Wasting Away

Named after the Nailbomb song, I built this deck to use Death Pits of Rath and Lashknife Barrier to keep the board free of oppositing creatures, and win via creature attacks. Failing that, just activating Thrashing Wumpus with a Soul Link on it can go a long way.

Rules point: The reason this works is because each activation of the Wumpus resolves one at a time. So activating it three times will do three damage- but only one at a time, which means Lashknife Barrier prevents all the damage!

I'll admit, I was inspired to bring this deck to the limelight because of the video I saw from Strictly Better MTG. That's a Standard legal deck but Wasting Away is definitely mining similar thematic territory: prevent damage to yourself while clearing the board.

Let's start off with my original build.

1 Basilisk Collar

2 Order of Leitbur
1 Order of the White Shield
4 Plague Spitter
3 Thrashing Wumpus
2 Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant

3 Spirit Link
4 Death Pits of Rath
4 Soul Link
4 Lashknife Barrier
1 Noxious Field

4 Dark Ritual
2 Disenchant
10 Swamp
10 Plains
4 Shambling Vent

1 Terashi's Grasp

Now, what this deck doesn't have that the SBMTG deck does is a way to break the game open.

I can establish a soft lock with Wasting Away; Death Pits of Rath and any damage source means that the board is going to stay pretty clear for me. But winning is a bit more challenging-especially since I have my creatures protected far better than myself.

The last update to this deck came around the time of Kamigawa block, though and that was fourteen years ago. Magic has changed a lot since then and I think it's time to see if this deck is still engaging to me.

Estrid, Wrapup

Alright, I think I've had enough.

And no, it isn't because I think that this take on Estrid is bad. But three Commander decks in a row have burnt me out a bit on the format.

Just in time for the NEW Commander decks! But that's OK; it's a good time for a break.

More importantly, the final changes are working, at least 1v1.

In games against Fuz and Noah, I was able to put some solid resistance up, and my toolbox of cards finally gave me the options I was hoping to find..

There is, however a little glitch that Noah pointed out in our game: Starfield of Nyx doesn't play nice with Ground Seal.

Which is a bummer, because Ground Seal is pretty useful against a lot of strategies in Commander and the Starfield represents one of my win conditions. However, I have an option: Night Soil is available and could handle a lot of problems common to the format.

I'm liking another suggestion, though, from Matt; Mirari's Wake. Solves mana issues at any stage of the game, is a boost to my creatures and could give Helix Pinnacle a massive boost. Seems like a pretty good deal, right?

But as always: Why not both? So out comes Aura Gnarlid (sorry little feller, you can be huge but sacrifices must be made) for the Wake.

Finally, as much as I love Loyal Unicorn (that card just messes with everyone's combat math) it is, thematically, incorrect here. Heliod, God of the Sun makes more sense, and is another fantastic mana sink, should I need it. That leaves me with this:

Instant 1 Dismantling Blow 1 Bant Charm	Artifacts
Enchantment 1 Estrid's Invocation 1 Ever-Watching Threshold 1 Octopus Umbra 1 Myth Unbound 1 Sigil of the Empty Throne 1 Bear Umbra 1 Enchantress's Presence 1 Night Soil 1 Mirari's Wake 1 Righteous Authority 1 Sage's Reverie 1 Unquestioned Authority 1 Eel Umbra 1 Vow of Flight 1 Dawn's Reflection 1 Fertile Ground 1 Overgrowth 1 Snake Umbra 1 Wild Growth 1 Unflinching Courage 1 Fool's Demise 1 Market Festival 1 Starfield of Nyx 1 Enchanted Evening 1 Pollenbright Wings 1 Verdant Haven 1 Helix Pinnacle 1 Sphere of Safety 1 Vastwood Zendikon 1 Wind Zendikon 1 Bounty of the Luxa 1 Seal of Primordium	Sorcery 1 Empyrial Storm 1 Martial Coup 1 Phyrexian Rebirth 1 Winds of Rath 1 Kruphix's Insight 1 Plea for Guidance
Lands 9 Plains 6 Island 8 Forest 1 Forge of Heroes 1 Azorius Chancery 1 Blossoming Sands 1 Command Tower 1 Evolving Wilds 1 Krosan Verge 1 Meandering River 1 Seaside Citadel 1 Selesnya Sanctuary 1 Simic Growth Chamber 1 Terramorphic Expanse 1 Thornwood Falls 1 Tranquil Cove 1 Tranquil Expanse 1 Woodland Stream 1 Hall of Heliod's Generosity	Creatures 1 Bruna, Light of Alabaster 1 Eidolon of Blossoms 1 Kestia, the Cultivator 1 Tuvasa the Sunlit 1 Heavenly Blademaster 1 Ajani's Chosen 1 Celestial Archon 1 Silent Sentinel 1 Boon Satyr 1 Herald of the Pantheon 1 Elderwood Scion 1 Heliod, God of the Sun 1 Archetype of Imagination 1 Yavimaya Enchantress 1 Rootwater Matriarch 1 Hypnotic Siren 1 Flitterstep Eidolon 1 Archetype of Endurance 1 Aura Thief 1 Archetype of Courage

Siege II

So there's going to be a Trypticon pack in every box.

As someone who buys a box: that's pretty exciting and a nice way to guarantee getting a character!

As someone who cares about the retail aspect: I wonder how those stores are going to deal with things?

Still, this is pretty amazing and I look forward to the Trypticon v Metroplex clash!

The Two Hour Limit

Wednesday's Commander game went two hours and for one of those hours, I did nothing. This was because a player who was certain that I was going to be a problem enchanted Estrid with Imprisoned in the Moon before I could enact the ultimate and, somehow, neither myself nor any of the other two players were playing with enchantment removal.

(I'd burned a Reclamation Sage on an Arcane Laboratory earlier and that was that.)

What a drag this game was. Even when I had a Starfield of Nyx out, there was nothing in my graveyard to salvage this situation. No appropriate creature removal, no enchantment/artifact destruction and despite having three board wipe effects, none of them appeared.

When my Aura Thief got exiled by an opponent's Undead Alchemist, I had no way to disrupt my opponent's enchantments, (most notably Aura of Silence, Astral Slide, Phyrexian Unlife or Solemnity) I knew the game was over. When another player's Nekusar, the Mindrazer's triggers finally ousted me from the game, I was thankful.

On the one hand, I suppose the player who Imprisoned Estrid was right: with one card, he effectively removed me from the game and whether I was a threat or not at the time, it no longer mattered. I had no outs and was now reliant on other players to get me out of a jam.

This is a terrible position to be in.

On the other hand: wow, did this deck get exposed. While I was miserable for roughly forty five minutes, one thing became perfectly clear to me: I need recurrable artifact and enchantment destruction.

In combination with Enchanted Evening, this would allow me to destroy any permanent, and if I can find an enchantment to do my dirty work, then Starfield of Nyx and Hall of Heliod's Generosity can both help me remove those troublesome things frequently.

Fortunately for me, Seal of Primordium and Seal of Cleansing exist. Heck, Seal of Removal might even be solid here.

However, this is why I hate Commander games. Honestly, how does ANYONE have fun for 120 minutes when they cannot interact for over half that experience? It's not as if I was alone, either: the player with Nekusar had mana-restrictive issues, meaning he could play a little but not a lot, which left the Zur, the Enchanter player (who might have it out for me, because whenever we play, regardless of my commander, is certain I am "a problem"), and the Teysa Karlov player, who had a deck that functioned even under Zur's reign.

Well, fuck: Why not just have two 2 player games and let me and the Nekuksar guy duke it out!

I suppose it's my fault for not scooping when I realized I had no outs. Again: Relying on other players to get me out of a jam is a terrible position to be in.

What's keeping me in those games? Sportsmanship? Is it worth it to say in a game where I'm not having any fun, just to be polite?

Yet, I also started thinking about what I needed to fix Estrid and I think I've hit on some elegant solutions, too.

Plus, I've started thinking about other steps I need to take: I've got over 200 decks and some of them suck. Sure, the idea is to make them better, but am I really mining new territory when I try and fix a R/W Bull Cerodon/Cerodon Yearling deck? Is that where my energies should go?

These benefits shouldn't be overlooked. However, there's got to be a way to exit something unfun without making a big deal.

Estrid, Aggro?

"I don't think you're using Estrid aggressively enough," Fuz told me after a few matches.

He hadn't brought any decks with him, so he was playing some of my Commander decks. It can be a little strange seeing a deck I built come at me. Kitchen table Magic decks are often so personalized that handing one over to someone else looks odd, at first. But it's a great way to see a deck from a unique perspective!

That aside, it seems he's right. I think that getting Estrid out and using the ultimate should be done every time I cast that card, as quickly as I can. Mana frequently isn't an issue, especially now that I've upped the Auras that enchant lands to make mana.

I've also realized that I cannot really make this deck without adding Hall of Heliod's Generosity, Skull of Orm and, possibly most importantly, Sphere of Safety. The first two cards should have obvious applications, but only one of them existed at the time of Estrid's printing. Why wasn't the Skull in the deck instead of Sol Ring?

The last card... OK, I can understand why Sphere of Safety isn't in the deck. Propaganda or Ghostly Prison, should probably have made it but Sphere of Safety is an oppressive card in this deck and I can't wait to shut down attacking decks with it.

Still, I've been complaining in multiple games that the deck is just boring, and the new cards just haven't changed that.

"What about Helix Pinnacle?" Matt asked me.

Hmmmmm.

What about Helix Pinnacle?

These came out:
Nylea's Colossus

Dictate of Heliod

Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle

Starfield Mystic

And these went in:
Helix Pinnacle

Sphere of Safety

Wind Zendikon

Vastwood Zendikon

Bounty of the Luxa

More defense and more mana. Plus, the Zendikons do two things for me: increase creature density as needed, and let me tap the land for mana, then untap it with Estrid's first ability to create more mana.

Bounty of the Luxa seems like some neat tech; a little extra card draw, a little extra mana. Sure, there's some bookkeeping involved but one thing I like about the card is that it feels harmless and thus is the kind of effect that will fly under the radar of opponents. That is the sort of card that will help keep me in games.

Now I've got something to look forward to: A proactive strategy and a unique win condition!

On Participation

This weekend, there's going to be a "learn to play" event at Red Castle Games for the Transformers TCG. The weekend after that, there's going to be a draft.

I'm thinking about going for a little while, even though I already know how to play, just to see if I'll meet new people. I definitely want to go to the draft, to show I'm interested in playing and maybe making some connections. That is, in the end, why I play these games: to have fun with someone and make friends, if possible.

So I enjoyed this article's perspective on community building. It's a reminder that I shouldn't be afraid to go to the Magic Legacy events around me either. The worst that happens is I go 0-X and head out for a pint, right?

Maybe it's time to step up a little more.

8 Power Guidelines For Commander

I liked this article-even though it's old, it's new to me-as a guideline for power levels for Commander decks.

I'm not saying that all Commander decks should hit the 75% power level mark, but that it's a good guideline and these suggestions are a good way to get there. Plus, given that I'm hip deep in trying to make Estrid a thing, these guidelines are good to keep in mind. 

Not that I will pay attention to those guidelines all the time, but I think they're worth shooting for, both as a metric to improve decks and as a way to know when a deck is very powerful and giving the playgroup a heads up is appropriate.