Considering that EDH is "Battlecruiser Magic", it seems like normal wisdom about mana curves should go out the window. By turn nine you could cast Clone Legion and copy all of an opponent’s creatures, then do it again next turn! You may be thinking, “That’s a lot of numbers, Rain Man. Ixalan does not significantly improve existing Standard decklists for mono-red players and that is a good thing. For me that generally just means killspells and x spells, but you might go as far as seperating your combo peices and counterspells. Gabby plays a third land and lays down a Lifebane Zombie. The diversity of the Commander format means we can go all-in on 0-drop artifacts with a Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain “Cheerios” deck. I run a black skittles deck with a CMC of around 2.5 but I feel its an exception I think around 3-4 is usually best, For me, it's never about mana curve and always about playstyle / putting in what fits, but it seems that my most successful decks have an average CMC ~ 3.6-4.1. Contact | Mana curve's original implementation was closely related to redundancy—the idea of playing a land every turn and tapping all your mana every turn. At the high end of the curve is the mighty Apex Devastator, a titanic 10/10 for {8}GG that has four instances of cascade, which is sure to put the green-blue player in a strong position. Or if you have the choice between tapping all six for your Ætherling versus tapping four for Jace, Architect of Thought—but leaving two open for Negate in a similar deck matchup—(or even bluffing the Negate) I would guess your long-run results would be better waiting on the Ætherling in an overwhelming number of games. All the latest gaming news, game reviews and trailers. Dragons is incredibly powerful but the mana requirements are difficult to manage. Even though nothing got cast on turn four, two of Gabby's lands were committed to a huge 9-point attack, being Mutavault and a Swamp pouring a point into Mutavault. There is no "ideal" mana curve that fits across all decks. In this 1996 deck—the first deck really designed with mana curve in mind—would have asked you to think of Brass Man, Dwarven Trader, and Goblins of the Flarg all as a single class of offensive creature cards that you could play on the first turn; Ironclaw Orcs, Orcish Librarian, and Dwarven Lieutenant together as creatures you could drop for two mana; and Brothers of Fire, Orcish Artillery, and Orcish Cannoneers together at three. How different would our imaginary game have been if Edgar took the first hit from Herald of Torment, but just Syncopated the Lifebane Zombie? This card is insanely good. In essence, it is the idea that you should have a smooth transition between your low-, medium-, and high-cost cards in a given deck, raising the probability that you will be able to play low-cost spells early and still have larger spells available for later in the game. But in the absence of specific information? Definitely looking for input on how to make this more streamlined and more powerful. Sakashima's Protege is totally on-theme, a six-drop with cascade that can turn into any other permanent that entered the battlefield this turn, including any permanents that were cast with its cascade ability. What a silly card, thinks Ed, to himself. Mana curve is generally a deck-building principle, rather than a game-play one... but the general notion of tapping all your lands each turn tends, all other things held equal, to be good Magic. Gabby played land #1 and used it for the Tormented Hero; in the broader redundant sense, tapping for Rakdos Cackler would have sufficed. Updated Jul 31, 2020 by Raz-n-Rags using our MTG Deck Builder. On the cheaper side of things, blue mana offers Fall From Favor, which can lock down a creature, as well as has Supreme Will, which can either counter a spell or dig through the library's top four cards to find a desired card. In this deck, the creatures should vary widely across the CMC spectrum, both for the sake of cascade and so the player can make early-game plays while building up toward this deck's huge payoff creatures. As we head towards what looks like the most visually stunning holiday gaming season... “Reactor Online, Sensors Online, Weapons Online, All systems nominal”. It's important to have something to play early game, but in EDH you'll often find yourself grinding in a control V. control situation at the higher end of the spectrum and you'll want to be able to drop some big stuff every turn to stay in there. Copy link. on March 24, 2014, Bio Other things might influence your decision (like having a Thrill-Kill Assassin already down against a WU player), but paying more on this turn for similar output can be helpful in many ways. Zombie decks also show how to use your graveyard as a source of card advantage. I would keep about 20-30 card slots for ramp and card draw of some kind. The thing with any of these decks is that they are only a pre-constructed framework. Then, it's time for the payoff creatures, and Sifter Wurm is a great start. I stay below 4, it's obnoxious getting an opening hand full of cards you can't cast for turns. Wizards of the Coast has leveraged synergy for a long time and in a variety of ways, giving players limitless options for their favorite deck archetype. Upvote 0. Blue also has Forceful Denial, a counterspell costing {3}UU that can cascade. I bought Vampires and Wizards because many of the cards are interchangeable and I like the versatility of those tribes. Griselbrand's got so many 7's they had to ban him. The main creatures of this deck make its mechanical themes clear: cascade, mana ramp and converted mana costs six and up, with a sub-theme of scrying. Average cmc of 3.5 is usually a good starting point. What could Edgar have blamed this on? The best creature in this deck, and perhaps the best creature in the entire set, is Kess, Dissident Mage. Gabby activates [autocard]Mutavault[autocard] and swings for a handful. MechWarrior: A Tour Guide of the Inner Sphere, the Futuristic Battleground, Magic: The Gathering - Building a Simic Good-Stuff Deck in Commander Legends, Many of these decks are aggressive and chaotic, Magic: The Gathering - Building a Green-White Commander Legends Limited Deck, Magic: The Gathering - Commander Legends Designer Gavin Verhey Explains the Set's Slow Progress, Magic: The Gathering - Commander Legends' Green Cards Are Slow But Powerful, Magic: The Gathering - Building a Midrange R/G Deck in Commander Legends, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream Is One of the Most Disturbing Games EVER, Marvel's Avengers: Kate Bishop's History, Story, Abilities and Moveset. My favorite deck to play of my current decks. TappedOut.js Blog Widget. You mention having lots of three cmc spells, which I agree with. Personally I look to see what I can do with my mana on any given turn, so I put aside all the cards that have no business being cast 'on curve' before organizing by cmc. In its original form, mana curve asked players to look at the cards in their decks not (just) as unique spells, but around their collective and similar casting costs. The expected mana spent for this deck over turns 1-5 is 15.53. Aggressive decks, for instance, will have a very different mana curve than control decks. Lots of three mana spells means you have more plays on six or nine mana, lots of four drops make sakura tribe elder better, a bunch of five mana spells make cultivate look really good, etc. Such decks can take steps to lower their curves, for example by sideboarding in one-drops like Soldier of the Pantheon; or tap all their mana for a turn-two Syncopate (in answer to the opponent tapping most or all of his or her mana). Equip him with Blade of the Bloodchief and this creature will bleed your opponents dry. I don't have any specific rules, because a lot will vary depending on what colors I'm playing, how much ramp I can fit (or in some cases, whether my commander ramps), whether I'm running infinite mana loops, etc. Previously, all planeswalkers behaved as if they were legendary. So which deck should you buy if you could only afford one? In last month’s article I exhumed and dissected a professional mono-black zombies deck in the Standard format. Omenspeaker is a 1/3 for {1}U that can scry 2, and Sailor of Means can make a Treasure token that act as one-off mana ramp and color fixing. In last month’s article I exhumed and dissected a professional mono-black zombies deck in the Standard format. Deep in the midgame, if you draw a land and it is your only card, you might want to hold it back to bluff, for instance. Let's take a moment to visualize mana curves, then and more recently: George Baxter's Good Stuff deck was the most aggressive deck from the first Pro Tour.