Daxos-For Now

I think this is where I am going to leave this deck:

Instant 1 Inkshield	Artifacts 1 Sol Ring 1 Wayfarer's Bauble 1 Lightning Greaves 1 Orzhov Signet 1 Orzhov Cluestone 1 Commander's Sphere 1 Idol of Oblivion
Enchantment 1 Seal of Cleansing 1 Banishing Light 1 Cage of Hands 1 Karmic Justice 1 Vow of Duty 1 Fallen Ideal 1 Seal of Doom 1 Vow of Malice 1 Aura of Silence 1 Grasp of Fate 1 Shielded by Faith 1 Phyrexian Arena 1 Underworld Connections 1 Daxos's Torment 1 Marshal's Anthem 1 Dictate of Heliod 1 Sigil of the Empty Throne 1 Necromancer's Covenant 2 Profane Procession 1 The Eldest Reborn 1 Call for Unity 1 Smothering Tithe 1 Wedding Announcement 1 Court of Ambition 1 Court of Grace 1 The Long Reach of Night 1 Michiko's Reign of Truth 1 The Meathook Massacre	Sorcery 1 Ancient Craving 1 Dawn to Dusk 1 Death Grasp 1 Kaya's Wrath 1 Rise to Glory
Lands 1 Barren Moor 1 Command Tower 1 Evolving Wilds 1 Ghost Quarter 1 New Benalia 1 Orzhov Basilica 1 Orzhov Guildgate 1 Rogue's Passage 1 Scoured Barrens 1 Secluded Steppe 1 Tainted Field 1 Temple of the False God 1 Terramorphic Expanse 1 Vivid Marsh 1 Vivid Meadow 11 Plains 13 Swamp	Creatures 1 Underworld Coinsmith 1 Burnished Hart 1 Bastion Protector 1 Ghostblade Eidolon 1 Kor Sanctifiers 1 Monk Idealist 1 Mesa Enchantress 1 Nighthowler 1 Fate Unraveler 1 Ajani's Chosen 1 Doomwake Giant 1 Celestial Ancient 1 Celestial Archon 1 Treasury Thrull 1 Silent Sentinel 1 Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts 1 Minthara, Merciless Soul 1 Tymaret, Chosen from Death

The trouble I'm having is that Daxos would really, really like it if I went into a combo path, generating creatures at will. This leads to some kind of infinite loop, in my opinion, likely a mana one so that I could play a very cheap Aura and then off that create all of the 1/1s ever. 

That's not an extremely interesting way to go, though I acknowledge it's probably the best one. 

Otherwise, Daxos the Returned wants to create a grindy matchup, and I think I've followed that path but I can't find myself extremely interested in that, either! Mostly because it doesn't work out as well as I would like: The necessity of always having an extra 3 mana available is very constrictive to playing Magic. 

Still, with a small burst of money and a desire to lean into what Daxos does, I made one final big change: Gild was replaced by The Meathook Massacre. As an enchantment and a board sweeper, this card fills in a rare slot in the game and in this deck specifically. 

It's also $30 and that's just ridiculous but for one copy, I'll give it a go.

Hmm (Daxos Needs More)

"Where are the enchantments in your enchantment deck?" Noah asked. 

Which was a fine question, since I'd managed to play all of two enchantments and then a whole lot of not much else to increase my Experience counters. 

So let's get a count: 32 cards with the Enchantment type. That seems pretty good! But it's never a bad idea to see if I can get further. 

Of the cards left over 7 are artifacts:

Sol Ring
Lightning Greaves
Commander's Sphere
Orzhov Cluestone
Orzhov Signet
Wayfarer's Bauble
Idol of Oblivion

Of these, 5 are mana related cards, leaving Lightning Greaves-a crucial protection spell for Daxos- and Idol of Oblivion. Idol effectively says: 3, T: draw a card in a Daxos deck but it does require Daxos to be in play and active to work. So put the Idol in as a 'maybe, since tokens can probably be more easily generated in G/W and B/W ought to give me other ways to draw cards and making a vanilla 10/10 is not a thing. 

There are 13 creatures:

Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
Kor Sanctifiers
Treasury Thrull
Silent Sentinel
Bastion Protector
Exquisite Archangel
Burnished Hart
Corpse Augur
Ajani's Chosen
Celestial Ancient
Minthara, Merciless Soul
Monk Idealist
Mesa Enchantress

Here things get a little more interesting. Of these, Tesya Minthara, Celestial Ancient, Silent Sentinel and Treasure Thrull are probably too powerful to cut and I don't know about a replacement card. Monk Idealist, Ajani's Chosen and Mesa Enchantress all have good synergies. 

That leaves Bastion Protector, Corpse Augur, Kor Sanctifiers, Burnished Hart, and Exquisite Archangel. Bastion makes a case for itself, the Sanctifiers are removal, Hart helps boost mana-and this is a mana hungry deck-so while those cards are all questionable, they aren't on the chopping block yet.

Archangel is the glory of cool things-it just keeps me from losing, it doesn't let me win. (Though it does represent a win condition!) Corpse Augur is almost certainly a better card for a different deck 

That leaves the final 8 cards:

Inkshield
Righteous Confluence
Deadly Tempest
Rise to Glory
Death Grasp
Dawn to Dusk
Gild
Ancient Craving

Rise to Glory and Dawn to Dusk have synergies with the deck and Inkshield could represent a win condition on its own. Ancient Craving, Gild and Death Grasp all fill important roles. Righteous Confluence and Deadly Tempest aren't cards I think that help me the way I need help. 

So: four cards for certain to substitute. Smuggler's Share and Smothering Tide both seem like good candidates. Wedding Announcement isn't off the table. Kaya's Wrath could be what I need to help me get through creature stalemates.

Got some business happening, so no more posts this week but I'll catch everyone next week!

Daxos: Battle Report

I ran Daxos in a 5 player game and here's the setup:

Caitlin with Ravos, Soultender and Tana, the Bloodsower.
Kate: Odric, Lunarch Marshal
Matt: Merierke Ri Berit
Eric: Tasigur, the Golden Fang

I got a reasonably stable board-using Treasury Thrull to recycle cards like Aura of Silence to take out Caitlin’s Coat of Arms and Aura Shards, or Command Sphere to draw multiple times.

But I held off, casting a Bestowed Celestial Archon on Corpse Augur, with the plan being to cast a Deadly Tempest then my Commander next turn.

However, Caitlin had had enough of my shenanigans and cast both Overwhelming Stampede and Beastmaster’s Ascension, then swung at me with 7 8/8’s

Did I do something wrong or did I just wait a turn too long? I feel like the lesson is probably that I am likely a turn behind what I think I am, and I should press my game further as a result.

Still, the deck was doing good things. Corpse Augur might not be appropriate-which would make a fine space for another card. But I do still need a way to draw card. Profane Procession might be the glory of cool things but where else should it go?

Hmm.

Daxos: the good, the bad, the meh

Let's hit the ground running; these are the cards I'm so-so about.

Karlov of the Ghost Council
Thought Vessel
Crystal Chimes
Open the Vaults
Orescos Explorer
Herald of the Host
Ancient Craving
Banshee of the Dread Choir
Phyrexian Reclamation

Not a bad list to start with. The card I'm telling to fuck right off:

Sandstone Oracle

I don't know what deck this belongs in, but I want it far from me. This card goes into my Garbage Cube, if I haven't already put it there.

All in all, 10 cards to make this deck a little better is not much, but it is some wiggle room! So let's see what EDHrec has to say about this deck.

Ooooohhh myyyyy.

I don't know what else I'm doing with Daxos, but clearly Minthara is part of this plan. 

Cards I'm going to try out:

Inkshield
Court of Grace
Court of Cunning
Michio's Reign of Truth
Rise to Glory
Underworld Dreams (for the troll factor)
Tymaret, Chosen from Death
Commander's Sphere
Idol of Oblivion

I don't know that this is good but it is a start!

Commander: Daxos the Returned

Bringing Daxos the Returned out of the dugout for a cleanup. 

Instant	Artifacts 1 Wayfarer's Bauble 1 Lightning Greaves 1 Orzhov Signet 1 Thought Vessel 1 Crystal Chimes 1 Orzhov Cluestone
Enchantment 1 Phyrexian Reclamation 1 Seal of Cleansing 1 Banishing Light 1 Cage of Hands 1 Karmic Justice 1 Vow of Duty 1 Fallen Ideal 1 Seal of Doom 1 Vow of Malice 1 Aura of Silence 1 Grasp of Fate 1 Shielded by Faith 1 Phyrexian Arena 1 Underworld Connections 1 Daxos's Torment 1 Marshal's Anthem 1 Dictate of Heliod 1 Sigil of the Empty Throne 1 Necromancer's Covenant 1 Profane Procession/Tomb of the Dusk Rose 1 The Eldest Reborn 1 Call for Unity	Sorcery 1 Ancient Craving 1 Gild 1 Dawn to Dusk 1 Righteous Confluence 1 Open the Vaults 1 Deadly Tempest 1 Death Grasp
Lands 1 Barren Moor 1 Command Tower 1 Evolving Wilds 1 Ghost Quarter 1 New Benalia 1 Orzhov Basilica 1 Orzhov Guildgate 1 Rogue's Passage 1 Scoured Barrens 1 Secluded Steppe 1 Tainted Field 1 Temple of the False God 1 Terramorphic Expanse 1 Vivid Marsh 1 Vivid Meadow 11 Plains 13 Swamp	Creatures 1 Oreskos Explorer 1 Karlov of the Ghost Council 1 Underworld Coinsmith 1 Burnished Hart 1 Bastion Protector 1 Ghostblade Eidolon 1 Kor Sanctifiers 1 Monk Idealist 1 Mesa Enchantress 1 Nighthowler 1 Corpse Augur 1 Fate Unraveler 1 Ajani's Chosen 1 Doomwake Giant 1 Celestial Ancient 1 Celestial Archon 1 Herald of the Host 1 Banshee of the Dread Choir 1 Thief of Blood 1 Treasury Thrull 1 Sandstone Oracle 1 Silent Sentinel 1 Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts 1 Exquisite Archange

I've done a little mussing about with this one, but never really taken it to town. So here's a chance to put some eyes on it. There's been a couple sets with enchantment themes that have come up and the introduction of Sagas as a card type are new, I believe, since Daxos the Returned was printed. Hopefully that means there are some opportunities to have some fun!

Let's hope, anyway. B/W tokens is a long standing archetype, so I'd be interested in seeing if I can make something work here.