#mindclaw shaman

[danco110]

Nicol Bolas gave a sinister laugh, and regarded the viashino standing beneath him as one might an insect.

“And what world-ending spells have you plucked from the minds of your enemies today, Scalar?”

The smaller lizard cackled madly to his master, though anxiety was audible in his voice once he spoke. “Well, Lord Bolas, you see…When perusing the minds of those foolish planeswalkers, I…uh…”

Bolas narrowed his eyes at his minion, who began to panic and immediately backpedaled.

“Oh, but wait! I did find something! A most interesting spell from a most interesting mage, if I do say so myself!”

“Show me,” Bolas sneered, already preparing to have his claw meet his face.

“Of course, Lord Bolas!” Scalar waved his staff, which began to glow with an eerie red light as the shaman prepared the spell he had stolen.

“Hm.” Despite his previous reaction, Bolas could not help but anticipate what form the stolen magic would take.

“And now, voila!”

Scalar waved his free claw, forming an afterimage following slightly behind his actual hand. The afterimage caught up with the original when the shaman turned up his palm to reveal a shiny trinket in his claw, wrapped in a red ribbon.

“Ta…da…”

Scalar was obviously pleased with himself, but was forced to temper his reaction due to Bolas’s growing anger.

“I granted you this power…FOR THAT?”

“Er…yes?”

Bolas finally allowed his claw to cover his face. “Go back to the battlefield. Scan the mages’ minds again. And do not come back without an ACTUAL SPELL!”

“Well, technically, Lord Bolas, that was an actual- SPELLLL!”

Bolas effortlessly picked up Scalar in one hand, and launched him back towards the assembly of planeswalkers in the distance.

[I love Mindclaw Shaman. I run it in a Jeskai flicker commander deck, and it can definitely clean house. However, you can also just occasionally see a hand full of cantrips, or nothing usable at all. Oh well, that’s just the price of admission for such a fun card!]

[mtg-exo-daily]

Mindclaw Shaman

Nicol Bolas gives power to those who will abuse it most.

Artwork by Slawomir Maniak

[magic-the-beefening]

He’s got a lot of other peoples’ bright ideas.

Posts will continue tomorrow at 7am Pacific.

[markrosewater]

In regards to Mindclaw Shaman, is it only because it casts from hand that it's a bend? Red has definitely had plenty of access to opponents libraries, e.g Etali. I'd still understand calling it a bend, but a big bend?

Going after cards the opponent has drawn is significantly different than cards they haven’t drawn yet.

[the8x8theory]

Mizzix Synergy Package - $10.57

request by @drumfuk​

The Izzet guild loves to spellsling. The bigger the better. That is no more true than for Mizzix as the more spells you cast and the bigger they are, the cheaper and more you can cast. Of course this means we always want to have spells available to sling. These creatures will help aid Mizzix in that. Let’s take a look.

Archaeomancer - $0.06 It may not be a Snapcaster Mage, but it still helps you reuse those old spells. One spell could easily get us two experience counters with this Wizard.

Dire Fleet Daredevil - $2.31 Don’t limit yourself to your own spells when you can use your opponent’s as well. The benefit to this one is they can’t possibly cast it again afterwards.

Mindclaw Shaman - $0.15 You get to steal a spell for free and the table gets to see what the most threatening player’s hand looks like. This can be a good political move.

Baral, Chief of Compliance - $5.97 An added bonus to making your spells cheaper. Not only that, but all your counters become looting effects too.

Galvanoth - $0.19 With a little topdeck manipulation, you can get a free spell when you want during your upkeep. This will enable you to cast another spell later for cheaper.

Augur of Bolas - $0.38 Get a spell in hand to cast and put ones you don’t need on the bottom of your library.

Bloodwater Entity - $0.10 Another good spell recursion. The good thing about this one is it’s a blocker in the air after it’s done it’s job. It works great with Galvanoth too.

Diluvian Primordial - $1.41 A free spell from each opponents’ graveyard. Sweet music. Stack them right and it can really jumpstart your experience counters.

There you have it, folks. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things that care about Instants and Sorceries. Throw in a topdeck manipulation package and maybe some graveyard shuffling and you can keep the spells going. Sling those spells and…

Victory shall be yours

— Jake, @apok-the-combomancer​

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[mtgbracket]

Round of 8192 - Batch 23 results

1,197 Bracketeers voted in Batch 23, and 8.72m votes have now been cast.

Visual results are here and today’s results are:

Fabricate defeats Everglove Courier with 90.39% of the vote Dark Tutelage defeats Mire Blight with 90.36% of the vote Cryptic Command defeats Dwarven Miner with 89.02% of the vote Grim Lavamancer defeats Ragnar with 88.83% of the vote

Phyrexian Obliterator defeats Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile with 88.17% of the vote Sakashima the Impostor defeats Water Servant with 86.42% of the vote Primal Surge defeats Safe Passage with 83.31% of the vote Maelstrom Pulse defeats Paradise Mantle with 82.94% of the vote

Protean Hulk defeats Tivadar of Thorn with 82.51% of the vote Hythonia the Cruel defeats Ignition Team with 82.33% of the vote Ertai, Wizard Adept defeats Primal Druid with 81.35% of the vote Fetid Heath defeats Tribal Unity with 79.67% of the vote

Crypt Ghast defeats Scourge of Fleets with 79.58% of the vote Phyrexian Tower defeats Sands of Time with 78.14% of the vote Lonely Sandbar defeats Amugaba with 76.52% of the vote Hot Soup defeats Blockbuster with 76.44% of the vote

Karametra, God of Harvests defeats Sisay's Ring with 75.84% of the vote Kazandu Tuskcaller defeats Warriors' Lesson with 75.70% of the vote Spectral Procession defeats Viridian Corrupter with 74.83% of the vote Illusion of Choice defeats Giant's Ire with 74.49% of the vote

Muddle the Mixture defeats Rush of Knowledge with 73.78% of the vote Pyroblast defeats Mindclaw Shaman with 73.77% of the vote Ankle Shanker defeats Genju of the Spires with 72.05% of the vote Witch Hunt defeats Cower in Fear with 71.01% of the vote

Artful Dodge defeats Paladin of Prahv with 68.62% of the vote Momentous Fall defeats Eye of Doom with 67.06% of the vote Desolation defeats Sidisi's Pet with 66.67% of the vote Torchling defeats Phytotitan with 66.22% of the vote

Lore Seeker defeats Horn of Plenty with 62.18% of the vote Piracy Charm defeats Talent of the Telepath with 55.89% of the vote Semblance Anvil defeats Kragma Warcaller with 54.63% of the vote Rimewind Cryomancer defeats Chaos Charm with 52.65% of the vote

Full results to date can be seen here.

[edh-a-to-z]

10 - Alesha, Who Smiles at Death

KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNN!

I’ve been waiting for this one for a while. Oh yea.

After Akuta, we need a good commander to wash out the ashy taste. And Alesha, boy does she deliver.

Our Alesha will be a budget reanimator deck. As always, budget is a relative term, but most of our cards will be draft fodder and bulk rares. Mixed in are some reanimation that costs a couple of bucks. I’ll list the cards for each section (purpose, price, and other factors).

Budget includes bulk rares (usually under $0.75). Modest priced cards are $0.75 to $2.50. Pricey is from $2.50 to $7.50, and above that is expensive. (Again, looking at you Sword of Body and Mind). You’ll only need the budget and modest cards to make the core of the deck, but more expensive options should be considered for upgrades later on, or to include if you already have them.

ALSO! 

This looks like my longest post yet, so I’m hoping I did okay. Hope it’s a decent primer for getting to know Alesha.

LORE:

(special thanks to @alesha-who-smiles-at-memes for helping me with this)

Alesha was the last Khan of Mardu, before Sarkhan the A*hole ruined a perfectly nice plane with a bunch of damn flying lizards. That’s about it. Kolaghan was chill at the time, and said “Yo Alesha, lets work together.” And they did.

Later Kolaghan would turn out to be a huge jerk and go crazy over her brood. They lost their Mardu name, became cannibals, etc. And worst of all, Dragonlord Kolaghan is awful in EDH.

But back to Alesha.

The Mardu Horde was heavily based off the Mongol Hordes, with effective raiding strategies and usage of horse archers (and lightning magic. Slight advantage over the Mongols). When a Mardu warrior made their first kill in battle, they chose a new name emblematic of what they do (see Zurgo Helmsmasher) Raid and Dash rewarded aggressive plays. 

Alesha is the only khan to not submit/die to the dragons (as mentioned above). Notably, she’s a human transgender woman, who chose her name after her grandmother. The Mardu care less for traditional gender roles/identities, and are more of the mind “we judge you based on what you do.” 

THE CARD:

The lady, the legend. On her own, a 3/2 first striker for 2R is solid. 

Then you look at her ability. Phew. Now that is some text.

We get Mardu color identity and Power =< 2 resurrection and quasi haste for   2*(W/B). Now that’s power.

She’s also human and warrior. Not sure what tribal stuff would justify being put in, but there’s gotta be someone out there.

BUILDS:

Alesha enables a lot of builds, but usually revolves around the graveyard. Death and taxes, good old aristocrats, and self-mill and recur. Alesha is just so versatile, with such fun colors, you gotta get a copy.

This build is neapolitan. It doesn’t really run any combos, but has multiple ways to fill the ‘yard - sac outlets, discards, self-milling - some aristocrat stuff to take advantage. Basically an Alesha value build that can be taken to more combo-oriented wins, or combat-oriented. 

Heck, there’s Alesha Voltron builds. Skies the limit. Here we go.

BATTLE PLAN:

Resurrection, resurrection for days.

Every Alesha deck wants to play with recursion, so I’ll just go with that, leaving spicier builds to those most familiar with her (I myself use her solely as a budget commander).

We need things that are generally CMC >= 3 (to make Alesha’s ability a discount) and Power <= 2 (to work with the ability).

To help, we want discard engines, sac effects, Entomb - style effects, and recursion independent of Alesha (like Reanimate). 

(1) Reanimation Targets

I’m going to do an itemized list here. Gonna be long. Here we go.

White

Angel of Invention - Modest price; comes in as a anthem at 4/3 spread over one or three bodies. 

Karmic Guide - Modest price; recursion, and it kills itself to be used again.

Knight-Captain of Eos - Modest; and gives you a Fog on command, and some bodies for sac’ing. Also a sac outlet for soldiers.

Sensor Splicer - Budget; brings a token to the field with it.

Blade Splicer - Modest; token generator, Sensor’s big sister

Urbis Protector - budget; token generator

Azorius Justicar - budget, pacifies potential defenders that’ll block your team

Custodi Soulbinders - budget; The first of our 0/0 creatures that enters with a swarm of +1/+1 tokens. This guy also makes extra spirits as a mana dump.

Aven Cloudchaser - budget; toolbox for enchantment destruction (replaceable with any creature that ETB destroys enchantment, like Soltari Visionary)

Palace Jailer, Fiend Hunter, Fairgrounds Warden, Banisher Priest - all budget; all act as Oblivion Ring for creatures. You can do sacrifice shenanigans with the Fiend Hunter to permanently exile things.

Defender en-Vec - Budget; an old oddball that can play with it’s fading counters to do up to 8 damage prevention, and kill itself doing so (and thus be available for recursion)

Lowland Tracker - Budget; another old oddball. This guy lets you kill the Noble Hierarch that’s been chilling on the other side of the field, or pull an important defender away. Or diplomatically, to let a opponents big creature be available to block.

Mentor of the Meek - Modest, allows you to draw off of most of the creatures in your deck and Alesha’s ability

Palisade Giant and Protector of the Crown - both budget; good meat shields for you

Radiant’s Dragoons - budget; decent lifegain, echo lets it die and be used again

Recruiter of the Guard - Expensive; our first expensive card, and for a good reason - she can tutor most of our deck, and works with Alesha

Stonehorn Dignitary - Budget; use it like it’s in a Brago deck, abuse and shut people down.

(Anything that worked in Brago and is 2<= power is a good choice)

Black

Archetype of Finality - Budget; Deathtouch for the team and take it away from your opponents? Fun toy.

Big Game Hunter - Modest; does a repeatable Smite the Monstrous impression, and has Madness (we do like discarding!)

Bone Shredder - Budget; It kills stuff, and dies easy for using it again next turn

Disciple of Bolas - Modest; sac something, then draw and LG. You’ll probably want to recurr whatever you sac’d, so win-win

Entomber Exarch - Budget; retrieve a creature in the ‘yard, or better Duress an opponent

Gonti -  edge of Budget; steal your opponents toys over and over

Marionette Master - Budget; niche artifact usage, token maker

Nekrataal - Budget; backup Bone Shredder

Noosegraf Mob - Budget; solid beater and token creator. 0/0 creatures are a great reason to play Alesha.

Pontiff of Blight - Budget; Bottom heavy mass Extort. Lets you pretend to be an Orzhov deck and play with some life.

Priest of the Blood Rite - Budget; Get it in the yard, pull it out, sac, repeat. 5/5 demon flyers are nothing to scoff at.

Thief of Blood - Budget; Kills ‘Walkers, and weakens or kills +1/+1 reliant creatures. Pulls -1/-1 counters off your team (take that Hapatra!), and while we don’t play with other counters (loyalty, ki, etc), we mess with others who do

Thorn of the Black Rose - Budget; Card draw, deathtouch

Wei Night Raiders - Expensive; Portal 3 card, so super pricey, but it’s basically an unblockable Hypnotic Specter

Hypnotic Specter - Budget; as above, but cheaper and blockable

Raving Dead - Modest; Basically half a kill if it gets through, and Alesha’s ressurection lets you pick the target.

RED

Anarchist -  Budget; lets your reuse sorceries like Sieze the Day, or Buried Alive. Alesha’s recursion means not paying the 5 CMC.

Beetleback Chief - Budget; 4/4 over 3 bodies for 2 mana is attractive for sac outlets

Goblin Settler - Obscene; Proxy it, and revel in repeated land destruction

Ignition Team - Budget; Another Conspiracy 0/0, it can come in for cheap and be pretty big midgame. It also makes solid beaters out of lands

Imperial Recruiter - Obscene; Proxy it, and tutor any card you want

Manic Vandal - Budget; toolkit for artifact destruction

Mindclaw Shaman - Budget; steal your opponents spells

Savage Firecat - Budget; enters as a 7/7 trample beater, and you can kill it and bring it back as needed.

Siege-Gang Commander - Modest; better Beetleback Chief with a sac outlet

Yuan-Shao, the Indecisive - Obscene; Proxy it, and have an unblockable creature, and force your creatures to be blocked one on one.

Artifacts

Arcbound X - Budget - Obscene; Pick any of the bigger ones (skip Arcbound Ravager), and you get a good deal. Underpriced (with Alesha’s ability) and nice abilities on death.

Burnished Hart - Budget; good ramp is good, recurrable good ramp is better

Clockwork Dragon - Budget; the biggest clockwork creatures comes in as a 6/6 flyer for 2.

Filigree Familiar - Budget; smaller Solemn Simulacrum that’ll probably be a budget EDH staple.

Solemn Simulacrum - Modest; repeatable value is always good.

Silent Arbiter - Modest; Good defensive option, forces your opponents to block your incoming team with one declared defender. Sac at the end of the turn before yours and repeat.

Triskelion - Budget; Because Walking Ballista doesn’t work in this deck

Workhorse - Budget; Weird ramp? Recur it turn 4 and you have X+2 mana, where X is the amount of normal land drops and getting Alesha T3.

Multicolor

Ankle Shanker - Budget; A brutal combat trick, even played from the hand. Also, the alt art is equally cheap, so check it out.

Ponyback Brigade - Budget; You probably have this lying at the bottom of a box somewhere. 4 bodies with 5/5 power. Makes great fodder for sac effects and Ashnod’s Altar

Sin Collector  - Budget; tech against spellslinger decks

Duergar Hedge-Mage - Budget; tech removal against artifacts and enchantments

Flame-Kin Zealot and Resolute Blademaster- Budget; selected combat tricks, to support Ankle Shanker. Compare to the Archetype of X creatures from Theros block for fun combat.

Fulminator Mage - Expensive; Modern staple, and really useful - sac before combat damage for land removal

Master of Cruelties - Pricey; Almost a game win if it gets through. 

Lim-Dul’s Paladin -  Budget; Does it all - kills itself, can draw a card, is a trampling 6/6 or a 4 life drainer.

(2) Filling the ‘Yard

We want a couple options for filling the yard - discard, self milling, sac’ing enchantments, artifacts, and creatures (and some things that benefit from all the dying.

(A) Entomb & Co.

Corpse Connoisseur does it twice (but doesn’t combo with Alesha), Buried Alive and Entomb are classics. Morality Shift says “screw it, I’ll make my deck my ‘yard.” There are some others, but these are my favorites.

(B) Sac Engines

(Lots of sac engines here)

We like things that sac for free. We want Goblin Bombardment, not Barrage of Expendables.

Free sac effects let us sac things in response to things dying worthlessly in combat, or before a board wipe, or because we want Alesha to recur them. It’s better for something getting Path’d to be in the ‘yard than exiled.

Spawning Pit makes tokens, Viscera Seer scrys, Dimir House-Guard transmutes, recurs, and is a sac outlet, Phyrexian Altar and Ashnod’s Altar are mana makers, Sadistic Hypnotist is just plain mean discard, Martyr’s Cause is a fun for protection and diplomacy, 

Attrition is a sac outlet I’m willing to pay B for to use, and is double good with a Grave Pact package, and Shivan Harvest for land removal. 

(3) Discard and Milling

Sometimes we wanna self mill, or rummage(Red’s in our colors). Cathartic Reunion is okay, because we get 2 things in the yard. Body Snatcher likes helping entomb and recur stuff. Escalating Collective Brutality, especially early game, fills the ‘yard. Cryptbreaker makes bodies, draws cards, and can come back with Alesha (but will probably die). Wheel of Fortune and co. discard your hand (and everyone elses) and gets you refilled. Cards with Retrace are great, like World at War. 

There’s plenty of Discard stuff out there (self milling in Mardu isn’t my forte), use them well

(3) Reanimation Effects

(extra stuff here)

Reveillark loves Alesha’s creatures, and makes the best target for reanimating and sac’ing. Resurrection, False Defeat, and Breath of Life are very similar white sorceries, and Miraculous Recovery is an instant version. Death or Glory does the whole yard, but takes away the toolbox functionality of your ‘yard. And Marshal’s Anthem is a anthem plus kickable recursion.

Unburial Rites is fiscally cheap, and goes twice. Reanimate, Animate Dead, Beacon of Unrest, Diabolic Servitude - there’s so many black options

Cauldron Dance is an odd trick, getting 2 more creatures on the field, plus whatever Alesha pulls. Crypt Champion always dies when pulled by Alesha, but has a decent effect, and always dying is fine in Grave Pact decks.

THE REST:

For a 3 color manabase I always suggest the Professor. We value mana rocks and dual/tri lands more than a dual or mono deck, so business as usual. We plan on ramping from artifacts, and if needed, white has some “Balance” style Plains ramping, and Black has some Swamp ramping. Feel free to dip into one color more than normal based on the makeup of your deck - more black creatures, add more black mana.

Grave Pack, Butcher of Malakir, Blood Artist & co, make a nice package. If your running sac outlets, you can focus more on token effects to sac your way to victory.

Combat help is nice too - extra combat phases plus things that protect Alesha are good - extra phases like Aurelia and her like, and Iroas, God of Victory, Reconnaissance (also good for saving things Alesha recurs), Boots and Greaves, indestructibility effects like Nahiri’s Mechanizations and Gift of Immortality.

WEAKNESSES:

GY hate. This deck is Meren-level of GY hate weakness. We can always restock the ‘yard, but it hurts a lot.

Stax/Pillowfort decks hurt a lot - things Voltron decks do well (like hitting for Commander Damage) won’t work for us.

Alesha is also small for a commander that wades into combat. 2 toughness gets killed by Shock, or any effect worse than -0/-2. Some protection is seriously needed - protection equipment package works fine since Alesha has access to White, as well as Reconnaissance is good for triggering Alesha’s ability and retreating out of bad blocking situations.

RATINGS:

Control: 5/10 - Alesha doesn’t favor a control set up, nor does she have abilities that help, but her colors are great for answering anything, as well as board wipes.

Diplomacy: 6/10 - not really equipped for it past “stop attacking me with your resurrected Raving Dead”

Aggro: 9/10 - she not only likes attacking, she recurs things attacking too.

Overall Power: 10/10 - She’s a Tier 1.5 commander, and one of the easiest to learn and abuse.

Versatility: 10/10 - While she does one thing, she has a lot of options stemming from it.

Affordability: 10/10 - She can go super budget, or uber expensive, scaling for your wallet and group power level. She also got reprinted in C16, while already being cheap, so she goes for like a quarter.

Overall Score: 50/60 best commander thus far. She does a lot in a 3 CMC body.

One of the 99: Decent. In most decks not built around her, she’s mostly for recurring utility creatures or things for sac outlets, as well as a lot of Aggro decks.

FINAL VERDICT: Get this card. Even if you can’t build with her right now, or the next 3 years, just get her and put her in your box of bulk rares.

You can build a deck out of an LGS’s draft rejects and go toe to toe with an average pre-con group. She is one well endowed lady.

[sacraliel]

Mono Red EDH Update (At Long Last)

i was finally able to go to my LGS yesterday for Sunday EDH, and had a blast with Jaya! I played a 3 player game, followed by four 4 player games. 

The first game was against a Derevi aggro deck and a Gisa zombie tribal deck. Derevi led off pretty scarily with an early Gaea’s Cradle and Captain Sisay, grabbing more scary things left and right. By comparison, I was stuck at 4 mana with nothing to play that could affect the board. I managed to get a Mindclaw Shaman into an Eladamri’s Call to get a Burnished Hart, but by then the Derevi player had gone unchecked for too long, and Gisa died, with me soon after. 

The next game was against two new people and the Derevi player, but he had switched to Olivia 1.0. The game was me (Jaya) vs Atraxa +1/+1s vs Mayeal vs Olivia 1.0 Voltron/Stealy. Me and the Mayeal player had an unlucky manaless streak for a little while, so the Atraxa player dumped threats only to be stolen by Olivia, and the match deformed into a 1v1 until I finally drew a third land for Mana Flare and jumpstarted my deck, along with Mayeal. At this point, Olivia was at 13 power and was unkillable by anyone with their current resources, and so I played Mob Rule into Insult//Injury to threaten to kill two players, but Olivia sacrificed herself to Claws of Gix and, but i was still able to cast Recoup targeting Insult, then recasting it to kill Olivia, but after that, Atraxa had gained too much life and had too many threats for me to do anything, even with a Heartless Hidetsugu. I had tried to get a Loxodon Warhammer on him, but it was destroyed before I could recover, and then died, with Mayeal dying soon after.

The third game was against me, Thada Adel, Cromat Pillowfort, and Mizzix. Game started with ramp as normal, and Thada stole Cromat’s Sol Ring. I get an Ogre Battledriver and a Dragon Mage out, and soon after I equiped Assault Suit to the Mage. Thats when the party starts, because everyone loves wheeling their hands away. The other players are still setting up while this happens, but with their newfound card draw, start adding up. Thada steal’s Cromat’s Mindslaver, then activates it to steal Cromat’s turn, and while nothing very threatening happens during that time, Mizzix is when the real fun begins. He gains control of the Dragon Mage, then casts Rite of Replication kicked targeting it, then returns it to his hand, casts it, returns, casts, then flashes it back with Recoup for a total 20 Dragon Mages with the ability to deck each player twice in one attack, but they do not have haste. My turn comes around, and we all are desperately searching for an answer, but then I realize I still have Fervor on the field, so I play Jaya and activate her third ability to kill all the Mages, then I attack Mizzix with my own Dragon Mage, draw into Heartless Hidetsugu and Insult//Injury in the same hand, and with the help of Thran Dynamo and Sol Ring from earlier in the game, I played Heartless Hidetsugu, and was about to play Insult when I realized each player, including me, had an even life total. I thought about just tying the game, but then I saw the Aftershock in my graveyard. I Aftershocked a random target, took the three damage, and killed everyone with Hidetsugu.

The fourth game was me, Shattergang Brothers, Karlov, and Atraxa Superfriends. I set up some equipment early game, but was overshadowed by Karlov getting to a perfect 21 commander damage, but had no evasion. We kept chump blocking, but then I played and flashed back Mana Geyser for 50 total mana, which I then used to cast my graveyard with Past in Flames. I wheeled our hands a few times, then used Molten Psych to deal some damage. I still had plenty of mana, and so I cast three dragons (Scourge of the Throne, Dragon Mage, and Hellkite Tyrant) and Combustible Gearhulk, then passed, assuming that my board state was unbeatable except against a boardwipe. The Atraxa player proved me wrong, by casting Doubling Season into both Tamiyos, and ulted planeswalkers left and right. He didn’t win that turn, which turned out to be a mistake because Shattergang Brothers comboed off the very next turn.

The fifth and final game was me against Memnarch, Atraxa Superfriends, and Shattergang Brothers. Memnarch opened with many artifact ramp pieces, and had 16 mana by turn 4. Atraxa led off with Jace Beleran and The Chain Veil, and I set up my mana and equipment (featuring Assault Suit). Shattergang didn’t do much, because his brother (Memnarch) stole some threats and beat him up. Atraxa surprised us all by getting OG Tamiyo’s ult off using doubling season again, but I was ready for him with Fervor, Godo, and Artisan of Kozilek with Assault Suit. I killed him pretty quick after that, and then had the Bros and Memnarch fight over my free annihilator 2 triggers. After realizing that if one attacked the other, it would be a free for all which no-one was ready for, Shattergang Brothers sacked the Artisan to their ability to kill Memnarch, and without the threat of stealing, I put on the pressure with my remaining creatures. Unfortunately, I had to leave for marching band before I could finish, but it was anyones game by the time I left.

I really enjoyed playing this deck, and I am 100% sure that I proved that Mono-Red EDH is good in commander, and if you disagree then you can read this and hopefully see the error in your ways. 

@goblintinkering @foilmountain

[doctor-roman]

If you’re going for RB, maybe have Elias’s life drain be player-to-player life drain as a Plus, with -x/-x as a Minus-X and a Hijack effect as a Minus. His ult could be like better Stolen Strategy, exile the top 5 of each players’ library, freecast until end of turn? That way, Elias is a toolbox Planeswalker, but all of his abilities fit into that RB archetype.

I think the farthest I could justify putting Black into his identity is just giving him Sorin Markov’s +2 of dealing/draining two and gaining two life.

@grandwarlordradha pointed out that Gonti also steals cards from the top of people’s libraries, which makes me feel safer about making the change, but that’s still the general area that I want to keep him in; ie: using your opponent’s resources (life, library, maaaaaybe hand since Mindclaw Shaman and Reversal of Fortune are a thing?)

[kayawagner]

BigFatDeal [BUNDLE]

Publisher: Fat Goblin Games

This special bundle product contains the following titles.

[PFRPG] Forgotten Foes - Watermarked PDF8-Bit Adventures - Space Bounty Hunters - PDF8-Bit Adventures - The Fungifolk! - Watermarked PDF8-Bit Adventures - The Legend of Heroes - Watermarked PDF8-Bit Adventures - Welcome to the Fungal Kingdom - Watermarked PDF8-Bit Adventures: Perseus Jr. Gear - PDF8-Bit Adventures: Vampire Slayer Gear - PDFAlien Evolution: Racial Mutations - Watermarked PDFAlien Evolution: Rhynans - Watermarked PDFAlien Evolution: Vinyari - PDFAstonishing Races: Catfolk - Watermarked PDFAstonishing Races: Dog-Faced Kobold - Watermarked PDFAstonishing Races: Fetchling - Watermarked PDFAstonishing Races: Grippli - Watermarked PDFAstonishing Races: Leprechaun Revised! - Watermarked PDFAstonishing Races: Samsaran - Watermarked PDFAstonishing Races: Tiefling - Watermarked PDFAstonishing Races:Aasimar - Watermarked PDFBleeding Hearts and Chocolates - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms - Ceremonial Masks - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms - Societal Masks - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: Axes & Picks - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: Bracers of Armor - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: Decks of Cards - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: Fantastic Technology - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: Fireworks & Primitive Firearms - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: Horses and Mules - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: Javelins and Throwing Spears - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: Mantles of Power - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: Pistols & Muskets - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: Powders and Dusts - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: Rapiers & Weapons of the Duel - PDFCall to Arms: Ropes - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: Shields - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: Ten-Foot Poles (April Fool's Edition) - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: The Magic Satchel - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: Tomes of Power (revised) - Watermarked PDFCall to Arms: Torch and Flame - Watermarked PDFCampaign Kits: Maidenhill and Her Many Secrets - Watermarked PDFCampaign Kits: Tales of Haerigholdt Pass - Watermarked PDFCampaign Kits: What Lies in the Shadows Under the Trees - Watermarked PDFCampaign Kits:The Mysteries of Hollowfield - Watermarked PDFCap'n Kankersore's Pocket Guide to Pirating (RCRF Charity Product) - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: Astra (New Occult Class) - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: Battlefield Defiler (Magus Archetype) - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: Centaurian (Cavalier Archetype) - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: Core Prestige Class Simple Templates - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: Equipment Archetypes - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: Nature's Shadow (Ninja Archetype) - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: Scoundrel (Brawler Hybrid Class Archetype) - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: Shaman of Humanity (Druid Archetype) - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: Skinwalking Shaman (Druid Alternate Class)) - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: The Apothecary - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: The Hussar - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: The Pyromancer - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: The Saint - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: The Technopath - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: The Time Assassin (New Base Class) - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: The Wind-Warrior - Watermarked PDFCLASSifieds: Volatile Blade (Alchemist Archetype) - Watermarked PDFCooking With Class - PDFDetective Carnacki’s Serial Killers of Vathak - Watermarked PDFDNH1 - The Lost Temple of Forgotten Evil (Pathfinder) - Watermarked PDFEnhanced Racial Guide: Bhriota - Watermarked PDFEquipment Tricks for Everyone - PDFFaces of Vathak: Survivors - PDFFaction: Tear Sworn - Watermarked PDFFat Goblin Games Presents - Creating New Armors - Watermarked PDFFat Goblin Games Presents: Carnival of Sinners - Watermarked PDFFat Goblin Games Presents: Silent Night, Darkest Night - Watermarked PDFFat Goblin Gazette #1 - Watermarked PDFFat Goblin Gazette #2 - Watermarked PDFFat Goblin Gazette #3 - Watermarked PDFFat Goblin Travel Guide to Epiphany's Wayside Inn - Watermarked PDFFat Goblin Travel Guide To Hell - Watermarked PDFFat Goblin Travel Guide To The Frozen Tomb of the Dwarf Lord - Watermarked PDFKnowledge Check: 9 Funerary Rites - Watermarked PDFKnowledge Check: Codes & Cyphers - Watermarked PDFKnowledge Check: Last Rites - Watermarked PDFKnowledge Check: Thieves' Cant Dictionary - Watermarked PDFMadame Mombi's Forbidden Tomes - Watermarked PDFMasters & Minions. Dinner of Dark Secrets (Charity Product) - Watermarked PDFMasters & Minions: Cult of the Mirrored King - PDFMasters & Minions: The Hookclaw Gang - Watermarked PDFMindblast! - Classic Monsters Augmented (PFRPG-Psionics)) - Watermarked PDFMindblast! - Villains Augmented - Greater Psionic Barghest - Watermarked PDFMindblast! - Villains Augmented - System Shock Behir - Watermarked PDFMindBlast! - Villains Augmented: Ankheg Mindburrower - Watermarked PDFMindBlast! - Villains Augmented: Athach Mindclaw - Watermarked PDFMindBlast! - Villains Augmented: Mindbird the Psionic Achaierai - Watermarked PDFMindBlast! - Villains Augmented: Mindstone Basilisk - Watermarked PDFMindBlast! - Villains Augmented: Pacifier Angel - Watermarked PDFMindBlast! - Villains Augmented: Pyrokinetic Azer - Watermarked PDFMindBlast! - Villains Augmented: Yth’Sevech the Deep Terror! - Watermarked PDFMonster Movie Matinee - Watermarked PDFPestilence: The Book of Disease (Revised) - Watermarked PDFRacial Ecologies - The Otso - Watermarked PDFRacial Ecologies: Guide to Feyborn - Watermarked PDFRacial Ecologies: Guide to Saurians - Watermarked PDFRacial Ecologies: Living Dolls - Watermarked PDFRacial Ecologies: The Canids - Watermarked PDFReturn of the Drow: Advanced Racial Handbook - Watermarked PDFReturn of the Drow: Alternate Racial Traits and Race Traits - Watermarked PDFReturn of the Drow: Dominions - Darkwood Enfold - Watermarked PDFRitual Magic Expanded for 5th Edition Fantasy - Watermarked PDFSecret Societies of Vathak: The Final Phase - Watermarked PDFSecret Societies of Vathak: The People of Ash - PDFShadows over Vathak World Map - PDFShadows over Vathak: Colonies - Game Master's Guide - Watermarked PDFShadows over Vathak: Colonies - Player's Guide - Watermarked PDFShadows over Vathak: Colonies - Silhouette of a Shadow - Watermarked PDFShadows over Vathak: Explorer's Guide to Vathak - Watermarked PDFShadows over Vathak: Hauntlings - Enhanced Racial Guide - PDFShadows over Vathak: Ina'oth - Echo of Plagues - PDFShadows over Vathak: Ina'oth - Gamemaster's Guide - PDFShadows over Vathak: Ina'oth - Player's Guide - Watermarked PDFShadows over Vathak: Player's Guide to Vathak - Watermarked PDFSidebar #1 - Shields as Cover - Watermarked PDFSidebar #10 - Equipment Tricks for Rope! - Watermarked PDFSidebar #11 - The Drilled Teamwork Feat - Watermarked PDFSidebar #12 - Equipment Tricks for Backpacks! - Watermarked PDFSidebar #13 - Equipment Tricks for 10-foot Poles! - Watermarked PDFSidebar #14 - Alternative Death Effects - Watermarked PDFSidebar #15 - Equipment Tricks for Caltrops - Watermarked PDFSidebar #16 - Titles and Plot Hooks - Watermarked PDFSidebar #17 - Fate and Fortune for Pathfinder - Watermarked PDFSidebar #18 - Equipment Tricks for Torches - Watermarked PDFSidebar #19 - Equipment Tricks for Manacles - Watermarked PDFSidebar #19 - Equipment Tricks for Manacles - Watermarked PDFSidebar #2 - Arbalist: Crossbow Rules - Watermarked PDFSidebar #20 - Equipment Tricks for Alchemical Fire - Watermarked PDFSidebar #21 - 10 More Ten-Foot Poles - Watermarked PDFSidebar #22 - Equipment Tricks for Bows - Watermarked PDFSidebar #23 - More Hirelings and Followers! - Watermarked PDFSidebar #24 - Equipment Tricks for Helms - Watermarked PDFSidebar #25 - 14 Non-Adventuring Magic Items - Watermarked PDFSidebar #26 - Equipment Tricks for Alchemical Glue - Watermarked PDFSidebar #27 - Equipment Tricks for Swords - Watermarked PDFSidebar #28 - The Art of the Unorthodox Charge - Watermarked PDFSidebar #29 - The Behemoth Corruption - Watermarked PDFSidebar #3 - Aptitudes - Watermarked PDFSidebar #30 - Skeleton Tricks - Watermarked PDFSidebar #31 - Non-Combat XP & Non-Monetary Rewards - Watermarked PDFSidebar #32 - Making the Battlefield Work To Your Advantage - Watermarked PDFSidebar #33 - Vile Idols - Watermarked PDFSidebar #34 - Tools of the Shamed Samurai - PDFSidebar #35 - Clinging - PDFSidebar #36 - Fun with Arcane Mark! - PDFSidebar #37 - Ruinous Runes - PDFSidebar #38 - Affliction Tracks for Environmental Conditions - PDFSidebar #39 - Party Themes - Watermarked PDFSidebar #4 - Forbidden Knowledge and Corruption - Watermarked PDFSidebar #5 -The Secret Roll - Watermarked PDFSidebar #6 - 5 Haunted Items - Watermarked PDFSidebar #7 - Hirelings & Followers - Watermarked PDFSidebar #8 - Equipment Tricks for Lanterns - Watermarked PDFSidebar #9 - Playing a Sidekick - Watermarked PDFSir Reginald Lichlyter's Magical Beers, Tankards, & Other Inebrious Items - Watermarked PDFSir Reginald Lichlyter's Trusty Tavern Tome - Watermarked PDFStrange Worlds: Ice Planets - PDFThe 11th Hour [PFRPG adventure] - Watermarked PDFThe Dread Codex: Warlock - Watermarked PDFThe Master Player's Adventurers Journal - Watermarked PDFThe Roleplayer's Leechbook - PDFThe Starmaster's Campaign Journal - PDFVathak Grimoires: Echoes of the Final Heartbeat - Watermarked PDFVathak Grimoires: The Drowning Ceremony - Watermarked PDFVathak Hauntings: Red Rose Manor - Watermarked PDFVathak Terrors: Cured of Ursatur - PDFVathak Terrors: Denizens of the Silver Tower - PDFVathak Terrors: Horrors of Halsburg - Watermarked PDFWonders of the Cosmos: Fine & Diminutive Starships - PDFWonders of the Cosmos: Strange Plants Under a Red Star - PDF[PFRPG] Achievement Feats - ZIP File[PFRPG] Achievement Feats: Volume 2 - Watermarked PDF[PFRPG] Pug's Bazaar: Tent #1 - Watermarked PDF[PFRPG] Pug's Bazaar: Tent #2 - Watermarked PDF

Total value:$753.05Special bundle price:$49.95Savings of:$703.10 (93%)

Price: $753.05 BigFatDeal [BUNDLE] published first on https://supergalaxyrom.tumblr.com

[magicjudge]

Does Mindclaw Shaman allow you to cast both halves of a fuse card from your opponent's hand?

Sadly not.

You can only ever cast both halves of a split card with Fuse when you’re casting it from YOUR hand. Casting it from another player’s hand is just like casting it from anywhere that’s not your hand: You can only cast one half of it.

[bizarre-trader]

This has been a personal favorite of mine since my Riku EDH. Mindclaw Shaman is an incredibly fun effect on a body that fits in with Grixis recursion and Feldon decks. To be able to pry into an opponent's hand and show everyone what they have, use a spell from it while sending that spell to graveyard is incredibly valuable in EDH. Take off color removal, draw, ramp, or huge cards EDH is known for like Clone Legion (and do it again!) Then you just have to figure out how to trigger that ETB effect more. Jund sacrifice has Hell's Caretaker and Champion of Stray Souls. Riku has himself, Conjurer's Closet, Flameshadow Conjuring, and Minion Reflector. Sedris has himself, Whip of Erebos, Doomed Necromancer, clone effects. There are so many ways to trigger multiple Mindclaws, you can slice through everyone's hand and scour their instants and sorceries.

[dailytopimagic]

Topi’s Daily Card #220:  Mindclaw Shaman

A recent addition to my Alesha deck, Mindclaw Shaman gets an easy in being able to steal spells from your opponents.  Most recently when I dropped this card against an Oloro deck, I ended up casting a Praetor’s Grasp to steal yet another thing from the same deck.  The effect is something that you can abuse, and I like the fact that your opponent reveals, meaning your other opponents get a peek into his or her hand as well, making a bit more politics possible.  Of course, this card is terrible against X spells, but perhaps it’s something you’d want to dump out of their hands anyway.  If anyone has some good stories regarding what this guy has stolen, I’d love to hear it!

[markrosewater]

Is mindclaw shaman in color pie?

The ability, casting spells out the opponent’s hand, is primary in blue and black. I’ll call it a big bend in red.

[naaslaarum-blog]

Mindclaw Shaman

by Slawomir Maniak

[mtgbracket]

Round of 8192 - Batch 23

You can now vote in Batch 23!

Currently open batches:

Batch 23 Batch 22 Batch 21 Batch 20 Batch 19 Batch 18 Batch 17

Batch 16 results will be up shortly.

Feature match: Let’s pick two super-weird black-border cards: Blockbuster is an enchantment that you can sacrifice to damage tapped creatures, and Hot Soup is some hot soup!  Which weirdo wins?

Full list of matchups:

Cryptic Command vs Dwarven Miner Fabricate vs Everglove Courier Primal Surge vs Safe Passage Maelstrom Pulse vs Paradise Mantle Sisay's Ring vs Karametra, God of Harvests Hot Soup vs Blockbuster Kragma Warcaller vs Semblance Anvil Viridian Corrupter vs Spectral Procession Piracy Charm vs Talent of the Telepath Hythonia the Cruel vs Ignition Team Warriors' Lesson vs Kazandu Tuskcaller Grim Lavamancer vs Ragnar Genju of the Spires vs Ankle Shanker Phyrexian Tower vs Sands of Time Artful Dodge vs Paladin of Prahv Lonely Sandbar vs Amugaba Phyrexian Obliterator vs Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile Giant's Ire vs Illusion of Choice Rimewind Cryomancer vs Chaos Charm Scourge of Fleets vs Crypt Ghast Protean Hulk vs Tivadar of Thorn Rush of Knowledge vs Muddle the Mixture Cower in Fear vs Witch Hunt Tribal Unity vs Fetid Heath Mire Blight vs Dark Tutelage Sidisi's Pet vs Desolation Water Servant vs Sakashima the Impostor Horn of Plenty vs Lore Seeker Phytotitan vs Torchling Mindclaw Shaman vs Pyroblast Primal Druid vs Ertai, Wizard Adept Eye of Doom vs Momentous Fall