), your man lands don’t die, and suddenly that Red mage jerk can’t make you mad anymore. This one won’t fit in all metas, but you might be seeing this around sometime soon if you’re the one blowing up all the lands. Remember, this effects all lands, not just yours.

Blue – 7 Cards

• Jace, the Mind Sculptor

You’ve read countless things about this Planeswalker (either good, or expensive). If you have a Future Sight in play (or just want to Brainstorm) he’s pure advantage. Listen, he will take over a game: bouncing creatures, throwing cards on the bottom of the library, reworking the top of yours after a fetchland. You have to get rid of this as soon as possible if he’s on the side of a good player. If you can get one, do.

• Quest for Ula’s Temple

While this will only fit in certain decks (and he CAN’T put a General from the command zone into play), but there is something this can do: put a Grozoth into play. Why is that exciting? Oh, I don’t know: maybe ’cause he can get big things. He does love the fatties.

• Selective Memory

This card is not for ever EDH deck, only those who want to do a combo EDH deck. This cuts through all the clutter and gets down to business. Most likely you won’t see this card all that often, but when you do, watch out. Note: you can’t target another player with it, Selective Memory only hits your own library.

• Spell Contortion

The negative is that this counterspell doesn’t really counter anything late game. The positive? Well you get to draw a bunch of cards. While not the best instant card draw you’ve got in EDH (5 to draw 1 card, 7 for 2, etc), but if you’re starting out in this format, it’s not bad. It’s not Dismiss, but that’s ok.

• Thada Adel, Acquisitor – General

One of the Generals that I didn’t preview (it wasn’t officially released before the Prerelease) so I’ll only touch on it here. The best part of this General is the fact that he can exile your opponent’s win condition early. Darksteel, Inkwell, Memory Jar, even Sol Ring can all be gone in the beginning of the game. You don’t have to pay for them if you don’t want. If you can, you might as well.

• Treasure Hunt

Yes it can draw you multiple cards, if you keep drawing lands. Mix this with Jace (the new one) and you can draw a lot of cards. On the surface, it seems like a good card to test with your EDH decks (especially if you have a good number of shuffle effects). It’s not going to work great all the time (it will at least cycle itself), but give it a couple shuffles to try.

• Vapor Snare

You steal a creature. As long as you return a land to your hand every upkeep, you keep it. Helps landfall effects (Roil Elemental), you don’t have to sacrifice a land or even discard a card so there’s no big drawback to this situation (besides the loss of a mana producer). Of course, if you return the new Blue land to your hand every upkeep, then it’s a Top.

Black – 9 Cards

• Abyssal Persecutor

Yes, he’s a beatstick that’s going to get around most things in the air. Everyone’s been talking about this guy and saying that his drawback isn’t all that bad because you’re in Black and have a lot of removal. What I would love to see is a Tooth and Nail getting entwined to get him and Platinum Angel onto the battlefield; no one could win now. A little Privileged Position mixed in and suddenly do people attack you? Just a thought experiment.

• Agadeem Occultist

Remember that Changelings can be allies as well. He does blatantly steal creatures from your opponent’s ‘yard instead of your own as to not be completely abused. This is the type of creature that you have a subtheme to play with instead of just a random card thrown in as well. Most of the time, won’t get the fatties, but could get good utility creatures (See: Eternal Witness).

• Anowon, the Ruin Sage – General

I already talked about him here. He does come in the Intro pack which is a nice bonus (and another guy further down the list as well). Too bad he’s not the foil rare, which would be a good idea to maybe get more of those sold (just a hint, Wizards).

• Bloodhusk Ritualist

Discard is always relevant, especially in the late game where the Blue mage has just redrawn his hand. With enough mana he can empty an entire full hand becoming a cheaper Mind Warp on legs.

• Butcher of Malakir

He’s expensive, but oh so worth it. A flying Grave Pact, suddenly hitting your guys become a little more dangerous to send to the graveyard. If you mix this with Anowon (which they both come in the intro pack) with non-Vampires like I suggested, then suddenly everyone else is emptying two creatures a turn. The classic way is to find ways to sacrifice your own creatures for your benefit and suddenly you can get the creature board control. Oh, did I mention he also flies, ’cause that’s a pretty cool thing for a Vampire to do.

• Caustic Crawler

HI BILLY MAYS HERE! AN ARMY OF TOKEN CREATURES GOT YOU DOWN? HOW ABOUT YOUR FRIEND’S SQUIRREL DECK? DO YOU REGULARLY PLAY AGAINST ELVES ONLY TO GET RUN DOWN BY ONE-ONES? NOT ANYMORE. WITH CAUSTIC CRAWLER, EVERY TIME YOU DO SOMETHING THAT YOU NORMALLY DO A TURN YOU GET RID OF ALL THOSE PESTS. ONLY 3BB. GET YOURS NOW!

(Editor’s Note: Even Billy Mays gets it wrong sometime. As been pointed out, can only hit one creature. Therefore, maybe not the best in EDH. I apologize for the confusion – MtGCP)

• Dead Reckoning

As a sorcery, it doesn’t allow for funky combat tricks, but we get a new Raise Dead variant. If you’re discarding big creatures to something, this is one of the best ways to bring it back and deal with a troublesome creature. Of course, you’d prefer to hit a player, so I’m sure this would be a great target for a Stuffy Doll. With Furnace of Rath.

• Death’s Shadow

A quick PSA: Do NOT use this guy in EDH. Please. Even with Dead Reckoning. You start out at 40 life, and if you really want a cheap creature when you’re low at life, this won’t help you. Thanks – MtGCP.

• Quest for the Nihil Stone

Yea! Howltooth Hollow has a new friend to play with! You know that walking Mind Twist I talked about earlier? Seems like it would go great with this. Repeating 5 damage a turn with a combo of Mind’s Eye and Words of Waste seems like a fun one to annoy people. use responsibility.

• Smother

Reprint, but one worth mentioning. Kills Gaddock Teeg, Refollos, Both Syggs (some of the time), Doran, Jaya Ballard, Jhoira, Mayael, Merieke Ri Berit, Omnath, Teysa, Thada Adel, Vendilion Clique, Zo-Zu. Oh, I guess regular creatures as well.

Red – 11 Cards

• Bazaar Trader

Yes, this the guy I was referring too in my Kazuul review. Another Red political card? Go on, tell me more. Well, what’s great about this guy is messing with opponent’s minds. Sure, I’ll Donate you my Wall of Stone so you can block that fatty coming your way. And because it’s instant speed, it’s great for combat tricks. This is going to be one of those sneakily most fun cards in the set.

• Chain Reaction

Now here’s Red’s Wrath. You can put your own tokens down to keep pumping this up, but if you’re playing in a group game, this suddenly gets better and better. Because it does damage, it won’t get rid of those “Protection from Red” creatures, but unlike Earthquake, it can and will hit flyers. It’s not a finisher by any means, but it’s a great way to keep the board clear of creatures.

• Comet Storm

If you’ve got infinite (I’m sorry, really large amounts of mana), this could be your finisher. An instant speed X damage spell that you don’t have to hit other targets with. Yes, please keep in mind that the multikicker is an option; go ahead and aim it at an opponent’s dome. Or two if you have 1 extra mana to spare. If your opponent’s tapping for a ton of mana, be prepared to face this down.

• Cosi’s Ravager

No one will pay attention to this guy, I guarantee it. They’ll look at the burning horse and go “That’s only 1 damage a turn, I’ll leave it.” Most of the time, they’d be right. All it does is trigger Bloodthirst, Elder Mastery, Sigil of Sleep, Talon of Pain, and the like. Heaven forbid I even bring up Scapeshift. All this guy does is drip, drip, drip. No one will pay attention to him at all.

• Dragonmaster Outcast

Players like Dragons. Players like free Dragons every turn. It’s really easy to get to six lands in EDH. All you have to do is protect that guy and suddenly, Free 5/5 flyers! This is another one of those “Game-Changers” that once he hits the Battlefield, you’re the target. You’re not playing him on turn 1, so you can hold him back until you have enough land to play him and the best bet would be after someone Wraths. Aether Vial him into play at the end of an opponent’s turn, get 5/5 dragon.

• Kazuul, Tyrat of the Cliffs – General

I did my review on him. I like him. I pre-ordered a foil version for my General. Expect a decklist sometime.

• Mordant Dragon

He doesn’t firebreathe as well as some of the other Dragons, and he doesn’t have Haste. Why play him? Sometimes when people play with creatures, they don’t attack with them. This guy, after dealing damage to the player, will hit those guys who never attack. Yeah, that will show them to have abilities that don’t require to attack.

• Ricochet Trap

This is another one of those cards that all depends on your meta and playgroup. You might not play the Trap cost all the time, but when you do play it against a Blue mage, oh, it could be devastating. Suddenly, they’re bouncing their own lands and countering their own spells. Note: It doesn’t have to be a Blue spell that you change targets with, sometimes that Fireball is just too big.

• Roiling Terrain

You want to be a jerk in EDH? Blow up everyone’s lands, then blow up another and deal them a ton of damage of having their lands in the graveyard in the first place. That will teach them to mess with you! And play with fetches. Finally, a use for Mudhole? (Just kidding, there is never a use for Mudhole).

• Stone Idol Trap

White Lightning returns! Now, this time it can block pretty much anything on the ground. Have fun. What, you think I want going to make some comment about American Idol?

• Tuktuk Scrapper

Enters the battlefield, smashes artifact, and if you’re playing Allies (Yeah?) you can keep smashing them. The damage is meh, but you can kill any artifact, not just ones with c0nverted mana cost less or equal to the number of Allies you control. It’s also a Goblin, so if you’ve got one of those decks, I could see him go in there.

Green – 10 Cards

• Arbor Elf

Almost the same as a Llanowar Elf (they both produce G when tapped), this can be abused for a little more. This can untap any forest (yes, including duels), but if you enchant a Forest with a Wild Growth, or an Elvish Guidance you can create even more mana. Of course, if you play Prismatic Omen, you can untap any land you want.

• Avenger of Zendikar

For 7 mana, you get a 5/5 fatty and an o/1 plat token for each land you control. Keep playing lands, keep pumping up your pants (Feed me!). Then if you have Garruk or Overrun in play, you smash face. Also plants: Wall of Roots (keep adding mana), Photohyrda, Vigean Hydropon, Vinelasher Kudzu, Vulturous Zombie, and Urza’s Power Plant (no, wait, it’s not). I just want to point out the art on Wall of Pine Needles; Christmas 2, this time, the trees fight back!

• Explore

No, it doesn’t fix your mana, but it does let you play another land and draw a card (basically cycling that card for a new one). If you play a land heavy deck or play one where you keep returning lands to your hand, this is going to be a great card. What am I talking about, it is a great card, just play it in your Green decks already.

• Joraga Warcaller

Yes you can kick it, but there are plenty of way to keep adding +1/+1 counters to it afterward. That’s what’s so great about this card, it’s not just how many times you kick it, but how many +1/+1 counters that are on it. Say if you were to play Quest for the Gemblades, then suddenly all your Elves get +4/+4. Just little things like that.

• Nature’s Claim

Four life in EDH isn’t all that much (it’s like 2 life in “regular” formats). This is going to be a better Naturalize. It’s not sexy, not exciting, but one mana is one mana.

• Omnath, Locus of Mana – General

Another General I talked about. Not a whole lot to add to that, except to add the next enchantment into that deck.

• Quest for Renewal

Raise your hand if you like Seedborn Muse, or Awakening, or Murkfiend Liege? Good, you’ll like this card too. It’s an enchantment (harder to remove) and it’s very easy to trigger (I’ll tap my elf to add G to my mana pool). Really? This is the perfect card for Omnath ’cause you can keep tapping your creatures at the end of everyone’s turn. I have heard absolutely nothing about this Gem, why not?

• Strength of the Tajuru

X +1/+1 counters for you Joraga Warcaller, or a way to make sure that all creatures can be used by Experimental Kraj. It’s an instant (nice), so it can be cute for some combat tricks. I would find it funny if someone used this in response to Comet Storm.

• Terastodon

This could be my new favorite reanimator target. Sure, it can’t hit creatures, but it does hit everything else (yes, including Dovescape!). If you’re playing Green, you don’t care about your opponent getting 3/3s, those are small creatures anyway. Of course, you could hit each of your opponent’s permanents and give them each a 3/3, or do it to yourself and have 18 worth of damage. If you play him with Equilibrium, you can keep bouncing Terastodon and another creature to your hand to nuke all nonland permanents overtime. While some of the other cards in this set effect while in play, if you see him coming into play (seems good with Astral Slide), run!

• Wolfbriar Elemental

Six power for 5 mana, 8 for 6, 10 for 7. You see where I’m going with this? You can run out Wolves and keep ‘em out there ready to pounce on anything. This can get pretty ridiculous with more mana, something you can do in EDH rather well.

Special Note: All five of the Zendikons are cute, and besides from the Power/Toughness and abilities, the all have the same function: returning a land that went to the graveyard to your hand. This is the main function of these enchantments that players will use them for so I lumped them all together.

Multicolor – 2 Cards

• Novablast Wurm

Hey, do you want to play that sweeper in your Gaddock Teeg deck but you can’t due to him being so restricting? Well, not you can. Swing with this guy and Boom!, everything’s dead. ‘Course if you play with Loxodon Hierarch and Dauntless Escort and Elspeth, well, all your guys can survive too. Remember, it’s when it attacks, so you have to deal with it before the attack step.

• Wrexial, the Risen Deep – General

The only multicolored General in this set (sad). I was told this is basically a Ken Nagle design for Ken Nagle. If you’ve never played Memory Plunder, you don’t realize how sick it is. If you have, realize that now it’s on a islandwalking, swampwalking stick. It’s completely backbreaking to continue to keep doing it over and over again. If I was going to do one more review of a General, it would be him.

Artifacts – 7 Cards

• Amulet of Vigor

It can be tutored up by Trinket Mage, and it could change the way we play EDH… or a complete dud. Right now you have about 200 cards that enter the battlefield tapped; see if you can break it.

• Basilisk Collar

Oh, look, it’s Vampire Nighthawk on an equipment. It’s great to prevent attacks and allow others through. It doesn’t give haste, nor the important shroud. If you’ve got a dedicated equipment deck, I’d expect it to be there. It’s a nice idea, but nothing to write home about.

• Everflowing Chalice

Some are calling this the new Sol Ring. Not quite, but it still is pretty good. Again, if you have ways to put charge counters on this, then abuse it since it doesn’t matter how the Chalice gets them. Flores already did a preview article on this, and there’s not a whole lot more I can add. If you don’t have a Sol Ring, this is most likely going to be your next best bet.

• Lodestone Golem

Great for Karn decks. Should replace all Juggernauts in all your decks. If you’ve got a Sharuum EDH deck, he’d fit in nicely. Dropping this on turn 3 or 4 (obviosuly under idea conditions) will slow everyone down. Except for that guy running the Grand Arbiter Augustin IV deck, he’s most likely got one too.

• Pilgrim’s Eye

Again, not sexy, but it does allow any color to go get a basic land and put it in your hand. Sill worse than Solemn Simulacrum, but at least this guy flies. Something good got to come out of that, right? And it goes in your Thopter themed EDH deck.

• Seer’s Sundial

I’m calling this the new Mind’s Eye. It’s a little worse than Horn of Greed, but a little better too. Your opponent doesn’t draw, but you do have to pay 2 to draw a card. Also, if you fetch lands at the end of an opponent’s turn, you can pay 2 to draw a card (Horn of Greed said you had to play it). Mix this with Ruin Ghost and the new Blue land, and suddenly, you can control your desnity (note: destiny control doesn’t work outside of EDH game).

• Walking Atlas

Ah, the error card. Yes, it is an artifact. Like Explore, it doesn’t fix your mana, but helps you accelerate it. With all of the Landfall triggered cards, I’m sure there would be stuff you would like to do at instant speed (draw a card, exile a non-land permanent, give all your opponents creatures -1/-1). It will certainly be a role player, not a star in EDH games.

Land – 10 Cards

• Man Lands

You will play the Man Lands in all the decks that can support it. It’s another win condition, and if you have any tap lands, these will replace them. With all seriousness, these cards are going to be EDH staples for years.

• Bojuka Bog

Great against reanimator decks/artifact decks. Again, won’t see play in every Black deck, but if your friend has a deck that abuses the graveyard, this will go right in there. Careful, if someone Mindslavers you, they can exile your graveyard (or redirect it with Willbender).

• Dread Statuary

Just pointing this out as another land Karn EDH players can use. I know there’s a couple of you out there, I’ve got your back.

• Eye of Ugin

While I hate the design, currently it should be seen as an artifact that takes a land drop. You can search out any colorless creature (at the moment, there are only artifacts) and put it in your hand. If you like your Sundering Titan, Darksteel Colossus, or Masticore, they can be yours.

• Halimar Depths

I’ve talked about this land several times, but it’s just a good land. It’s in Blue (naturally) and it’s something that can work amazingly well in any Blue oriented deck. I’ve always love Trade Routes with landfall, and now Halimar Depths makes that can so much better. Should be in every deck that can play it.

• Tectonic Edge

The new Wasteland. It’s more balanced (it takes four lands to sacrifice and a mana), but it’s still really really good. It will take out everything that will cause you trouble. Some people don’t like playing with land destruction, but in some cases (like this) it’s not a bad thing to pack one of these. It’s only an uncommon, get it now.

Now, my Top 10 for the set. This list doesn’t have Generals, just the non-legendary cards. Yes, the $60 card is not the number one for EDH. Why? Yes, he does effect a game once he’s in play, but there are ways to deal with him once he’s on the Battlefield (sure, might not be as easy with a Blue mage, but it can be done). The number 1 card on the list card deal with it, but there is much fewer ways to deal with the number 1 card.

#1 on the list, and my heart

As for the other ones, they can fit different style of decks (not a dedicated strategy). They’ll give you options to make different style of decks, which is always a good thing.

1. Terastodon
2. Butcher of Malakir
3. Chain Reaction
4. Jace, the Mind Sculptor
5. Tectonic Edge
6. Seer’s Sundial
7. Admonition Angel
8. Everflowing Chalice
9. Dragonmaster Outcast
10. Quest for Renewal

You guys agree? Disagree? Anything I missed? Voice your opinions below or on Twitter (@mtgcolorpie).

What is your quest?

Yes, another EDH legend was spoiled, so here comes a new review of him. This General is different than the ones we’ve normally seen in this color. It’s a little odd to see his ability (one you can easily abuse), but it can be used effectively to make sure no one messes with you.

But first, take a look at that art. There are some Generals that look wimpy, or rely on their smarts or ones you might think you could take in a fight. It looks like this guy will tear limbs from you if you ever cross him. Good thing we’re going to make him happy.

Again, if you want to be kept from spoilers, go no further. Otherwise, let’s see what we can do.

if we don't get no tolls, then we don't eat no rolls.

Doug Beyer’s Savor the Flavor on the Mothership has given us a new General. If you skip the text box for a moment (don’t worry, we’ll get to that) you’ll see that he is pretty beefy. A 5/4 for 5? This completely trumps Fire Elemental (the only other 5/4 for 5 in Red). He’s a pretty beefy guy if and when you attack with him. Being an Warrior allows you do to some fun things with him in a Tribal sense (if you’re into that type of thing).

Alright, let’s get to his ability, which is pretty saucy. It’s a triggered ability, and there’s nothing you can do on your turn that makes it happen. You have to sit and wait for the other players to do something. It all fits with the flavor of this card (though, it feels a little White instead of Red).

Whenever a creature an opponent controls attacks, if you’re the defending player, put a 3/3 red Ogre creature token onto the battlefield unless that creature’s controller pays 3.

Remember kids: it’s whenever a creature attacks you; it doesn’t say it has to deal damage to you or whenever an opponent gets attacked. While this is a great deterrent to get people from attacking you (sadly, not always the best option in Red), it’s one of the better political Generals in Worldwake.

It’s easier to break this down to three abilities:

1. A creature attacking you
2. Put a 3/3 token onto the battlefield
3. Controller pays 3.

Realizing that, let’s see how we can break these.

1. A creature attacking you.

Now, most players are not going to say “Wow, that sounds like a really good deal; I attack you and you get a creature.” You’re going to have to entice them to come over and attack you. And you’d think Red would have some cards like that. What? It does? Wow, seems like a good time to throw down a list:

• Aggression
• Bloodshed Fever
• Boiling Blood
• Grand Melee
• Incite War
• Instill Furor
• Into the Fray
• Uncontrollable Anger

Alright, most likely not the best looking list I’ve ever put together. Red is more known for forcing its own creatures to attack than making an opponents’ attack. If there was only a way to make that work in your favor (Hint: in Worldwake there is rumored to be a way, and it’s Red, as if it were a trader of some sort…). Once you get something like that, that creature would have to attack, triggering this whole thing.

Of course, there is one creature that just may outshine all other possible cards for this situation: Fumiko the Lowblood.

…Creatures your opponents control attack each turn if possible.

Ok, in a multiplayer game, they may not have to attack you, but this is where the whole politics thing that you should start be messing around with comes in.

2. Put a 3/3 token onto the battlefield

Besides the obvious (you get a creature to block the attacking creature), there’s some fun things you can do with this. All of the creatures are Ogres, so anything you would normally do with tribal, you could do with this (Hint: Coat of Arms). But Red has a few ways to go even further:

• Blasting Station
• Confusion in the Ranks (also works with the above option)
• Electropotence
• Mana Echos
• Pandemonium
• Ronin Warclub

So, you can get some options that allow you to abuse the creatures coming into play. Not listed: everything else you can do while the creatures are in play.

3. Controller pays 3.

And here’s the one that could get your friends to complain when you pull out this deck. If they get to pay the 3 mana, you don’t get your guy (paying a tax for you not to get a blocker (which feels like a White ability). This toll-like ability completely fits within the character (read Doug’s article for the gist of it) and it’s a cool ability that we haven’t seen before. The easiest thing you can do is just keep blowing up their lands to prevent them from paying the 3.

But there are other ways of preventing them from paying it:

• Mana Web
• Storm Cauldron
• Manabarbs
• Price of Glory

But the best card for this deck that works on multiple levels? War’s Toll. Suddenly they’ve got to choose between playing a spell or swinging at you. If they do swing, they can’t play another spell or get the risk of getting quite a large number of 3/3 tokens staring at them.

Again with the politics and the thinking.

Final Word: At first, I kinda brushed over this guy, not giving it much thought. But then with a little research, I discovered that I would play mind games with everyone at the table and teach the newer players about multiplayer fun. “Oh, you don’t want to attack into me, I’ll keep getting guys…”

I already pre-ordered a foil for my General.

He's holding an Apocalypse Chime? (Look it up kids)

Most of you that voted in last post’s poll, want a EDHtastic set review of Worldwake. I guess you guys can’t get enough Magic reviews. Fine, fine, you’ll get your reviews after the Prerelease. As for now, you’ll get what I’m thinking about each new EDH General that’s officially released.

The new General shouldn’t really be a surprise to anyone who’s been following Magic since M10. Vampires have been the New Kids on the Block being all high and mighty. They got a semi-awesome General in Zendikar, but of course Worldwake was going to bring the one who would lead the tribe (Anyone else notice how much tribal stuff they got going on in this block? Maybe it should’ve followed Lorywn instead of Alara).

What follows is spoilers about this guy, so look away if you want to be surprised. Yes, he’s shirtless, but guess what, he’s not sparkling, and that’s a very good thing.

Where's Blade when you need him?

Jenna Helland introduced this guy in her Savor the Flavor article. Yes, Vampires get a new lord, and this one fits pretty well with the overall theme of the tribe. The Vampire tribe has been getting pushed the past several sets, though nothing completely EDH worthy to build around.

Until now.

Anowon’s a 4/3 for 3BB, so he’s really not all that aggressive. There’s no built in way to get damage to an opponent and when he enters the battlefield, the game state changes the same. He’s got one ability and it only goes off once per a turn, yours. All of these things sound so uninteresting; why anyone would get so excited about Anowon as a General?

At the beginning of your upkeep, each player sacrifices a non-Vampire creature.

And suddenly, he’s got a big target on his forehead that matches his red line. But what’s so good about this guy is that his ability is untargeted; as long as you keep the battlefield clear of other creatures. Keep one thing in mind: it’s every every player, you and every other player at the table making him have a huge effect in multiplayer games.

The easy thing to do would be to build a linear Vampires EDH deck and call it a day (if you want to do that, check out Bennie Smith’s list). Instead, I’m going the other way. Yes, I’m filling the deck with non-Vampires. But why? You’re killing your own creatures if you fill a deck like this.

Really? I don’t think Grave Pact would mind, do you?

Oh, yeah, that. Suddenly your opponents won’t be too happy sacrificing two creatures a turn. Then you can send Anowon over to deal combat damage. So, let’s take a look to see what would be the best creatures to happen with sacrifice effects to Anowon:

• Abyssal Gatekeeper
• Body Snatcher
• Death’s-Head Buzzard
• Deathgreater
• Dross Harvester
• Epochrasite
• Endless Cockroaches
• Extractor Demon
• Festering Goblin
• Havoc Demon
• Kuon, Orge Ascendant
• Lim-Dul the Necromancer
• Mindslicer
• Myr Retriever
• Nether Traitor
• Puppeteer Clique
• Scavenger Drake
• Shirei, Shizo’s Caretaker
• Solemn Simulacrum
• Summoner’s Egg
• Toshiro Umezawa

Of course, when you sacrifice creatures, other cards that can take advantage of said sacrificing.

• Black Market
• Blade of the Bloodchief
• Blowfly Infestation
• Deathrender
• Decaying Soil
• Dingus Staff
• Endless Whisper
• Last Laugh
• Liability
• Lifeline
• Lightning Coils
• Mortuary
• Quest for the Gravelord
• Sadistic Glee
• Salvaging Station
• Screams from Within
• Soul Net

There are plenty of cards here that allow you to gain life, so mix that with the new EDH staple Sanguine Bond, you can certainly hit them twice (which really is a nice tie into the theme). And anything that you would normally mix with Grave Pact, (token creators, sac outlets), would go great in this deck.

But if you don’t want to want to go that way, I would suggest the following: play him as a control General. If he’s the only creature on your side of the table, he can’t sac himself (’cause he’s a Vampire). Equip him with Lightning Greeves and suddenly the only removal that could get rid of him is a Wrath or another sac effect.

But he can get rid of your opponent’s Darksteel Colossus.

Or Akroma.

Or whatever fattie is blocking your way.

Play Damnation, then Anowon and suddenly your opponents have to play two creatures a turn to keep up. So just run him over and kill your opponents before they have a chance. Really, what could be more fun then that?

Final Word: Of course, you could still make it a Vampire theme deck, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It makes sense that this guy would fit into a pretty linear deck (and an EDH deck at that). If you got a collection of Vampires that you want to use in an EDH deck, then I don’t see what you wouldn’t play him. Just expect some groans when you do reveal him at the beginning of your game, no matter if you’re playing Vampires or not. He’s going to be easier to get since he’s a rare, so he’s got that going for him, which is nice.

Then there’s Conspiracy, if you really want to play Vampires.

Pick him up, if you really like the blood suckers. I’m sure you’ll be seeing him around.

I think someone's been watching Princess Mononoke lately

With Worldwake coming up around the corner, it’s that time to update your EDH decks. Sure you don’t have to, but there might be some great cards that you’d love to put in your decks. Other times, there are new Generals that are printed to give you more options to build new decks.

While there will be some websites and blogs doing set reviews, I’m still up in the air to decide what to do (voice your opinion in the poll, please!). Currently, I’m going to review the first EDH General from Worldwake. If you want to keep away from all spoilers, don’t go under the jump.

(Remember, we’re only going to be reviewing WotC approved spoilers. To see the list, click here)

Onto the first EDH General: Omnath, Locus of Mana.

Well, I don't see insects...

Doug Beyer introduced this guy into the Magic Multiverse. How good is it? Good. Some (at these early stages) are even calling this a high money card in the set (it’s always fun to go back and look at reviews of sets after a while and see how many people looked over certain cards and how many overestimated them). It’s great that the two abilities of this guy tie together so nicely (like that rug I had).

The first ability he has isn’t a new concept (as seen on Upwelling), but the second is an interesting twist that’s only been printed on a few cards. Luckily, most of those cards are Green so we can throw them in a deck with this guy as General.

Let’s take a look at the full text:

Green mana doesn’t empty from your mana pool as steps and phases end.
Omnath, Locus of Mana gets +1/+1 for each green mana in your mana pool.

It’s important to note two things:

1. You have an End Step. The mana doesn’t end at the end of any turn, not at the end of the turn. Mana stays with you for as long as you want.

2. It’s only Green mana, Channel by itself doesn’t work since it’s colorless mana. But if a card says “use this mana for X”, it stays in your mana pool.

Let’s take a look at Green cards that add more than one Green mana to your mana pool that you can use in this deck:

• Citanul Hierophants
• Dawn’s Reflection
• Devoted Druid
• Eladamri’s Vineyard
• Elemental Resonance
• Elvish Aberration
• Elvish Archdruid
• Elvish Guidance
• Fertile Ground
• Fyndhorn Elder/Greenweaver Druid
• Heartbeat of Spring
• Heritage Druid
• Keeper of Progenitus
• Magus of the Vineyard
• Mark of Sakiko
• Overgrowth
• Overlaid Terrain
• Priest of Titania
• Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
• Sacellum Godspeaker
• Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro
• Sakiko, Mother of Summer
• Sasay’s Essence
• Shizuko, Caller of Autumn
• Utopia Sprawl
• Vernal Bloom
• Viridian Joiner
• Wildgrowth
• Wirewood Channeler

As you can see, most of these cards are Elves, so it might be a good idea to build your deck around that theme (a snakes sub-theme would work as well). Of course, there are some cards that also build on the mana in your mana pool as well.

• Doubling Cube
• Glissa Sunseeker
• Manaplasm (in a way)

One of the other benefits of having the Upwelling on legs is to play almost anything you want (within reason) whenever you want. Instants, creatures with flash, or if you have a Vedalken Orrery in play, then anything you want, really. With the new M10 rules changes where you don’t get mana burn, it allows you to go crazy since you can’t be hurt by it. The whole strategy of this is to balance the effect of keeping mana in your pool to beef up your General, or to just use it as a walking Upwelling. It will take a little time and see what the situation calls for to should shrink your General to play that card or if you want to keep the mana in your pool.

While adding mana to your pool through conventional means is good (tapping a creature/land), remember that Green has other ways of “generating” mana as well. Untapping lands has always been a great way of getting mana on another opponent’s turn. Yes, you can turn that mana into a bigger General. Awesome, right?

• Awakening
• Early Harvest
• Earthcraft
• Garruk Wildspeaker
• Krosan Restorer
• Llanowar Druid
• Magus of the Candlelabra
• Nature’s Will
• Patron of the Orochi
• Rude Awakening
• Seedborn Muse
• Stone-Seeder Heirophant
• Tangleroot

At the moment, if you’re looking for a new General to play in Mono-Green besides that one you’ve been annoying your playgroup with (Rofellos), Omnath might be a good change of pace. You can still run alot of the same cards, even have the Elf Legend in your deck since it works so well together. This is can a big beater (for only 3 mana), something that Green is known for, yet can you can do different things then just smash face.

Final word: I would suggest running this guy. We don’t know what else Worldwake holds, but there’s enough fun printed at the moment to run him. At the moment, I would suggest an Elf package (Nissa seems good) to make him as large as quickly as possible, but it’s just as easy to just have him be a Green Mana Battery for your other spells. There’s different ways you can take him, but expect to see one common thread: lots and lots of mana.

I would suggest getting one.

Celing Dragon is watching you...

I’ve been dabbling in EDH for awhile now; my friend Shawn got me into it towards the end of the summer as a less costly way than Standard to approach Magic players in a new city where I had few friends and needed a way to meet people. Although I’ve built a few decks in that time, my favorite general to work around has definitely been Teneb, the Harvester from Planar Chaos’s cycle of alternate wedge-colored “younger dragon legends”. Teneb hits a lot of my favorites as a deckbuilder: he’s a strong enough beatstick for multiplayer, he puts me in colors I enjoy playing, he’s reanimation… and he’s three colors. You may not know this about me, but my favorite color of Magic is gold. (The last sixteen months playing with Alara block have been a lot of fun for me.)

I’m going to break my deck down into sections so I can talk about different aspects of it and how I went about designing them. Hopefully, that will be more effective than just dumping the whole list on you and rambling about a handful of random cards.

Flying
Whenever Teneb, the harvester deals combat damage to a player, you may pay 2B. If you do, put target creature card in a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control.

Let’s have a look, shall we?

LANDS (37)

• 2x Forest
• 2x Plains
• 2x Swamp
• Barren Moor
• Brushland
• Caves of Koilos
• Esper Panorama
• Godless Shrine
• Golgari Rot Farm
• Horizon Canopy
• Jund Panorama
• Llanowar Wastes
• Marsh Flats
• Miren, the Moaning Well
• Murmuring Bosk
• Orzhov Basilica
• Overgrown Tomb
• Pine Barrens
• Polluted Mire
• Rupture Spire
• Salt Flats
• Secluded Steppe
• Spawning Pool
• Sungrass Prairie
• Sunpetal Grove
• Terramorphic Expanse
• Tranquil Garden
• Tranquil Thicket
• Treetop Village
• Vec Townships
• Vivid Grove
• Vivid Marsh
• Vivid Meadow
• Volrath’s Stronghold

As I said, I enjoy making decks with three or more colors. In EDH though, this can be a problem if one doesn’t own a lot of mana-fixing: whereas in other formats you can pick two or three good lands and run playsets of them, in EDH you need a lot of unique cards that are reliable together. I’m lucky in that my collection (while not particularly strong when it comes to things like Standard) is rather large, and extremely varied. When I went looking for lands to support a three-color deck in singleton, I found that I had actually acquired a significant variety of them over the years.

(Quick aside: A few of the stores I’ve frequented have had “common bins” in the front or the back of the store full of, as you might guess, random commons thrown together in boxes with little to no organization. I cannot promote this idea strongly enough for casual players, particularly in singleton formats like EDH. Commons from the bins are usually there because the store owners don’t care enough to spend time sorting them, and as a result they tend to be dirt cheap–as little as eight to ten cents a card. If you need help finding lands or anything else for your EDH decks, you should see if your local store has one of these bins. They’re like a combination clearance rack and grab bag; you never know what you’re going to find, and you can walk away with a stack of real prizes for the price of the change in your pocket.)

You’ll notice I’m running precious few basic lands–two of each of my colors. Yes, this does make me vulnerable to certain strategies like Blood Moon or Anathemancer, but I find that’s a minor risk that’s very well worth taking. My experience with three-color decks in EDH is that you want a handful of basic lands “just in case”, but beyond that, the fewer basics you’re running the smoother your mana is going to be.

There are reasons to cut down on basics even if you don’t have access to a full spectrum of color fixer lands. (I know, not everybody has a random Vec Townships sitting in their nonbasic land box. Most people probably don’t even have a nonbasic land box.) At the very least, you should think about replacing some basic lands with useful monocolored nonbasic ones, like the Cycling lands and man-lands. Extra little utility effects like these can help you dig your way out of tough spots, such as when you can’t find the colors to cast certain spells.

You might also notice I have a few colorless lands. While I will caution against colorless lands in decks like this, where you need all the multi-color fixing you can get, I make an exception for fetch-lands of all types. Yes, Terramorphic Expanse is going to end up tapping for only one color of mana no matter what you fetch with it; yet having that choice about what color to get can go a long way towards getting a struggling mana base online. New common variants of this sac-and-search effect are getting printed all the time, making them easy to get your hands on if you don’t own any, while pricier options like Marsh Flats certainly have their place if you’ve got them. (As we get down to the rest of the deck, you’ll see I have a few land-tutoring effects there as well, which is why it’s good to keep at least a few basics on the list–just no more than you must.)

CREATURES (24)

• Necrotic Sliver
• Eternal Witness
• Mold Shambler
• Canker Abomination
• Magus of the Disk
• Shriekmaw
• Silverglade Elemental
• Indrik Stomphowler
• Genesis
• Elvish Aberration
• Pale Recluse
• Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
• Dread
• Visara the Dreadful
• Platinum Angel
• Lim-Dûl the Necromancer
• Wirewood Guardian
• Windbrisk Raptor
• Angel of Despair
• Avatar of Woe
• Woodfall Primus
• Akroma, Angel of Wrath
• Scion of Darkness
• Reiver Demon

I took my General’s cue and made this a fairly simple reanimator-beats deck, and its creatures are its heart and soul. My creature core starts small, and its early game is based entirely around utility. Big guys with cycling (either landcycling or the real thing) should absolutely be ditched early to accelerate my mana or draw; they’ll be nice and safe in my graveyard if I need to reanimate them later on. Cards like Necrotic Sliver, Magus of the Disk and Shriekmaw, meanwhile, help defend my exposed position by keeping the board clear of early threats and also put some bodies into graveyards for later.

The finishers are where the deck gets fun, of course, and where my repressed inner Timmy gets to come out for a bit. (EDH is certainly the format for him to thrive.) As good as Teneb is, he’s hardly the only flagship this deck can ride to victory; in fact, I’ve filled the creature base with viable finishers from Akroma, Angel of Wrath and Scion of Darkness to Windbrisk Raptor and Dread. “Smash and swing” beaters like Angel of Despair and Reiver Demon also let me control threats without slowing down my aggressive game, while Woodfall Primus and friends help me answer other problem permanents.

With all these options, there are many games where I’ve got enough action in hand and on board where I don’t even bother to bring Teneb out. (He tends to get testy when I do that, though; while he’s neither as crafty nor as vindictive as his Red-Blue uncle Nicol Bolas, he shares that dragon’s Black sense of self-importance, and his White and Green sides can make him incredibly self-righteous.)

SPELLS (38)

• Worldly Tutor
• Condemn
• Orzhov Signet
• Golgari Signet
• Talisman of Unity
• Lightning Greaves
• Demonic Tutor
• Animate Dead
• Death Grasp
• Glittering Wish
• Profane Command
• Phyrexian Totem
• Darksteel Ingot
• Weatherseed Totem
• Mercy Killing
• Mortify
• Putrefy
• Behemoth Sledge
• Phyrexian Arena
• Necropotence
• Nevinyrral’s Disk
• Wrath of God
• Barter in Blood
• Diabolic Tutor
• Extinction
• Rise from the Grave
• Hymn of Rebirth
• Crime // Punishment
• Beacon of Unrest
• Weed Strangle
• Brainspoil
• Liliana Vess
• Beseech the Queen
• Desert Twister
• Tooth and Nail
• Debtor’s Knell
• Phthisis
• Decree of Pain

While the creatures are unarguably the most fun part of the deck (and, after all, the win condition), I like to think the spell base is where it really shines. There are a lot of really cool effects I’m pleased to have been able to work in here, and they’re a large part of why the deck tends to carry out its strategy so smoothly.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the strong arm of this deck and the way it muscles its way to dominance over other decks is in its suite of removal. Now, I’ve been told by other EDH players that so-called “spot removal”–that is, kill spells that target specific creatures–doesn’t really have much value in this format since there are so many scary threats around. I have to politely disagree. While it’s true that running a token amount of removal can be inadequate, I’ve found that–at least in this deck, where every creature sent to a graveyard is automatic synergy with an inevitable reanimation spell drawn later–running a whole lot of removal can be really really good. With that in mind, my strategy here has been–at least in part–to run enough kill spells (both spot and mass removal) that I can answer anything my opponents decide to send my way.

That said, I’ve taken a shrewder approach to the removal suite than simply throwing in every “kitchen sink” kill spell I can get my hands on. For this deck I handpicked only those removal spells that caught my eye by offering some special perk: the added utility of also addressing other permanent types, for example (like Mortify and Putrefy); or a substantial life swing as a bonus (the best example is Phthisis). It’s also worth pointing out that nearly every single one of my kill spells can at the very least kill whatever sort of creature I decide is necessary; there are no pesky “nonblack” effects here.

I am not indifferent to the appeal of the two-(or-more)-for-ones promised by mass removal, either, and cards like Punishment and Decree of Pain back up the simple “Wrath and Disk package that others might have stopped with.

I also pride myself on including a few answers to cards that might defy most forms of removal. I’ve circumvented the color-hosing blind spots my opponents might be packing (looking at you, everybody-else’s-Akroma) by spreading my targeted spells across all three of my colors. For Darksteel Colossus, I have Mercy Killing; for the Simic Sky Swallowers of the world, Extinction. (There’s also Condemn for negating the recursive capabilities of opposing Generals. I recommend cards like this for every deck that can run them. Hint to blue players: Spin into Myth.)

Finally, the purpose of this deck is of course to reanimate, and I have a full suite of strong options there: Animate Dead, Profane Command, Rise from the Grave, Hymn of Rebirth, Crime, Beacon of Unrest, Liliana Vess, all the way up to Debtor’s Knell. Like my versatile removal package, you may notice that a lot of these have alternate modes or bonus effects besides simply reanimating, in case I need them for something else along the way. There’s also one thing nearly every one of them has in common: they let me steal creatures from my opponents’ graveyards as well as my own. Since I’m putting all that effort into killing things, I certainly want to be able to capitalize on that when I can.

(Another aside for a quick caveat about this kind of “aggressive reanimation”, or about stealing enemy creatures in general: Remember that when you kill off a player, cards they own get exiled (unless your friends have some house rule that says otherwise). As a result, my plan tends to be to keep the people whose guys I stole technically alive as long as possible, but to use removal to keep them as pushed out of the game as I can. I can’t have them making a comeback while I’m sparing them, after all.)

I should mention one other category of spells, because it finds its way into most decks I make–and most decks other people make, I would guess, whether they categorize this way or not. These are spells that are, simply put, too good not to run. Examples in this deck include Tooth and Nail and Phyrexian Arena. I don’t have much to say about cards like this other than to point out that they do come up, and that generally speaking they’re worth the space they take up, so don’t be afraid of them.

Click here for the full decklist compiled.

So there you have it: Teneb the Harvester EDH. I have a few other decks cooking, and I might break them down for you at a later date. Until then, have fun playing with your enemies’ creatures.