Land (42)
1x Akoum Refuge
1x Auntie's Hovel
1x Blackcleave Cliffs
1x Blood Crypt
1x Cascade Bluffs
1x Command Tower
1x Creeping Tar Pit
1x Crosis's Catacombs
1x Crumbling Necropolis
1x Darkslick Shores
1x Darkwater Catacombs
1x Dimir Aqueduct
1x Dimir Guildgate
1x Dragonskull Summit
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Exotic Orchard
1x Eye of Ugin
1x Frost Marsh
1x Graven Cairns
1x Izzet Boilerworks
1x Izzet Guildgate
1x Jwar Isle Refuge
1x Lavaclaw Reaches
1x Rakdos Carnarium
1x Rakdos Guildgate
1x Reflecting Pool
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Rupture Spire
1x Salt Marsh
1x Secluded Glen
1x Shadowblood Ridge
1x Shivan Reef
1x Steam Vents
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Sulfurous Springs
1x Sunken Ruins
1x Temple of Deceit
1x Temple of Malice
1x Tresserhorn Sinks
1x Underground River
1x Urborg Volcano
1x Watery Grave
Artifact (19)
1x Akroma's Memorial
1x Darksteel Plate
1x Dimir Cluestone
1x Dimir Keyrune
1x Dimir Signet
1x Eldrazi Monument
1x Izzet Cluestone
1x Izzet Keyrune
1x Izzet Signet
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Mask of Riddles
1x Nim Deathmantle
1x Obelisk of Grixis
1x Rakdos Cluestone
1x Rakdos Keyrune
1x Rakdos Signet
1x Skullclamp
1x Spawning Pit
1x Swiftfoot Boots
Sorcery (8)
1x Army of the Damned
1x Demonic Collusion
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Diabolic Intent
1x Diabolic Tutor
1x Increasing Ambition
1x Profane Command
1x Rite of Replication
Planeswalker (3)
1x Jace, Memory Adept
1x Liliana Vess
1x Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
Creature (15)
1x Avatar of Woe
1x Baleful Strix
1x Chronozoa
1x Consecrated Sphinx
1x Dread
1x Gravecrawler
1x It That Betrays
1x Jhoira of the Ghitu
1x Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1x Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
1x Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
1x Rakdos the Defiler
1x Spawnsire of Ulamog
1x Thraximundar
1x Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Enchantment (8)
1x Aboshan's Desire
1x Archmage Ascension
1x Attrition
1x Bitterblossom
1x Drake Umbra
1x Eldrazi Conscription
1x Fallen Ideal
1x Shivan Harvest
Instant (5)
1x Crosis's Charm
1x Cryptic Command
1x Dimir Charm
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Izzet Charm
Help with w/e. I don't have a budget, really. I am centering the deck around Thrax, hence the things that give him hexproof/shroud/indestructible and flying/intimidation/fear. I currently feel like my deck is a little too one-sided and something like a hinder and bad card draw could ruin the game for me. I need suggestions on just about anything, I am wondering if my land choices were the best to go by as well.
Last edited by jonarr123; 02-24-2014 at 06:07 PM.
What's your deck trying to do? You have a lot of .goodstuff but it's going in every direction. Baleful strix is ok in a control deck and then you also have ulamog. Is this a tempo/aggro deck? Or Grixis control? Or maybe you want combo tokens?
For starters your avg mana cost should be 3-4. You have way too many things that happen late game.
Also if your going to use thrax, at least put Rooftop Storms.
First thing's first - to use card tags on this site, the syntax is [ cards] and [ /cards] without the space. If you want multiples, sick a number in there, like this: [ cards]3 Thraximundar[/ cards]
There are better things you could be doing than Spawnsire of Ulamog and It That Betrays. Sheoldred, Whispering One is cheaper to cast, causes Thrax to trigger, and provides a passive beneficial effect for you. It's also pretty decent on the attack if you end up needing a beatstick during that stage of the game.
With that out of the way, I think the best place to start is the fundamentals:
Your manabase could use some work, as right now you are absolutely cold to Blood Moon, Back to Basics and Ruination, which all see a fair amount of play in the format. Also, you have a ton of lands that come into play tapped...which are both mediocre draws in the late game and also slow you down significantly. I would seriously consider cutting the following lands in favor of some basics:
Auntie's Hovel
Crosis's Catacombs
Dimir Guildgate
Eye of Ugin
Izzet Guildgate
Frost Marsh
Rakdos Guildgate
Reliquary Tower
Rupture Spire
Salt Marsh
Secluded Glen
Tresserhorn Sinks
Urborg Volcano
You might also swap Akoum Refuge and Jwar Isle Refuge for Strip Mine and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth which both provide much greater utility than the tap lands.
In terms of your mana rocks, with such a high curve you might want to play some better rocks. First, Sol Ring is a glaring omission. I would next look to Chromatic Lantern as it fixes your mana, Thran Dynamo and Gilded Lotus as the bare minimum. Since you're not playing green, you'l probably want some more. I'd run Dimir Signet, Izzet Signet, Talisman of Dominance and Talisman of Indulgence as well. I don't think you really need all 3 signets, but you could add Rakdos Signet too if you wanted.
I'm not a huge fan of the Obelisk cycle (Chromatic Lanten and Darksteel Ignot are simply better), nor am I really a fan of the cluestones.
You're not playing any removal at all, which I think is a pretty big mistake. A few options:
Vandalblast
Damnation
Chaos Warp
Comet Storm
Shattering Pulse
Go for the Throat
Hero's Downfall
Cyclonic Rift
Sudden Spoiling
Sudden Death
I'd stick Mimic Vat in here somewhere since you're general makes stuff die on the regular.
Lastly, I'd take a hard look at your creatures and ask yourself what each does for the deck. If the answer is "not very much", you might make some changes. Keep in mind your mana curve as you do - a deck full of 5+ mana cards won't work very well.
Thank you so much, I haven't played EDH in somewhere around 2 years, so I have lost my touch :P. The format tip was a big one as well, thanks. As of deck construction, I have compiled a list of cards I want to play and I am going to trim it down to the cream of the crop really. I need some sac outlets, I have switched to something with more tokens and tutors (for cards like hinder) and a lot more evasion for Thrax. I need to find ways to sac the tokens so I can just 1/2/3 hit k.o. with Thrax. I agree with the mana problems you stated, but can you explain how the Yawgmoth "all lands are a swamp in addition to their other types" card works? Does chromatic lantern just make every land produce any color I want? http://deckbox.org/users/jonarr123 This is my list of lists that includes potential cards. I haven't included a land section because I wasn't sure about the non-basic thing.
Let's say you have a basic Plains and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in play. You can now use that Plains to produce either white or black mana, which is helpful for fixing your mana. It also changes the type of all lands in play by adding "swamp" to their typeline. This generally doesn't matter...but some cards to check to see whether or not a land is a swamp. For example Cabal Coffers, Lashwrithe and any creature with swampwalk.Originally Posted by jonarr123
Another thing worth noting is that Urborg also changes itself to a swamp, so you'll be able to produce black mana with it.
Lastly, the effect is symmetrical, so it affects your opponent's lands too. This is particularly helpful for swampwalking creatures.
One other random comment: if you're pursuing a token sacrifice theme, Grave Pact deserves a spot. You should be able to make your general quite large in a short period of time that way.
Grave pact has already earned it's spot. What do you think about outlets for sacrifice though? I have a Bitterblossom laying around and I have a couple sac outlets, I just need to know what is a worthy use of the 1/1 chumps.
In my experience (which is in no way exhaustive) it is usually beneficial to have access to some kind of a sacrifice outlet. The reason for that is things like Control Magic and Condemn, which can really ruin your day. My stock in sac outlets goes up if my deck wants to do something with my opponent's stuff. For example, let's say I'm going to include Insurrection in my deck. I would also include more sacrifice outlets with the intention of sacrificing all the creatures I just borrowed after attacking.
In terms of Bitterblossom, your best bet is Skullclamp. I also quite like Goblin Bombardment in red decks.
I have skullclamp, I was looking more for something that allows me to sac them to pump Thrax, as clamp doesn't count as a sac. What do you recommend as ideal mana fixers and land? Like a compiled list, if thats not too much to ask. You have already been more than generous and I know that asking you to make a 40-50 card long list is a bit much.
My no-budget mana base for Thrax would look something like this:
Badlands
Underground Sea
Volcanic Island
Bloodstained Mire
Polluted Delta
Scalding Tarn
Blood Crypt
Watery Grave
Steam Vents
Dragonskull Summit
Drowned Catacomb
Sulfur Falls
Sunken Ruins
Cascade Bluffs
Command Tower
City of Brass
Ancient Tomb
Strip Mine
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Thespian's Stage
High Market
Volrath's Stronghold
Temple of the False God
5 Island
5 Swamp
5 Mountain
You'd likely have to tweak the balance of basic lands once you settled on a final list, but that's where I would start. If the Alpha duals are out of your price range there's a few options - the painlands are probably the best of them, but any of the come-into-play-tapped lands (i.e. Theros Block scry lands, guildgates etc.) would probably be fine too. Fetches can be had on a budget as well: Rocky Tar Pit, Bad River and Grixis Panorama do reasonable imitations. There are some other utility options to consider too depending on what you expect out of your meta/decklist: Bojuka Bog, Wasteland, Miren, the Moaning Well, Academy Ruins and so on.
In terms of mana rocks...my no-budget list might look something like this:
Sol Ring
Mana Crypt
Izzet Signet
Dimir Signet
Talisman of Indulgence
Talisman of Dominance
Chromatic Lantern
Thran Dynamo
Gilded Lotus
On the bench are Rakdos Signet and Worn Powerstone...but if you want to be hyper-competitive the Powerstone should probably make the list. Mana Vault would be my budget replacement for Mana Crypt.
http://deckbox.org/sets/620608 Thats what I have narrowed down to. Land is still off, need to know if running 20 basic land is "ok" or if i should drop some cheapos in there. I also need to narrow down like 20-30 other cards to make room for the land. I would format it all nicely but 110 cards to format is a bit much work right now :P.
You can never really go wrong with basic lands. 40 lands total plus a bunch of mana rocks is probably too many though. I generally start with 38 mana producing lands when deck building in this format, and consider taking one out for every 2 rocks. If the deck is high curve or my general is expensive I won't even do that. In my experience you generally want to end up somewhere around 50 mana sources (lands + rocks + ramp creatures) or so, depending on what you're trying to do.
I need help with cutting some stuff out. I dont have enough room forbthe land and cant find snything that doesnt synergize with deck super and is able to be cut.
Avatar of Woe is slow and expensive, so I'm sure you can do better.
Ertai is cute, but ultimately you're going to be tapping out on your turn to cast your fatties, so holding up for counter mana isn't going to be a frequent occurrence.
Thada Adel doesn't do all that much here either.
Barrin's Spite isn't all that great of card as it gives your opponent a choice.
I'm not convinced this is a deck that wants Cruel Ultimatum as you don't really have any way to buy it back and/or make it more impactful.
Sword of Body and Mind seems out of place as your only sword. You're not looking to fill your opponent's bin, and the protections aren't particularly relevant in terms of potential removal.
Rakdos Ritekinfe is cute, but it's also slow as hell.
I'm not sure you need all of the evasion granting stuff (Whispersilk Cloak, Aboshan's Desire, Fallen Ideal, Pemin's Aura etc.) - Thrax is generally going to be the biggest girl at the ball, and your deck is generally pretty hostile to your opponent's creatures...so blockers shouldn't be too huge of an issue for you.
Updated it, what do you think? Down to 100 cards with all my basics and everything.
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