[edh] Jeleva, the Kleptomaniac

[FTW]

So I don't get too sick of playing GW, I was inspired to build a very antithetical deck centred around spells and thievery. Blatant Thievery, in fact.


//Commander: 1
Jeleva

//Ramp: 10
Sol Ring
Mana Crypt
Izzet Signet
Dimir Signet
Rakdos Signet
Chromatic Lantern
Coalition Relic
Darksteel Ingot
Thran Dynamo
Gilded Lotus

//Planeswalkers: 4
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Karn Liberated
Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
Tezzeret the Seeker

//Commander enabling: 4
Reckless Charge
Lightning Greaves
Swiftfoot Boots
Crystal Shard

//Thievery: 10
Blatant Thievery
Bribery
Acquire
Slave of Bolas
Insurrection
Rise of the Dark Realms
Beacon of Unrest
Praetor's Grasp
Spelltwine
Memory Plunder

//Pirates: 7
Diluvian Primordial
Chancellor of the Spires
Molten Primordial
Sepulchral Primordial
Thada Adel,
Wrexial, the Risen Deep
Dominating Licid

//Mimicry: 2
Phyrexian Metamorph
Rite of Replication

//Moar Profit: 19
Mystical Tutor
Personal Tutor
Demonic Tutor
Vampiric Tutor
Mystical Teachings
Long-Term Plans
Forbidden Alchemy
Temporal Mastery
Beacon of Tomorrows
Time Warp
Traumatize
Cruel Ultimatum
Damnation
Decree of Pain
Spin into Myth
Plague Wind
Inundate
Cyclonic Rift
Ashes to Ashes

//Moar Moar: 7
Strionic Resonator
Melek, Izzet Paragon
Mirari
Mystic Retrieval
Runic Repetition
Past in Flames
Call to Mind

//Lands: 37
Command Tower
Riptide Laboratory
Boseiju
Creeping Tar Pit
Lavaclaw Reaches
Academy Ruins
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Reflecting Pool
Exotic Orchard
Ancient Tomb
Temple of the False God
Crumbling Necropolis
Volrath's Stronghold
Nephalia Drownyard
3 revised duals
3 shocklands
9 fetchlands
3 filterlands
2 Island
2 Swamp
2 Mountain

[TsumiBand]

Argh, Nucklavee!

I lovehate that guy, because on one hand it could be so so so good, but it's really easy to build a deck that just doesn't get that much value out of the guy. Maybe I missed something, but I only saw 3 Red Sorceries and 8 Blue Instants in your deck. A nonzero part of the time, Nucklavee will only be as good as Call to Mind, or it will even be worse and return nothing. Perhaps one of the other cheaper 'Regrowth a Spell' creatures will prove to be more useful if you need a creature in that slot, otherwise it may as well just be Call to Mind.

[Davran]

Argh, Nucklavee!

I lovehate that guy, because on one hand it could be so so so good, but it's really easy to build a deck that just doesn't get that much value out of the guy. Maybe I missed something, but I only saw 3 Red Sorceries and 8 Blue Instants in your deck. A nonzero part of the time, Nucklavee will only be as good as Call to Mind, or it will even be worse and return nothing. Perhaps one of the other cheaper 'Regrowth a Spell' creatures will prove to be more useful if you need a creature in that slot, otherwise it may as well just be Call to Mind.

Maybe Mystic Retrieval over Call to Mind since it has flashback? It's also relevant that Nucklavee is dead when flipped off of Jeleva where Call to Mind and/or Mystic Retrieval are not.

[TsumiBand]

Both. I forgot about Mystic Retrieval. Green decks do well to play several Regrowth effects, and these are nearly identical in such a deck.
Also play that 'search for an Instant/card with Flash' card with Flashback. Wanna say Mystical Teachings? And it sounds bad but Long Term Plans is technology in a deck with Jeleva.

sent from phone, don't be a dick

[Davran]

Both. I forgot about Mystic Retrieval. Green decks do well to play several Regrowth effects, and these are nearly identical in such a deck.
Also play that 'search for an Instant/card with Flash' card with Flashback. Wanna say Mystical Teachings? And it sounds bad but Long Term Plans is technology in a deck with Jeleva.

sent from phone, don't be a dick

The more I think about it, Mystic Retrieval type cards are perfect for Jeleva. Once you cast whatever sweet spell you flipped from exile it winds up in your graveyard. Why not stick it back in your hand for another go? Past in Flames could be decent for the same reason - flashback seems like some sweet "tech" when you're slinging Cruel Ultimatums. Yawgmoth's Will too.

[FTW]

Good point.

Mystical Teachings, Long-Term Plans and Mystic Revival are all profit.
Also that card that shuffles an exiled spell back into your library! I just realized my deck has a lot of thievery spells but also a lot of instants that are only good to cast at certain times and are outright terrible off a Jeleva activation.

Retooling some of the deck...

[TsumiBand]

Good point.

Mystical Teachings, Long-Term Plans and Mystic Revival are all profit.
Also that card that shuffles an exiled spell back into your library! I just realized my deck has a lot of thievery spells but also a lot of instants that are only good to cast at certain times and are outright terrible off a Jeleva activation.

Retooling some of the deck...

Yeah, the thing about Jeleva is that she facilitates like 3 different ways to win, all at the same time. If your meta/EDH group/w-e allows for it, it isn't hard to beast mode Jeleva into Omniscience and/or Lab Maniac and/or infinite commander recursion wins. She's kind of a dick, IMO. :D

If you're sticking to the thieving thievery plan though, y u no Spelljack? It's entertaining! Also, you might consider some of the derpy red extra attack phase cards if you're looking to maximize Jeleva's attack phase trigger instead of leveraging her exiling abilities. They are arguably "bad Time Walks" in a deck that can play Blue, but they're also generally fairly cheap to cast. Seize the Day even has Flashback, and spells you cast off of Jeleva will go to their owner's graveyards, so you'll get a little extra value out of that. It's not broken beyond broken, but it's relevant to her interests.

[TsumiBand]

Hey am I wrong on this, or does Jeleva kind of look like Gozer in a hoodie?

https://dfep0xlbws1ys.cloudfront.net/cache/ca/e9/cae94284dc9a29daf700137728f29ff3.jpg

http://ideas.4brad.com/files/you-a-god.jpg

I don't think I'm wrong, but I am also three beers in. Fuck 'em