Lol, banding theme. That would be hilarious, I need to see that. It's like running Drevi Bird Tribal, but jankier!
Magic the Gathering General
- Thread starter Abhorsen
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Terthna
Professional Lurker
You know, I never really understood the controversy surrounding banding; it always made perfect sense to me, and it's far from the most complex and potentially confusing mechanic they've come up with (morph, for example, was so poorly understood by the people I played with back in the day, that they wouldn't let me do what WotC said I was supposed to be able to do with it).
Oh, it's a fair enough mechanic, it's just not all that good, which is (IMO) the real reason it's dead.
Terthna
Professional Lurker
Having the ability to distribute damage amongst your creatures after combat as you wish is nothing to sneeze at; setting aside its utility in basic combat encounters (especially on the defense, as it allows you to spread an attacker's damage out so no defenders die, and can serve as an effective counter to trample), it's also great when paired with creatures who care about attacking/blocking, or dealing/being dealt damage. Toss in something like a Magnetic Web, and banding can let you do things that would be difficult to do otherwise.
Morphic Tide
Well-known member
It's also a drastically easier representation of creatures-as-attachments than Mutate.
Terthna
Professional Lurker
So I've been working on my next two decks for Commander, a Green/Black Elf Tribal & Tokens deck, as well as a Red/White Dwarf Tribal & Vehicles deck, and I think I've managed to get them to a point where they're at least decent.
They look like a lotta fun! I gotta make a battlecruiser deck too! Those are really the best. Currently I only got one, a Yuriko, that's going more and more cEDH, which is good for when I can play it as it finishes quickly (win or lose), but bad for going to play commander casually.
Really like the elf tribal though, that should be fun!
Terthna
Professional Lurker
The one card that I have in there that I know is questionable is Eyeblight's Ending; it's only there because it fits the theme of the deck, despite being an objectively worse card than others, better cards that can do the same thing, but cheaper or in addition to something else. The only thing it has over anything else is the fact that it's a Tribal "Elf" card, which is only relevant in relation to Elvish Harbinger, as that tutors for "Elf" cards when it comes out.
Yeah, Eyeblights Ending is something I'd cut. There are many better removal spells. Also, it's a pain if you are facing an elf commander too.
If you want to go off theme, I'd add more board wipes and 2 mana manarocks/ramp. If you are playing green, ramp. Every non-green battlecruiser deck should have 2 drop manarocks instead. The manadorks are good, but they will ultimately be boardwiped (it's commander, boardwipes are inevitable). But the lands will stay, hence why land is king.
I'd also cut Elvish Harbringer: putting a land card on top is much worse than putting it in hand, which is hugely worse than putting it in play. Usually the last thing you want to do is draw a land. I'm pretty sure there are elves good for ramp, grab those!
Still, looks like a ton of fun!
Terthna
Professional Lurker
It already has a lot of ramp; just mostly in the form of eleven mana dorks (several of which produce mana equal to the number of elves I have on the battlefield), one elf that searches for a basic land and puts it on the field tapped, and another that untaps a forest (which also has other uses, especially in conjunction with Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth). Also, Elvish Harbringer puts "Elf" cards on top, not lands. It's mostly in there so I can use it to get one of my key creatures. Plus, it's one of my mana dorks as well; one of the few that can give me black mana.
Ah, missed that about the harbringer, sorry.
But I would say that you probably need land ramp, especially when in green. You will get boardwiped when you have a bunch of manadorks and look scary. It will kill your dorks, but not your lands (land destruction is taboo). You want to get back to scary ASAP, having a reserve of lands means you are always scary.
Consider Tempt with Discovery? It's also just a fun card.
Terthna
Professional Lurker
That does look like fun; oh, and it lets you search for any land, not just basics? I think I can justify putting that in the deck, alongside the other land ramp cards I already had; Bounty of Skemfar, Harvest Season, and I suppose technically Myriad Landscape.
Yeah, it's tons of fun. Obviously, the 'correct' play is for other players not to take it, but that's no fun, so people are going to take it. You play commander to play cards you normally wouldn't.
Remember that they commit to their decisions in turn order starting with you, which can be fun, as the last player can decide to just defect and screw everyone over. If you get just one player to defect with this, it's a win. It's also tons of fun!
Terthna
Professional Lurker
Even if nobody takes the bait, it's still a way to get a utility land out on the field, like Rogue's Passage or Wirewood Lodge; which is rare. That alone seems worth the converted mana cost of four, especially in a deck with a lot of mana dorks.
So I'm currently designing a janky Phage commander deck. For those who don't know, Here's Phage:
Now that sounds like a great commander, except, well, you generally cast your commander from the command zone, which would put a "you lose the game" trigger on the stack. So I'm going to fill my deck with a bunch of ways to dodge that trigger.
I got a quicksilver amulet to end the turn. I need a torpor orb to stop enter the battlefied triggers, a weird interaction with mutate makes Dirge Bat's flash ability critical, etc. Basically, a bunch of stupid shenanigans.
Now that sounds like a great commander, except, well, you generally cast your commander from the command zone, which would put a "you lose the game" trigger on the stack. So I'm going to fill my deck with a bunch of ways to dodge that trigger.
I got a quicksilver amulet to end the turn. I need a torpor orb to stop enter the battlefied triggers, a weird interaction with mutate makes Dirge Bat's flash ability critical, etc. Basically, a bunch of stupid shenanigans.
Terthna
Professional Lurker
I assume you're also including a lot of ways to make it easier to deal combat damage with her, and make it harder for your opponents to get rid of her.So I'm currently designing a janky Phage commander deck. For those who don't know, Here's Phage:
Now that sounds like a great commander, except, well, you generally cast your commander from the command zone, which would put a "you lose the game" trigger on the stack. So I'm going to fill my deck with a bunch of ways to dodge that trigger.
I got a quicksilver amulet to end the turn. I need a torpor orb to stop enter the battlefied triggers, a weird interaction with mutate makes Dirge Bat's flash ability critical, etc. Basically, a bunch of stupid shenanigans.
Yeah. Also things that give it to an opponent, so they get the lose the game trigger.
TheRejectionist
TheRejectionist
I am gonna be very brief...I just sold them but the art is OG and cool.
However, Wizards of the Coast are cunts.
However, Wizards of the Coast are cunts.
Terthna
Professional Lurker
Ones who think they're "on the right side of history"; though, to be fair, that mindset is depressingly common in the corporate world theses days. Too many aren't actually interested in turning a profit, and are just in it to turn once marketable products into propaganda that pushes their ideology.
Zyobot
Just a time-traveling robot stranded on Earth.
Don't mean to derail, but something I've noticed in my business classes is a tendency to emphasize "shareholder theory" and "corporate social responsibility". Can't say how purposeful it is, though I honestly wonder if—intentional or not—it has a tendency to attract more "activistic" people who believe in precisely that. Not to mention how this lends itself to making the business just another purveyor of social engineering, both out of opportunism and the initial "stirrings" of what eventually metastasizes into genuine belief in the cause they're advocating.
