#taigam ojutai master

[magicjudge]

So I pulled a Taigam, Ojutai Master at my prerelease and I’m thinking about building a deck around him. How does Rebound work with Adventures and Split Cards? Most of the stuff i can find online about rebounding split cards is from before their rule change, and I can’t find good info about rebounding adventures anywhere.

Rebound works quite well with both of these cards types!

Adventures: When an Adventure with Rebound (cast from your hand) resolves, you'll have two different replacement effects wanting to exile it as it resolves. There's the normal Adventure exile, and then there's the Rebound exile. If you exile it to its Adventure effect, then it works as normal and you can cast the non-Adventure part from exile whenever timing would normally allow you to do so. If you exile it with Rebound, then you get to cast the card from exile at the beginning of your next upkeep without paying its mana cost. When you do, you can choose to cast it as an adventure or as its main spell. If you cast it as an adventure, then it will exile itself again and you'll be able to cast the main spell from exile as normal.

Split Cards: When a split card with rebound (cast from your hand) resolves, then you'll exile it and get to cast it again on your next upkeep for free. When you cast it this way, you choose which half of the card to cast. Note that you can't choose to fuse a card cast this way, since you can only fuse cards you cast from your hand. Also, you can't cast a half with Aftermath this way, since you can only cast those spells from your graveyard.

[strangedaystrangeyear]

2024-01-01 — Bound for Botany Bay — John Williamson

I've typed, deleted, and retyped variations on the same opening line for this post too many times now, so I'll just write words and hope they serve as an acceptable introduction. Once upon a time, I went out of my way to listen to new music. I really enjoyed discovering all sorts of artists and albums. Somewhere along the line though, without realising it, I stopped. After listening to the same set of songs for the entirety of 2023, I wanted to try finding new music again.

My goal is to try and listen to a new album every day this year. I don't know if I'll follow through with it. I don't know how long it will be before I miss a day, or a week. I do want to try, though, and hopefully, keeping a log of what I've been listening to online may help. I don't know how much I'll write each day. Probably not much.

Bound for Botany Bay (or Fair Dinkum J.W., which I am told is the original title) is an Australian country album. I'm not really sure how I got into it, but I really like Australian folk/country. All things considered, I didn't branch out too much today, but it was still something I hadn't listened to before. I had the album on while I was trying to piece together a Commander deck for MTG. The deck still needs a lot of work.

I think Wrinkles was my favourite song on this. I added it to my big songs playlist before it had finished. If I were to try writing a song myself, I reckon I'd be unconsciously trying to write something similar. I also added (Why Don't We) Separate and Be Lovers to my playlist, as well as his version of Brisbane Ladies.

Country Football was a very charming opening song, charming in a wistful sort of way. It didn't feel like an opening track as I listened to it initially, but on reflection, I think it works well. Your Body Feels Like Heaven to Me felt like a closing track, so I wasn't sure how I felt about there being another track afterwards, but again, on reflection, Brisbane Ladies works very well as the closer. I might add Country Football to my playlist now I'm thinking about it some more.

Some of the songs here are traditional folk songs I've heard many times now. They just automatically make me happy. Botany Bay, The Ryebuck Shearer, and With My Swag Upon My Shoulder, I've heard done by a whole bunch of people, but somehow this was the first time I'd listened to Brisbane Ladies. Not quite sure how I'd managed to miss that one before.

I wrote down two notes while I listened through the album. (I thought I'd end up writing a few more so I had something to work with when writing this, but alas.) 1) I wasn't sure about the panting in Just a Dog. I got the sense, as the song ended, that I'd grow to find it charming if I listened to the song some more. Not sure yet, though. 2) Being told I was about to hear what turns John Williamson on in Love of a True Blue Girl was a little disconcerting. As it turns out, he was using "turns on" to describe sentimental memories he is very fond of. If that's what turns on means, then I guess I'm also turned on by soup and being tucked in.

With any luck, I'll have a post up tomorrow. With some more luck, my Taigam, Ojutai Master deck will be finished soon.

[turn-1-sol-ring]

Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander Review - Part One

Hello enjoys of multiplayer kerfuffle, welcome to a fairly simple Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander Recap! The goal: Rate all the new legendary creatures of this fine new set, and speculate a bit on ways to build them!

I will be talking over every eligible commanders, because I sincerely every legendary creature will be built by someone, even the weaker ones, as any card can have special value for anyone. I will also include the Jurassic Park legendary creatures, who can also be found within this set. With these caveats, let's begin!

Our first stop in our spelunking is Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation, and we begin with a banger. It's fairly easy to compare this to Mondrak, from Phyrexia: All Will Be One, but I like the additional explosiveness of Tripling over Doubling, and becoming a land when it dies, with the possibility of turning it back, can save a lot of mana in commander tax over the course of a game, and provide a bit of ramp for your trouble. Only working with creature token is a drawback, but for a more classic aggressive strategy of tokens + anthems, this works wonderfully well as a top-end.

Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel is a new version of everyone's favorite blue pirate partner, and this one is impressive even without a buddy tagging along. Looting is often underrated in Commander, but turning your merfolk looting into a limited Omniscience is a pretty massive upgrade to it. Of course, 4 turns of attacking with impunity with a 2/1 is a lot to ask for, so don't hesitate to pack in a voltron suite that includes Whispersilk Cloak and Trailblazer's Boots, and also a bit of Proliferate action to accelerate this ticking clock, and more easily recovering counters after an untimely removal spell.

Akal Pakal, First Among Equals is a new arrival in the long and noble tradition of Mono-Blue artifact commanders. While long gone are the days of Arcuum Dagson terrorizing kitchen tables, his ilk carries on. This iteration is interested in providing us card advantage and filling up our graveyard for our plight of playing artifacts. That's an interesting proposal, especially with the capabilities we now have to create artifacts during our opponent's turns. It's less flashy than Muzzio, Visionary Architect, but a lot more reliable, and probably a lot less immediatly threatening. Sleeve up your Myr Turbine and Unwinding Cloak!

Ojet Pakpatiq, Deepest Epoch is a very cool commander, though his metaphorical toes are stepped on by Taigam, Ojutai Master. What you get in exchange for an entire color and losing on sorcery is a more aggressive body, and ramp upon being destroyed. Ojer is still very powerful, and giving rebound to any instant will always lead to getting insane value out of your Consider and Brainstorms, as well as more substantial hits like Commence the Endgame and Dig Through Time. The land side is a bit worse than the other gods, since you will have to wait a pretty significant time to get it back, but by the time you do, you should have plenty of mana to take advantage of the cards you gathered waiting for Pakpatiq to come back online.

Francisco, Fowl Marauder is a lot of things. A great pun, an adorable bird, and also our first black Pirate partner. I will immediatly admit my bias towards Explore, a mechanic I loved a lot during original Ixalan and now still. If you have enough pirates, this little bird can become a significant problem very fast, or provide enough land cards for you never to worry about missing a land drop again. With the capacity to get up to three +1/+1 counters per turn, favor evasive and sneaky pirates over beefier, more expensive ones. And once you get at least one point of power on this bad boy, he'll be able to help the snowball by itself.

Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal is the long awaited debut of the Bat God, and it's a pretty good one at that. Aclazotz incentivizes aggressive play to go with your discard, unlike other offerings like Tinybones, who'd rather you durdle and sit back while everyone discards everything. Getting incidental value in the form of bodies when your opponents keep their good cards and throw away their lands is very nice, and you getting value despite your opponents being empty-ended, a problem I faced a lot when I thought the coolest thing I could do to my friends was kill them with Megrim and Liliana's Caress, is fantastic. The land is also very easy to transform back into our Bat, as you'll probably have plenty of ways to empty your own hand if your opponents aren't so inclined.

Breeches, Eager Pillar is our second returning pirate, and now he can stand on his own instead of hiding being Glinthorn Buccaneer. a three-mana 3/3 with first strike is already pretty pushed, and getting up to three pretty decent effects by combat is very powerful. Now, you are playing Mono-red Pirate, which might be a bit underwhelming, but that never stopped people from building Skeleton Typal and the likes before.

Inti, Seneschal of the Sun, is a very powerful aggressive card. Being a red Aggro commander that permanently power up your attackers, while turning your excess lands directly into damage and more card advantage, is a very powerful effect. Aggressive, combat-focused decks are gaining more and more popularity in today's commander landscape, which used to be almost exclusively dominated by creature-combo decks or UGx decks generating obscene value. This shift in metagame is mostly a good thing, and the printing of efficient, aggressive commanders is a catalyst for that.

Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might is kind of insane, honestly. I except it to by the most hated commander of this new set, with how fast it can kill the entire table with something as silly as impact tremors and cavalcade of calamity. Cheap, big, and tough to get rid of, I'll be interested to see how many Krenko and Purphoros pilot make the switch. I'm mostly just preparing mentally to endure the many times I'll die to it.

Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant is a very scary and explosive commander for a Ramp deck. The big challenge of this deck will be to keep a loaded hand while still ramping to 8 mana, so get your Toski and Beast Whisperer ready, and maybe go to , which can be a tough balance to achieve,. 8 mana for a 12/12 that throws on your hand on the board is still crazy to me, and it will put a large target on your head when you sit down at your table to play.

Ojer Kaslem, Deepest Growth feels a bit small with Ghalta right next to it, but make no mistake: Ojer Kaslem is a powerhouse. 6 power on its own is plenty to dig deep enough to get a good creature hit and a land to ramp on top of it, and nothing is stopping you from boosting that power to dig deeper! I'd value creatures with flashy enter-the-battlefield triggers, or near-instantaneous value like Tendershoot Dryad. The land is also pretty easy to flip over when your commander can put two permanents on the board per trigger, so I doubt you'll pay that commander tax too many times.

Abuelo, Ancestral Echo is a very simple and straightforward Blink commander. Pay Mana, get value is a sweet deal, even if it is not the most efficient option, but it's pretty handy to have an Eldrazi Displacer in the command zone. Of course, returning it at the end step has upsides and downsides, trading repeatability for the potential to protect your permanents from mass removal. In any case, enjoy your Cloudblazer and Stonehorn Dignitary! And, if you feel like upgrading the power level of your blink deck, take a look at Brago or Ranar.

Uchbenbak, the Great Mistake, beside its unfortunate epitaph, is a pretty unexciting, but certainly beefy commander. Self-Mill Voltron certainly an unusual strategy, and I doubt The Great Mistake will invite a lot of players to try. But still, how do we build this sucker? You can traumatize yourself, suit up with Bonehoard or Runechanter's Pike to attack for a lot of damage. The descend ability allows you to cheat on your commander tax half the time, but it's still not the greatest plan. Try at your own risk.

The Ancient One is our second Self-Mill Voltron commander in this set, and unlike our loveable Great Mistake, this one's got legs. A very cheap mana cost, and a very lethal body, are a very good mix, and there's no shortage of efficient mill in Magic. A single Glimpse the Unthinkable might be enough to turn The Ancient One into murder mode. You also don't need to give him a lot of additional power, just a bit of evasion will turn this into a real menace. The ability to self-mill by itself is nice, but there are better way.

Zoyowa Lava-Tongue is so cool. It's not great, but I love goblins, I love Rakdos goblins, I love incremental value, and I love punisher mechanics. The art is also phenomenal, but that's beside my analysis. Getting one permanent per turn in your graveyard, as Rakdos, is incredibly easy, and probably quite desirable. Squee, Goblin Nabob and Chainer, Nightmare Adept are slam-dunks in the deck, and you could also build it as a goblin Typal deck, though I'd wager Wort, Boggart Auntie is a better option in those colors. Tergrid would also be very happy to hang out in that deck. Overall, it seems like a fun, lower-power option for a slightly durdly discard/aristocrat deck, and I like that very much.

Itzqunith, Firstborn of Gishath is, that is true, very cute, but so lacklaster when it comes to Dino-Power. getting a 2-powered haste creature as a commander is not great, and you have to pay 2 more and have bigger dinosaurs already on the field for it to provide enough value, it has a hard time justifying itself in the command zone. My personal path would be to build a pretty standard Gruul Ramp deck, and favor dinosaurs over other creature that feel similar roles.

Kutzil, Malamet Examplar is a very straightforward commander, and the Grand Abolisher stapled on it is more than enough to play him in a fair, anthem-filled deck built around swinging lads into the red zone. Having a healthy mix of First Strike, Trample and other combat-relevant keywords on your dude will allow you to more easily gain access to your sweet value. Enjoy Selesnya Stompy, because GW can play creatures without them being tokens.

Kellan, Daring Traveler is a very sweet Selesnya weenie/Hatebear commander! Getting bigger bodies or enough land drops to play comfortably on the adventure side is a small, but appreciated boon, and Kellan himself is a very sweet card advantage engine for a deck that runs a bunch of cheap, disruptive creatures like Knight of Autumn, Gaddock Teeg or Qasali Pridemage.

Sovereign Okinec Ahau, on the other end, doesn't have to be fair. Ever wanted your Giant Growths to be permanent and compound turn after turn? Simply having a Honor of the Pure on the battlefield wield give you tremendous value, and you can go all out and toss in a little Cathar's Crusade too. Doubling the power granted by Overrun and similar effect is also fair game, and even going Voltron by stacking a bunch of equipments on Okinec to double-dip in the bonus power seems very powerful. A surprisingly open-handed commander, that can be built in a number of various ways, all with the end-point of smashing someone's face in.

Bartolomé del Presidio is an incredibly powerful option for an Orzhov Aristocrat deck, which is made more impressive by the fact that it's an uncommon 2-mana option. Orzhov's only other legendary free sacrifice outlets are Teysa, Orzhov Scion, for white creatures only, and Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter, which cost a whopping seven mana. For only 2 mana, you can also sacrifice food and clue tokens to pump Bartolomé to lethal heights, while still accruing aristocrat value.

Amalia Benavides Aguirre is another Orzhov lifegain commander, but this one explores, so i'll give her a pass due to my love of the Explore mechanic. Getting her to 20 power is not trivial, but also not that challenging either. You can use cards like Sunbound or Archangel of Thune to double up on +1/+1 counters and accelerate the clock, and you gain, for your trouble, a Day of Judgement that will help make way for a sing of your now-lethal commander. Did I mention that this card is only 2 mana? Overall, I likr her more than her most direct comparison, Karlov of the Ghost Council.

Vito, Fanatic of Aclazotz is also an aristocrat commander, but this one looks to pair attrition and flyers to close out the game in an aggressive fashion, instead of winning through a massive Bastion of Remembrance/Zulaport Cutthroat turn. By staggering your sacrifices over the entire turn cycle, you can drain up to 8 life and create 12 power of flyers per turn, which will surely help closing out a game in a timely fashion. Vito also doesn't just care about creatures, but any permanent, so treasures, clues and foods (Or blood, for flavor) will provide a ton of value for you over the course of the game.

Clavileño, First of the Blessed is a very interesting Vampire typal commander, and the (underrated) face of the Orzhov commander tie-in deck. Clavileño seek to have cheap, aggressive vampire that can be upgraded to flying threats later down the road, either through sacrificing them yourself, or as a way to very quickly rebuild after an opponent wraths the board, all while providing card advantage, quickly coming out at 3 mana, and its ability being usable the turn it comes out. A solid option for Orzhov vampire.

Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher is the alternate commander of the vampire preconstructed deck, and the option that hyped players the most, with good reasons. Carmen is an incredibly powerful option, being able to reanimate any permanent if you get its power high enough, which is very easily done, as Mazirek showed us in the past. Having a supercharged flying Sun Titan in the command zone is no joke, but you will probably need a healthy dose of self-mill and discard synergy to get your really big stuff in the graveyard to get it out at a discount. Worst case, you can reanimate lands to ramp, something Orzhov always had a bit of a challenge to do. But, by all means, reanimate your Overwhelming Splendor and Ugin, The Spirit Dragon.

Captain Storm, Cosmium Raider wants to shower your pirates in treasure and swords before assaulting your enemies. With original Ixalan printing a lot of pirayes that also bring treasures, and Dockside Extortionist being born to be in that deck, treasure is a pretty obvious path to get big pirates. However, playing an Equipment deck to both empower your pirates on the way in and after being equipped is a perfectly valid strategy too.

[edh-a-to-z]

Taigam Value

Hi @taigam-ojutai-master. Let’s take a look at your deck

https://deckstats.net/decks/70374/746459-taigam-trying-to-do-some-kinda

Right now, we have a deck based around value - a great way to start an EDH deck.

Let’s nit pick!

Tech. Always consider some GY hate, like Grafdigger’s Cage or Relic of Progenitus, or some combo interruption (cheaper counterspells like Counterspell or Stifle can save you when timed right, but are meta dependent) 

Mana base is pretty solid. I always want a mana rock even in decks that don’t need them. If I really needed to say you need something, maybe Celestial Colonnade? It makes an expensive, yet powerful upgrade. Some other mana based stuff like Knight of the White Orchid or Gilded Lotus are always welcome additions to any deck they fit into.

50/50 on some of the Group Hug/ Join Forces stuff. Some decks and playgroups love them, some hate them. IMO, you can view them as solid cards that can always be cut (for example, you might play Benevolent Offering when you can’t force someone to get 0 life). 

I love all of the draw you have. With that in mind, you should nab Archmage Ascension. You’ll get it up and running fast, and then you may start Tutoring in place of drawing. Way better.

Let’s reduce spell cost some more - As Foretold, Baral Chief of Compliance, Cloud Key, Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, Jace’s Sanctum, Pearl/Sapphire Medallion, Stormscape/Sunscape Familiar, The Immortal Sun - all discount your spells in some way.

We might need another win-con. So far the deck has tons of tokens, lots of cloning, and endless value. Value playing is fun and all, but sometimes we want to kill someone and win the game. Traditionally, I go for a infinite mana combo. Check out these! Try Great Whale, High Tide, and Capsize. Boom, infinite mana! Fire off Goblin Cannon with that mana and kill everyone!

Cuts:

Ring of the Evos Isle: While conditional hexproof is nice, as well as the slow growth, if our aim is to protect Taigam, we want 24/7 protection

Alabaster Dragon, Wardscale Dragon are underpowered in EDH. Cards like Sun Titan are of a comparable cost and offer more value.

The Group Hug Cards - We need the room. Benevolent Offering, Split Decision, Council’s Judgement (never let anyone make a choice, unless it’s between Death A and Death B), Alliance of Arms, Plea for Power. Basically anything with Will of the Council (which are unreliable) or Join Forces are weaker than Tempting Offer, which are fine.

An amazingly solid deck so far, which just needs a little more direction. Pick a path of victory - best value and options, massive amounts of tokens, CLONE FEVER, or some other path. Nice work!

See you round the fire, campers.

[taigam-ojutai-master]

Local Stormcaller takes this emote a bit too seriously

[red0490]

taigam-ojutai-master replied to your photo “Big guy blowing some steam X)  Just something I felt like drawing haha”

Ya but wheres the rest of the pic ��

That’s all there is unfortunately XD 

[dragongirltitties]

@taigam-ojutai-master replied to your post: whycome nobody is selling yellow beads i dont want...

Nobody wants to Hunt Down imps for hours

i was able to buy black and white beads in seconds though

[mana-screwed]

In a world where history unfolded differently, Narset was the khan of the Jeskai, a clan of warrior monks. She seemed on the cusp of enlightenment, but her true potential remained latent, untapped. In this timeline, she is one of the foremost scholars of Tarkir's history-and a Planeswalker.

At a young age, Narset gained the personal notice of one of Ojutai's skywise. She attracted the dragon's attention as she would often mimic the exercises performed by both the dragons and her elders, mastering them after no more than a casual glance. The skywise recognized hers as a mind with the potential for nearly limitless growth, so she was taken on as a student. Narset quickly mastered not only the exercises but the Draconic language itself, and over the following years she became one of the youngest of the clan to learn directly from Ojutai. But as Narset grew older she began to feel restless. She harbored a longing, although she was unable to identify what for, and she started to question whether or not the skywise dragons truly knew all the answers to the questions of life.

When, in relatively short order, Narset achieved the status of master, she cared more for the autonomy that the position granted than the highly sought-after honor. She spent many a day alone, exploring the deepest and dustiest cavities in the Ojutai strongholds, slowly piecing together clues that illuminated the forbidden past. Her peer, Taigam, warned her of the danger in seeking out knowledge without the dragonlord's permission, but Narset saw no harm in research.

She discovered the truth of the past of Tarkir. It was not always a world ruled by dragons as the teachings of Ojutai claimed; at one time humanoid khans led mighty clans that dominated the land. Narset also learned of a powerful spirit dragon from whom all dragons were formed. It was this being that most interested her. She could feel something more in the histories that described him, something similar to her own wanderlust. She took to meditating in these secret chambers, spending hours that crept into days and even weeks without making an appearance above.

Now that her Planeswalker spark has ignited, she has the ability to walk the Blind Eternities, the space between planes, and discover new worlds, but her devotion is to her home plane of Tarkir. Narset knows that the mysterious past might hold the key to long-lost magic, power that might not just benefit her clan, but the whole of Tarkir. So she carefully and painstakingly continues her research. She will wait, ever patient, for her time.

Some amazing artwork featuring Narset.

[mtgbracket]

Round of 1024 - Batch 12

The next batch is now open for one week!  This time we have Uro, Geist of Saint Traft, Azusa, Hogaak, Squee, and The Gitrog Monster!

Voting is available right here.

The full list of matchups:

Tetzimoc, Primal Death vs Munda, Ambush Leader Taborax, Hope's Demise vs Medomai the Ageless Silas Renn, Seeker Adept vs Squee, Goblin Nabob Tolsimir Wolfblood vs Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist

Lena, Selfless Champion vs Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis Wort, the Raidmother vs The Locust God Vaevictis Asmadi vs Azusa, Lost but Seeking Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator vs Yasova Dragonclaw

Taigam, Ojutai Master vs Scion of the Ur-Dragon Empress Galina vs Araumi of the Dead Tide Radiant, Serra Archangel vs Taranika, Akroan Veteran Eutropia the Twice-Favored vs Dakkon Blackblade

Volrath the Fallen vs Zirda, the Dawnwaker Sidar Jabari vs Palladia-Mors, the Ruiner Storrev, Devkarin Lich vs Sosuke, Son of Seshiro God-Eternal Oketra vs The Gitrog Monster

Tazri, Beacon of Unity vs Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel Zurgo Bellstriker vs Tasigur, the Golden Fang Rielle, the Everwise vs Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant Brago, King Eternal vs Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse

Kaervek the Merciless vs Balthor the Stout Nath of the Gilt-Leaf vs Rasputin Dreamweaver Sram, Senior Edificer vs Pir, Imaginative Rascal Ishi-Ishi, Akki Crackshot vs Ith, High Arcanist

Geist of Saint Traft vs Slinn Voda, the Rising Deep Bounteous Kirin vs Masumaro, First to Live Emry, Lurker of the Loch vs Rhys the Redeemed Phoebe, Head of S.N.E.A.K. vs Olivia Voldaren

Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief vs Barrin, Master Wizard Sol'kanar the Swamp King vs Nin, the Pain Artist Garza Zol, Plague Queen vs Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest Ramos, Dragon Engine vs Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath

[housebeleren]

Throne of Eldraine New Commander Cards

Alright, now that we’ve gone through all the Legendary creatures from Throne of Eldraine, time for all the other cards that might make a splash in Commander. I love this part.

This may seem like a weird pick, but there are honestly a bunch of Voltron commanders that might be interested in this. I can definitely see it in Sram, Tuvasa, and Bruna builds as ways to go really big really fast. You need some form of evasion, but there are plenty of ways to do that in those decks. But that’s a lot more action than most draft Uncommons get.

Charming Prince, aside from looking like he’s about to drop dead from Cholera or something (seriously dude, that ghostly pallor is not a good look), is a surprising amount of utility for a 2 drop. Early in the game, the Scry 2 ability is going to smooth out your draws, and later on, he’s all about the flicker to reuse ETBs. I could see him in more casual Brago, Roon, or Chulane builds. But are there casual Brago or Chulane builds anymore? Unlikely.

More restrictive Oblivion Ring effects aren’t usually something I’m in the market for, but decks that care about Artifacts may be into it. The first one that comes to mind is something like Sharuum the Hegemon or something, and there could be others. Probably not powerful enough for Breya, and Alela has access to better options that are Enchantments.

Hushwing Gryff variants see a fair amount of play, and this one also shuts off death triggers, which is a significant upgrade, because it hoses two strategies instead of just one. It doesn’t have the Flash to surprise your opponents, but the added utility is probably worth it for decks that want to hate.

Board WIpes are always welcome, and this one has the added utility of coming attached to a large creature after the fact. The best place for this will be in decks that have lots of ways to return the creature to hand so you can set up loops clearing the board, or in decks with lots of Giants so you can break parity. Kalemne comes to mind as a great home for this.

True Love’s Kiss has a lot of competition, most notably Crush Contraband and Return to Dust at the same CMC. I think which one you want depends a lot on your metagame. If you face lots of decks that are heavy on the Artifacts & Enchantments, you may want the ones that can hit multiple targets. If you just need the occasional spot removal, getting the card draw might be better. I also like this a lot for Taigam, Ojutai Master decks, since cantrips are extra useful there.

The Magic Mirror is is a rework of Mind Unbound, a card I’ve never played and probably never will. However, in a deck with lots of Instants & Sorceries, you can get this down for as little as 3 mana, which is way more palatable. If you can back this up with counterspells to keep it alive a few turns, it’ll become pretty potent pretty fast. I can picture it, is what I’m saying.

Honestly, I’m pretty big on Midnight Clock. I think a lot of people forget that this is a mana rock, and it doesn’t even come into play tapped, so the floor is pretty high right off the bat for heavy Blue decks. Plus, the counters get put on this on EVERY upkeep, not just your own, so it only needs to survive a couple turns before you get a personal Timetwister out of it. I’m not saying it’s an autoinclude or new format staple or anything, but I would definitely be willing to try it out.

Efficient, flexible removal at its best. Epic Downfall will hit just about anything you want it to hit, other than a Gaddoc Teeg or something. I expect lots of decks to be looking to throw this into the mix of spot removal.

Foulmire Knight isn’t going to go into every deck, but it’s certainly a contender for Zombie tribal, since he comes with card draw attached. Plus, lots of such decks have tons of ways to retrieve him from the graveyard, so you can get extra utility. I’m putting him directly in my Gisa & Geralf deck, because a fun quirk of their ability is that you can cast the Profane Insight half from your graveyard, even though only on your turn, so you lose the Instant-speed fun. Other decks that could be interested are Varina and The Scarab God.

Literally everything I said about Foulmire Knight above applies to Murderous Rider as well, except more so. Having a Zombie stapled to a Hero’s Downfall is incredible, and generally a clear upgrade, since the life loss is so negligible. The one kink (well, I shouldn’t presume he only has one) of this guy is that he tucks himself on death, which is a bit unfortunate but probably necessary to avoid him being ridiculous. HOWever, there are some fun things there. First, his death trigger goes on the stack, and can be responded to. So, that means the following:

If it’s your turn when the Rider dies, you can cast Swift End from your graveyard with Gisa & Geralf.

You can exile the Rider and one other card from your ‘yard to Varina in response, and get a Zombie token, which is kinda her thing.

You can get him back to your hand by activating Phyrexian Reclamation or similar with his trigger on the stack.

So yeah, there’s some fun to be had here.

Revenge of Ravens bears a lot of similarity to other cards we’ve seen before, like Blood Reckoning and Marchesa’s Decree, most of which see very little play. But this one has one important upgrade, and that’s the fact that it gains you a life. As a result, it has extra utility in decks that care about lifegain triggers such as Oloro and Karlov builds, both of which love their pillow-forting. I doubt it’ll see much play, but could be a niche inclusion in decks like those.

Tutors are great, and this is one of the most unique tutor effects we’ve seen in a long time. They key to this card revolves around breaking parity so your opponents don’t get to take advantage of it. The first way that came to mind for me was to include this in Aminatou, the Fateshifter builds, since she can just flicker it back to your side of the board after activating it. Which seems... gross and awesome at the same time. (I totally put it in my Aminatou build immediately.) Other possible options are Breya, who can sacrifice it in response to its ability, or in decks with cards like Ashiok, Dream Render or Stranglehold, so they just can’t use it. On a really jank note, if you have an Ob Nixilis, Unshackled deck, this is a funny inclusion that punishes whoever you give it to. 

Voltron decks with Red will be interested in Embercleave. So... Zurgo Helmsmasher comes to mind, assuming you’re not going full-on Worldslayer combo. I could also see it in decks like Saskia and things like that. Probably not a major player, but potential for decks that want to go aggressive.

The clause that you can only cast one more spell after this is unfortunate, but it could still be a reasonable inclusion in mono Red decks like either version of Neheb (the Eternal or Dreadhorde Champion) that want to go big burn. Also, if you have a 7 CMC mono Red general like, Drakuseth, Maw of Flames, this seems like an auto-include. I mean, you need all the help you can get if you built a Drakuseth deck, so...

Now, hear me out. Looters/Rummagers are great in certain builds, and Merchant of the Vale is unique in two ways. First, he’s got a one shot effect tacked on as an Adventure, which is some added flexibility. But second, he’s actually the only Rummaging creature in mono Red that doesn’t require tapping. Seriously. That means in some big Red Mana decks (like the aforementioned Nehebs), you can rummage to your heart’s content with all the mana you generate to dump into this. Not saying he’s great, but saying he’s worth consideration if you’re in the market for mana sinks in mono Red.

Obviously, the dream is to cast this off Irencrag Feat, but even if you don’t, this could be a reasonable inclusion for mono Red big Mana decks. (I’m sensing a theme with these last few cards.) Dealing 21 damage is no joke, and I could even see this in some versions of Vial Smasher that focus on big mana production. Again, most decks probably won’t want it, but the ones that do will make good use of it.

There’s no shortage of ramp spells, and for 3 mana we’re accustomed to fetching 2 lands (see: Kodama’s Reach & Cultivate). That said, this one has some advantages. First, the land it fetches comes into play untapped, which is a nice little bit of utility, especially if you can follow it up with a one drop mana dork immediately after. But it also has a Rubblehulk tacked on for the late game, which is a totally viable win condition in some decks. Would I trade Rubblehulk’s Bloodrush ability for Beanstalk Giant’s ramp? For most decks, abso-fucking-lutely. And this one is mono-Green, so it can go into way more decks. I’d consider it for certain builds of Kynaios & Tiro, Chulane, Azusa, and a variety of other big-mana decks that thrive on versatility.

The Great Henge is expensive, but will be amazing once it resolves. It adds mana, it draws cards, and it buffs up every creature you land, which is a ton of action. And if you can reliably get this down to 5 mana, you’re in great shape. Big Green Stompy decks like Ghalta will be super into this, and I can also see if for +1/+1 counter decks like Ezuri, Claw of Progress, since those often get big/big with ease.

While the Transformation doesn’t have the target flexibility of Song of the Dryads, it’s a pretty effective way to deal with annoying Commanders or problematic creatures, and the card draw on ETB is a nice touch. It’s a fun little pairing with Estrid’s Invocation, so keep that in mind if you’re playing Bantchantress or some such nonsense.

I don’t know what deck wants this, and I honestly don’t really want to know, because it seems ridiculous. But returning stuff straight from the graveyard to play is always a strong move, and buying back a pile of Artifacts in something like Sharuum or Breya is probably a game ending play. The non-Aura line of text makes it a little less appealing for Enchantment builds, since most of the best one are heavy in Auras. Still, I’m sure it will find some homes and be a lot of fun (for at least one person) when it resolves.

Also, somewhere on Twitter (don’t remember where, unfortunately), someone said that this card should be called “Manse Dance Revolution,” and that is absolutely correct.

Drown in the Loch is versatile removal at a very reasonable cost. All it asks is that your opponents have cards in their graveyards, which is super easy in EDH. The funny part is, this honestly gets stronger the more competitive your metagame, since competitive builds will have Fetchlands and early interaction, plus their average CMC is much lower, so you’ll more frequently have targets. In mill decks like Mirko Vosk or Phenax, you are always running this, and I’d consider it in just about any Blue/Black based deck.

Green has some better engines to draw cards, but as a quick burst, 5 for 5 is a pretty awesome rate. Plus, I like that the card has some protection against flipping a few lands by at least letting you play an extra one, so worst case it’s an Explosive Vegetation. I’d definitely run this in Wort, the Raidmother decks, because conspiring this to flip 10 cards, then immediately dropping two more lands seems like a solid way to set up a game-ending turn. And if you’re building Gruul in general, it seems like something to consider.

I couldn’t not mention Nessie here. 6 mana is a lot, but he has a pile of abilities for that 6 mana, and Flash lets him come down at end of turn, so he’s more likely to resolve. In a way, it reminds me of Pearl Lake Ancient, another card I occasionally run as a WTF element in my decks to catch people off guard. They’re both giant serpents, they both have Flash, and they’re both resilient recursive threats. You definitely don’t want to use Nessie’s sacrifice abilities too much, but they’ll be handy if you’re flooded. Plus, he’s got incidental Graveyard hate tacked on, which is actually my favorite little secret of his, so I especially like him in decks with lots of Wheels (Nekusar says “HI!”), as something you can discard for value, then activate to remove problematic cards your opponents may want to recover from their ‘yards.

3-cost Mana Rocks are never the competitive option, especially when they only produce one color at a time. But 3-cost Mana Rocks with a team-wide pump attached is worth a second look. Mono-color go-wide decks will be interested in this for sure, as well as 2 color decks that consistently produce tokens of a single color, like Alela or Kykar.

Okay, before I start on this card, I’d just like to say that a lot of the lands in this set are highly playable. Basically all of the Castle cycle are playable, especially Castles Vantress, Locthwain, and Garenbrig. Also, Fabled Passage is phenomenal tech for multicolored decks, and is such an obvious staple, it’s not worth writing about. 

Of the Common Land cycle, however, there is one that stands above all the rest. Yes, Witch’s Cottage is basically a better Mortuary Mire in heavy Black decks, so some places will run it. But the big news is Mystic Sanctuary. This card is such the hotness for mono Blue decks and a few others of note. First of all, the potential to combo this with Time Warps is off the charts. I literally cannot imagine not running this in God-Eternal Kefnet decks, because the synergy is so strong setting up your next draw. And lastly, I’m putting it in my Aminatou the Fateshifter build (which runs both the aforementioned cards), because putting expensive spells back on top of your deck is kinda what that whole deck is about. Plus, she can flicker it, which is some stupid-level combo right there.

Brawl Deck Cards for Commander

Okay, that’s it for the main set. Now we get to the cards from the four Brawl decks that have potential for the big time.

Mace of the Valiant is an interesting one. It’s a Voltron card that wants lots of little creatures to enter the battlefield. That makes it a little paradoxical, but I think there are probably homes for it. Two of the obvious ones are the decks it came in, Alela and Syr Gwyn, but there are certainly others. There’s potential in several generals who have fallen out of favor, such as Rafiq of the Many and basically any of the mono-White cats, like Kemba, Kha Regent, who seems preemptively designed specifically for this card. (Seriously, if any of y’all run Kemba decks and haven’t put this in yet, what are you even doing?)

Shimmer Dragon is too obvious, but therefore I have to mention it. This will be a format staple for years to come, since Blue-based Artifact decks have always been popular. Yes, it’s expensive, but once it comes out, drawing your deck in short order will be absolutely trivial. Urza decks will love this. Oops, all my mana rocks and constructs are also card draw! Seems good.

Chittering Witch seems fun, if a little on the casual side. But she doesn’t cost much, and her ability is a pretty reasonable way to snipe down problematic threats as you need. In decks with tons of sac fodder, you could definitely do worse. Endrek Sahr comes to mind as a fun combo piece with this.

This is definitely more on the casual side, but Red needs more options, and Embereth Skyblazer has some potential. Pumping up your entire team for +3/+0 on each attack can be brutal, and it gets especially interesting in decks that involve multiple combats, like Aurelia the Warleader, or that increase damage dealt, like Gisela, Blade of Goldnight. In short, this is actually a Boros card.

Steelbane Hydra seems really good, especially in big mana decks (Azusa, Gitrog, Kruphix, Nikya, I could go on...) or in decks that can add +1/+1 counters to him (Atraxa, Marath, Vorel, Ezuri, Ghave, I could go on...). In other words, there are all kinds of homes for this guy, plus: TURTLE HYDRA!

He’s so cute.

Now, I’ll readily admit that my opinion of Thorn Mammoth may be skewed by the fact that it is absolutely stupid good in 1v1 Brawl. It obviously gets worse in multiplayer and in bigger card pools. But, that said, there are times when this card could absolutely own the board. My particular dream would be to cast an Avenger of Zendikar and Heroic Intervention with this guy out, and just build my own Plague Wind. Because that sounds fun, if a little jank. But seriously, Green can find ways to make this good, and can certainly find ways to cast it.

Obviously, Knight’s Charge belongs in one type of deck, and that deck is Knights tribal. And in that deck, this will be the best card in your deck. So whether you’re running Syr Gwyn or Aryel, Knight of Windgrace or motherfucking Morophon Knights for some reason, then you’ll run this and you’ll like it.

Okay, Tome of Legends is a card that nobody asked for, but here it is and if your commander is all about coming down quickly and going sideways, then here’s a card for them. So... I guess... Captain Lannery Storm, we found a card for you?

Aaaaaand last but definitely first, we have this gem. Arcane Signet. The card that made Commander players everywhere lose their collective shit and buy out every copy of every Brawl deck, jacking prices up to the sky. Way to go us! (Seriously though, I’m totally part of this problem and I fully admit it.)

Well, after many sobering hours of reflection pondering our addiction and the general meaninglessness of the pieces of cardboard we spend literal thousands of dollars on, and hence, the meaninglessness of life itself, we started slotting these babies into decks and forgot all about that nonsense. Because yes, truly, this card is great, and you should always run it.

And if they don’t reprint this in literally every Commander and Brawl product ever printed going forward, so help me... 

I’m fine. I swear.

So yeah. That’s it. All the cards from Throne of Eldraine for Commander. There... sure are a lot of them, aren’t there? It’s like Wizards is thinking about majorly pushing this format or something... :)

[magicjudge]

Hey quick question i cant seem to find online, when do i get the dovescape tokens if my spell cant be countered? Are they in play before the spell resolves, or after? Or is that one of the scenarios where i choose the order?

Dovescape triggers when the spell is cast and its trigger resolves before the spell would resolve. (If it resolved after, then it wouldn’t do much good in countering spells.) In a case where the noncreature spell can’t be countered, then the bird tokens will be created before the spell resolves.

[strangedaystrangeyear]

2024-01-08 — I Wouldn't Worry — Bedroom / Boredom

Pretty much every time I listen to an album for this, I endeavour to listen to more of the artist's output in the future, and that's definitely the case with this one. I Wouldn't Worry is a five track EP and I'm in the mood to hear more. I really like this band's sound. The music has a nice energy to it. It's a mix of a whole bunch of elements which work together well, elements which might feel at odds together elsewhere. The band just makes the songs work.

This doesn't happen often, but I added all five tracks to my playlist on this first listen through. They're all songs I think I'll enjoy whatever my mood whenever they come up on shuffle. Despite the often miserable lyrics, the songs have more than enough in them to keep you from falling into misery yourself. Or, at least, that's what I thought. If I had to pick a favourite, I think I'd pick the final track, Ghost. I'm not certain, though. Sex Hair is close as well. I think I'll have to see if there's one that will solidify itself as my favourite over time.

I'm over a week into listening to new music every day now. If I'm trying to do this for the whole of 2024, a week isn't that impressive, but a fairly large part of me thought I wouldn't even get this far. The Taigam, Ojutai Master deck I was building when I started this is now a Talrand, Sky Summoner deck. I tested it out today—it definitely needs some more card draw and less situational cards but it's already a fun deck.

[rudjedet]

taigam-ojutai-master replied to your post:

Are yall not walking out to Walk like an Egyptian?

No, Michael’s being a stick in the mud 

[taigam-ojutai-master]

I can be your 😈 or your 😇

[oldtumblhurgoyf]

Commander Booster Draft Archetypes

The following cards won’t all necessarily be included (current plan is to narrow it down to three of each) but I wanted to ask for a quick look to verify the following commander could roughly be supported in some manner in the archetype I’ve slotted them. Did I miss any choices in those color combos for those archetypes? Which stand out as the top three in a given color for the archetype in question?

WU Control Daxos of Meletis Dragonlord Ojutai Grand Arbiter Augustin IV Dwafa Hazid, Profiteer Isperia, Supreme Judge Lavinia of the Tenth Medomair the Ageless Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper Ojutai, Sould of Winter Taigam, Ojutai Master

UB Mill Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker Phenax, God of Deception Szadek, Lord of Secrets Wrexial, the Risen Deep

BR Aggro Dragonlord Kolaghan Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch Grenzo, Dungeon Warden Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury Olivia, Mobilized for War Rakdos, Lord of Riots

GR Ramp Mina and Denn, Wildborn Radha, Heir to Keld Rosheen Meanderer

GW Tokens Asmira, Holy Avenger Rhys the Redeemed Sigarda, Heron's Grace Tolsimir Wolfblood Trostani, Selesnya's Voice

WB Sacrifice Athreos, God of Passage Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim Ghost Council of Orzhova Teysa, Orzhov Scion Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter

UR Storm Jori En, Ruin Diver Melek, Izzet Paragon Mizzix of the Izmagnus Tibor and Lumia

BG Reanimator Glissa, the Traitor Iname as One Meren of Clan Nel Toth Sapling of Colfenor Skullbriar, the Walking Grave Varolz, the Scar-Striped Vhatli il-Dal

RW Aggro/Midrange I guess Adriana, Captain of the Guard Agrus Kos, Wojek Veteran Anax and Cymede Anya, Merciless Angel Aurelia, the Warleader Basandra, Battle Seraph Brion Stoutarm Gisela, Blade of Goldnight Iroas, God of Victory Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas Razia, Boros Archangel Tajic, Blade of the Legion

GU Counters Edric, Spymaster of Trest Momir Vig, Simic Visionary Rashmi, Eternities Crafter Tishana, Voice of Thunder

[vorthosjay]

Lore of Command 2017: Dragons

This week’s Lore of Command kicks off Commander (2017 Edition)’s biggest tribe, Dragons. Lore of Command helps players hone in on what lore is associated with their Commanders, and hopefully help people make more flavorful deck choices (or just like them more as characters). The Dragon deck’s Commanders are all dragons with a history.

The Ur-Dragon

The Ur-Dragon by Jaime Jones

Home Plane: Aspects on Dominaria, but transcends a single plane

Last Known Status: Alive (Not technically a mortal being?)

Featured In: Card References

Story: The Ur-Dragon is spirit of all dragon-kind. The primeval dragons all take power and aspects from the Ur-Dragon, although the Ur-Dragon itself is never seen.

O-Kagachi

O-Kagachi, Vengeful Kami by Daarken

Home Plane: Kamigawa

Last Known Status: Dead 

Featured In: Outlaw: Champions of Kamigawa, Heretic: Betrayers of Kamigawa, Guardian: Saviors of Kamigawa, Card References

Story: O-Kagachi was the ultimate spirit of Kamigawa, who guarded the barrier between the spirit and mortal realms. In the Kakuriyo (spirit realm), his eyes appear to be suns. When Konda stole That Which Was Taken (In truth, O-Kagachi’s divinity), it angered O-Kagachi so fiercely it set off a twenty year war between the spirit and mortal realms. O-Kagachi leveled Konda’s kingdom, but by the time he found That Which Was Taken, it had taken form and named itself Kyodai. Together with Konda’s daughter Michiko, they defeated O-Kagachi and took its place as the guardians of the barrier between worlds.

Ramos, Dragon Engine

Ramos, Dragon Engine by Joseph Meehan

Home Plane(s): Dominaria, Mercadia

Last Known Status: Dead

Featured In: Mercadian Masques, Card References

Story: Ramos was a dragon engine that originally served Mishra, but was reprogrammed by Urza to defend the people of Terisiare. When Urza caused the Sylex Blast, Ramos gathered as many humans as he could and planeshifted to Mercadia. There, he crashed into a city, but those epic events caused a religion to form around him. He would be revived by the crew of the Weatherlight millennia later, and impart to them his powerstones.

Edit: An earlier version of this article incorrectly listed Ramos as being destroyed in a confrontation as the Weatherlight escapes.

Wasitora, Nekoru Queen

Wasitora, Nekoru Queen by Cynthia Sheppard

Home Plane: Dominaria

Last Known Status: Dead

Featured In: Assassin’s Blade, Emperor’s Fist, Champion’s Trial,Time Spiral (her children), Monsters of Magic

Story: Wasitora was a cat-dragon (Nekoru) from Jamuraa who discovered others like herself later in life. She eventually decided she didn’t like their customs, and left for Madara. There she met Tetsuo Umezawa, with whom she ended up bonding (although he had been sent to defeat her). Her bond would lead her and her kittens to defend his family home when he turned against the Madaran Empire (and Nicol Bolas). She was no longer around during Time Spiral, so one assumes she passed away.

Taigam, Ojutai Master

Taigam, Ojutai Master by Simon Dominic

Home Plane: Tarkir

Last Known Status: Alive

Featured In: The Great Teacher’s Student, A Tarkir of Dragons, Card References

Story: In the Dragons of Tarkir timeline, Taigam is the right hand of Ojutai, and a master monk. He’s not a big fan of Narset, who he believes to be a traitor.