[EDH] Uril, the Aggrostalker

[FTW]

Oh lookie. The easiest way to kill this guy without wiping the board (clone effects) just got axed by the rules change. Time for a deck revisit??

There are many variants on Uril decks. This one is designed for either 1v1 or multiplayer and has the primary gameplan or BEATFACE WITH REALLY HARD-TO-KILL COMMANDER. In case you didn't notice, he wears an enchanted suit of armor that says "TURN ME SIDEWAYS DUDE".

I'm looking for suggestions on cards that will advance this specific game plan. Any ideas?


Here is the general strategy:
Step 1 : Ramp to 5 mana as fast as possible
Step 2: Cast Uril as soon as possible (waiting for protection if expecting resistance)
Step 3: Enchant Uril with something that grants evasion/trample. Turn sideways. Make him as hard to kill as possible.
Step 4: ROAR
Step 5: WHEN (not if) Uril gets killed, have gas to cast him and another aura again. Rinse and repeat.

The rest of the deck is just support and utility for the primary gameplan. If someone casts Runed Halo or Declaration of Naught naming Uril, well screw them. This is EDH and that shouldn't happen.

Because the critical mana number is 5, ramp spells that help you get to 5 are good (Cultivate, Kodama's Reach) and spells like Explosive Vegetation and Skyshroud Claim are a tad awkward. Ramp is ideally played on turns 2-3, especially in 1v1 where a turn 4 Uril might not die.

I rationalized card choices by thinking about what the opponents might do to stop him, since he has a giant target on his back. The most common way to kill Uril is wrath effects. That's why Totem Armor is amazing. I am running pretty much every playable Totem Armor for maximum wrath protection. Mass tuck effects (Hallowed Burial, Terminus) are possible, so there are multiple ways to tutor him out of your library (Eladamri's Call, GSZ, Chord of Calling).

Also, because opponents are going to wrath you eagerly, you don't want to get 4-for-1'd. So the objective is just to drop 1-2 auras and go to town. I have intentionally left out auras that make you overcommit (Ancestral Mask, Daybreak Coronet, Ethereal Armor) since they just encourage you to walk into card disadvantage. Auras that return like Rancor, Moldervine Cloak and Angelic Destiny are ideal.

The next easiest way to stop Uril is to chump block him. A chump block is a full timewalk against you. Getting Time Walked is bad. So auras that grant evasion/trample (Serra's Embrace, Runes of the Deus, Madcap Skills) are good. Because you don't want to commit too many auras at a time, I am avoiding auras that just add vanilla pump but do not grant evasion or protection (Ancestral Mask, Empyrial Armor). They get chump blocked by 0/1 plants all day and encourage you to overcommit auras on Uril. Uril is beefy enough on his own. He will win games on his own. He doesn't need generic fat. He needs to survive and connect.

Totem Armor and/or evasion deal with most answers to Uril, but he can still eat sacrifice effects or counterspells. So I have included a tutorable suite of protection against these:

Tajuru Preserver
Vexing Shusher
Leyline of Lifeforce


So now there are ways to ensure Uril is hard to deal with. But there are always crazy tricks opponents can pull. So the very last line of defense, if you ever manage to untap with an evasive Uril, is to simply stop opponents from casting spells:

City of Solitude
Defense Grid
Price of Glory
Ruination
Realm Razer


In particular, there is this MONSTROSITY of a card that is pretty much custom-designed for Uril decks: Cataclysm. Sweet jesus. This does everything you could possibly want a card to do. You keep Uril + evasive aura + land + artifact mana. Opponents keep one irrelevant fatty and 1-3 other irrelevant cards. Game over. Razia's Purification is similarly brutal. You can also use Austere Command to wipe away small utility creatures and artifacts while leaving Uril and his aura untouched. Precision is key!

So with that gameplan in mind, I'm looking for tools to fine tune the deck. Here's what I've got so far.


//Commander
Uril, the Miststalker

//Totem Armor: 6
Hyena Umbra
Spider Umbra
Eland Umbra
Boar Umbra
Snake Umbra
Bear Umbra

//Other Auras: 10
Rancor
Madcap Skills
Angelic Destiny
Shield of the Oversoul
Armadillo Cloak
Unflinching Courage
Runes of the Deus
Gaea's Embrace
Serra's Embrace
Shiv's Embrace
Holy Mantle

//Haste: 2
Fires of Yavimaya
Dragon Breath

//Tutor/Draw: 12
Enlightened Tutor
Gamble
Worldly Tutor
Eladamri's Call
Sterling Grove
Idyllic Tutor
Academy Rector
Green Sun's Zenith
Chord of Calling
Sylvan Library
Argothian Enchantress
Enchantresses' Presence

//Defense: 5
City of Solitude
Defense Grid
Price of Glory
Ghostly Prison
Smoke

//Ramp: 11
Farseek
Nature's Lore
Trace of Abundance
Three Visits
Gruul Signet
Boros Signet
Selesnya Signet
Cultivate
Kodama's Reach
Darksteel Ingot
Coalition Relic

//Removal: 9
Condemn
Soul Snare
Temporal Isolation
Hull Breach
Oblation
Chaos Warp
Oblivion Ring
Faith's Fetters
Austere Command

//Isolate: 4
Cataclysm
Razia's Purification
Divine Reckoning
Realm Razer

//Other: 3
Eternal Witness
Tajuru Preserver
Vexing Shusher

//Lands: 37
Cavern of Souls
Command Tower
Rogue's Passage
Yavimaya Hollow
Homeward Path
Gruul Turf
Selesnya Sanctuary
Boros Garrison
Taiga
Plateau
Savannah
Stomping Ground
Sacred Foundry
Temple Garden
Arid Mesa
Windswept Heath
Wooded Foothills
Bloodstained Mire
Scalding Tarn
Verdant Catacombs
Misty Rainforest
Marsh Flats
Flooded Strand
Krosan Verge
Fire-Lit Thicket
Wooded Bastion
Rugged Prairie
Rootbound Crag
Sunpetal Grove
3 Forest
3 Plains
2 Mountain

[TestMonkey]

Auras that return like Rancor, Moldervine Cloak and Angelic Destiny are ideal.

Rancor and Angelic Destiny do not return to your hand if you put Uril into the command zone after he dies. Never hits the graveyard to activate the recursion effects.

A few lands you might think about adding include Inkmoth Nexus, Kessig Wolf Run, Mosswort Bridge and Spinerock Knoll. Inkmoth+Kessig is always a nice kill out of nowhere and Mossword and Spinerock mean free spells and who doesn't like free spells?

[Aggro_zombies]

This deck could use more artifact ramp and more Armageddons.

[Amon Amarth]

More 'Geddon effects are damn near mandatory Catastrophe, Armageddon, Decree of Annihilation etc. are pretty sweet. R/W have quite a few to choose from.

[FTW]

Thanks for suggestions guys. I'm going to experiment with more Geddons and more artifact mana, less land ramp. Avoiding Sol Ring and friends to keep this list legal for either 1v1 or multiplayer, though it would be easy to swap them in for some of the slower ramp.

Rancor does return. It checks whether Rancor goes to the graveyard, not the creature. Destiny doesn't though. Forgot it checks the creature.

Just realized Dragon Breath triggers off 6 not 5, so it's a dead card.

I'm going to avoid Mosswort and Spinerock since if you already have and are connecting with a big Uril, you're already winning. The only spells you would need to cheat out are Armageddon/Cataclysm effects or protection, and you're not going to reliably get those hidden away. More likely it will be some irrelevant ramp or Aura. Avoiding Inkmoth since it goes against the Armageddon plan. If you have that many lands, just recast Uril or sandbag some instead of dumping all your mana into a targettable creature.

Out:

Dragon Breath
Madcap Skills
Gamble
Chord of Calling
Kodama's Reach
Cultivate
Faith's Fetters
Plains
Forest


In:

Chrome Mox
Mox Diamond
Spirit Mantle
Unquestioned Authority
Time of Need
Kessig Wolf Run
Flagstones of Trokair
Armageddon
Ravages of War


Considering, but might be too slow and better in a Uril control deck:

Sigarda, Host of Herons
Three Dreams
Retether
Flickerform
Legion's Initiative
Contested Cliffs


Might be useful, or might just eat a ton of removal that is otherwise weak against you:

Grand Abolisher
Spellbreaker Behemoth
Silverblade Paladin
Ajani, Caller of the Pride

[Asthereal]

Moxen are bad because they are card disadvantage.
I have an Uril deck too, and I play ramp of 1-2 CMC, because I plan to play Uril turn 3.
Turn 1 ramp, turn 2 ramp, turn 3 Uril, turn 4 enchant and attack.

My CMC1 ramp stuff:
- Llanowar Elves
- Fyndhorn Elves
- Boreal Druid
- Avacyn's Pilgrim
- Birds of Paradise
- Search for Tomorrow
- Tinder Wall
- Wild Growth
- Utopia Sprawl
- Green Sun's Zenith -> Dryad Arbor (if not banned already, haven't checked in a while ) /10

My CMC2 ramp stuff:
- Selesnya Signet
- Boros Signet
- Gruul Signet
- Rampant Growth
- Devoted Druid
- Wall of Roots
- Nature's Lore
- Farseek /8
So as you noticed I play more ramp stuff.

There's also some interesting aura's to still consider:
- Asha's Favor
- Flickering Ward
(and maybe also:)
- Griffin Guide
- Nimbus Wings
- Call to Serve