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Thread: [EDH] Yennett, Cryptic Soverign

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    [EDH] Yennett, Cryptic Soverign

    My first thought about Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign was "huh, neat". I built Aminatou, the Fateshifter instead. Then someone else in my group built an Aminatou deck with many of the same cards, and I went back to the drawing board. I read Yennett again, and it sort of clicked. She doesn't look like much at first, but there's just something about casting Ulamog for free that does it for me. Enter the list:

    Commander:
    Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign

    Creatures:
    Weathered Wayfarer
    Snapcaster Mage
    Man-o'-War
    Plaguecrafter
    Bastion Protector
    Burnished Hart
    Archaeomancer
    Twilight Prophet
    Cloudblazer
    Prognostic Sphinx
    Mulldrifter
    Master of Predicaments
    Sun Titan
    Sphinx of Uthuun
    Angel of Despair
    Nezahal, Primal Tide
    Sphinx Ambassador
    Void Winnower
    Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre

    Instants:
    Enlightened Tutor
    Vampiric Tutor
    Brainstorm
    Swords to Plowshares
    Path to Exile
    Lim-Dul's Vault
    Anguished Unmaking
    Hero's Downfall
    Dismantling Blow
    Esper Charm
    Fact or Fiction
    Insidious Will
    Mystic Confluence

    Sorcery:
    Ponder
    Notion Rain
    Toxic Deluge
    Supreme Verdict
    Hallowed Burial
    Bribery
    Tragic Arrogance
    Blatant Thievery
    Brilliant Ultimatum

    Artifacts:
    Sol Ring
    Sensei's Divining Top
    Explorer's Scope
    Scroll Rack
    Dimir Signet
    Azorius Signet
    Orzhov Signet
    Talisman of Progress
    Talisman of Dominance
    Chromatic Lantern
    Crystal Ball
    Whispersilk Cloak

    Enchantments:
    Land Tax
    Haunted Crossroads
    Detention Sphere
    Ghostly Prison
    Treachery
    Mind's Dilation
    Debtors' Knell

    Planeswalkers:
    Aminatou, the Fateshifter
    Jace, the Mind Sculptor

    Lands:
    Watery Grave
    Hallowed Fountain
    Godless Shrine
    Sunken Hollow
    Prarie Stream
    Fetid Pools
    Irrigated Farmland
    Flooded Strand
    Polluted Delta
    Marsh Flats
    Temple of Deceit
    Temple of Silence
    Temple of Enlightenment
    Mystic Gate
    Sunken Ruins
    Fetid Heath
    Command Tower
    Volrath's Stronghold
    Maze of Ith
    Reliquary Tower
    Bojuka Bog
    Strip Mine
    Isolated Watchtower
    5 Island
    4 Swamp
    5 Plains


    A lot of lists I've seen go all-in on the whole odd CMC thing. I thought about that route, but decided against it since there's lots of useful stuff for the deck that happens to have an even CMC. Also, 0 is an even number in this context, so no matter what you do all of the lands are a "miss" for her ability anyway. As it stands, the list is currently skewed slightly toward even CMC (52 to 48), mostly because of lands. The ratio improves as things like Land Tax do their work.

    Another thing a lot of people tend to be doing is the whole Time Walk plan since most of the extra turn effects happen to have an odd CMC. I've never been particularly inspired by decks that try to take as many turns as possible, so I didn't include any of that stuff in the list.

    I considered a sort of "reanimator" list, where things like Haunted Crossroads, Volrath's Stronghold and Golgari Thug put large creatures with odd CMC back on top of my library in response to Yennett triggers. I haven't gone too far down that path yet, but that might change. Speaking of, I'm not sure the suite of big fat dudes is right. I'd like to get Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite in there somewhere at the very least.
    Last edited by Davran; 11-20-2018 at 02:50 PM.

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    Re: [EDH] Yennett, Cryptic Soverign

    Probably more for lols than anything, but in addition to the 'you're odd' theme the commander pulls you towards, you could also make it so your opponents 'can't even'.

    You already have Void Winnower. Sanctum Prelate is another that comes to mind...
    Again, it's probably more cute than good.

    Edit - Searched Gatherer and there's really nothing else that cares about odd/even (besides Void). Meh...

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    Re: [EDH] Yennett, Cryptic Soverign

    Quote Originally Posted by Ace/Homebrew View Post
    Probably more for lols than anything, but in addition to the 'you're odd' theme the commander pulls you towards, you could also make it so your opponents 'can't even'.

    You already have Void Winnower. Sanctum Prelate is another that comes to mind...
    Again, it's probably more cute than good.

    Edit - Searched Gatherer and there's really nothing else that cares about odd/even (besides Void). Meh...
    I've got a Sanctum Prelate sitting in a binder somewhere, but I've never really considered it in the context of EDH. I wonder what number would be the most effective to name in this format? 4 springs to mind since that effectively shuts off Wrath of God and friends. 2 has some merit thanks to counterspell effects, and I guess 6 is probably also potentially useful since that hits a lot of the other Wrath of God style cards plus a whole host of value creatures and spells.

    In terms of my current list, 6 only shuts off Sun Titan, and I'm not even convinced the Titan is something I actually need anyway. Like you said though, I wonder how good it actually is?

    As far as other cards, Ashling's Prerogative would be kind of cute, but it's unfortunately red. I was hoping RtRtR would have something cool, but I'm not sure Surveil is it...and unfortunately we don't get Azorius and Orzhov cards yet.

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    Re: [EDH] Yennett, Cryptic Soverign

    Quote Originally Posted by Davran View Post
    In terms of my current list, 6 only shuts off Sun Titan, and I'm not even convinced the Titan is something I actually need anyway. Like you said though, I wonder how good it actually is?
    Non-creature! And probably not that good, unless you are frequently peaking at opponent's hands.

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    Re: [EDH] Yennett, Cryptic Soverign

    Quote Originally Posted by Ace/Homebrew View Post
    Non-creature! And probably not that good, unless you are frequently peaking at opponent's hands.
    Turns out reading cards is tech. Who knew?

    It might be kind of funny to slam it down and name 4 when I have a dominant board position, but eh...there have to be better things to be doing.

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    Re: [EDH] Yennett, Cryptic Soverign

    Your only nukes are Supreme Verdict and Toxic Deluge? I would consider maybe Hallowed Burial (because odd CMC and you get to reuse your creatures after 1 shuffle) or Fumigate (odd CMC).
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    Re: [EDH] Yennett, Cryptic Soverign

    Quote Originally Posted by Mirrislegend View Post
    Your only nukes are Supreme Verdict and Toxic Deluge? I would consider maybe Hallowed Burial (because odd CMC and you get to reuse your creatures after 1 shuffle) or Fumigate (odd CMC).
    Cataclysmic Gearhulk is in there too...but yeah, the deck is sort of light on wrath effects. I think if I were going to include another it would probably be Tragic Arrogance, which has a lot going for it. If I flip it off a Yennett trigger I can keep Yennett or some other beater around (same idea with the Gearhulk). It also chooses the cards, which means it sneaks around hexproof and/or shroud. Finally, the things you don't pick get sacrificed, which beats indestructible and regeneration all day.

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    Re: [EDH] Yennett, Cryptic Soverign

    Been having a lot of fun with this deck - turns out casting free eldrazi off of attack triggers is fun. A few observations:

    Cataclysmic Gearhulk is kind of cute, but 'everyone keeps their best stuff' is kind of weak as far as wrath effects go. I'm going to swap it out for Tragic Arrogance since it's still odd CMC, and I get to pick what sticks around.

    Mystic Speculation just doesn't do anything. I've had it in my hand so many times where even one mana seemed like too much to pay for it, especially at sorcery speed. The obvious comparison here is Crystal Ball, which I really like in the deck. It's still one mana to scry 2, but being able to activate it at instant speed is a big improvement. Unfortunately, there really aren't any duplicate Crystal Ball effects out there except an 8 mana silver-bordered card from the most recent unset. I'm considering Explorer's Scope for this slot since it works pretty well with Yennett. The majority of "even" cards in the deck are lands, so stacking the triggers and clearing a land of the top could be worth it.

    I'm also not impressed with Thassa, God of the Sea. As it happens, 'menace' on Yennett might as well be 'unblockable' for at least one player at the table, so Thassa granting unblockable is somewhat redundant. Also, the upkeep scry is less relevant than I initially thought. In its place I'm going to include Debtors' Knell as another potential win condition.

    That makes the changes:

    Out:
    Cataclysmic Gearhulk
    Mystic Speculation
    Thassa, God of the Sea

    In:
    Tragic Arrogance
    Explorer's Scope
    Debtors' Knell

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    Re: [EDH] Yennett, Cryptic Soverign

    A few changes:

    - Reflector Mage, + Man-o'-war

    I know Reflector Mage is the better card, but after I got burned by the "can't cast" part of Reflector Mage following a weird sequence where bouncing an Archaeomancer to recast it and grab Supreme Verdict cost me a game I'm going to make this swap.

    - Chasm Skulker, + Plaguecrafter

    Chasm Skulker is a pet card of mine that's not really at its best in this deck. Going to give Plaguecrafter a shot in its place. If only Ravenous Chupacabra was odd CMC...

    - Compulsive Research, + Notion Rain

    Compulsive Research has been fine, but I want to try Notion Rain out.

    - Ugin's Insight, + Hallowed Burial

    Going to give another wrath effect a shot.

    I'd like to pick up a Doom Whisperer for this deck, but not at its current price. Hopefully it'll come down a little.

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