Time to get back to the grind, folks. We’ve had our centennial celebration here at Dear Azami, capped off by the guest appearance of the EDH Godfather himself, Sheldon Menery. If you haven’t checked it out yet, drop back in time a week to see how a true master does it. It’s always interesting to see different perspectives on the decks we reboot, and seeing a founding father bring the O.G. angle to our little table is a pretty cool thing to witness. (Sheldon, I’m sure I can speak for Sean here—thanks very much!)

Speaking of perspectives, I’m taking a completely new one this week as I put in some work on Mike’s Crosis, the Purger list. For this installment, I left the plush Dear Azami penthouse to dig into the trenches and get my hands dirty playing Mike’s deck firsthand.

Honestly, I’m not sure why I never tried this before. I hate resurrecting played-out metaphors, so I’ll skip the “walk a mile…” variant and just say straight out that I left my local store last Wednesday night with a stronger understanding of the deck submission for the week than I ever have before. (This probably includes the decks from my own collection that I’ve discussed here as well. I know…it’s a sad existence.)

I was discussing finding an angle for the week with my co-blogger Patrick (@thingsMrPthinks) when he pointed out that we really have a decent opportunity to get a firsthand impression of the decks that I choose to work on provided that I get off of my lazy backside and choose one sometime prior to the last few hours before my deadline. (Not that I do that regularly or anything, Cedric. I promise.) 

In addition to the weekly Wednesday game at Worlds Apart in Amherst, Patrick also takes in a Monday night game a town over at a shop in Hadley called Off The Wall Games. He pointed out that if I had a list on Sunday night, he could build it and play it Monday, he could hand it to me on Wednesday, and we could compare notes before I sit down to put fingers to keyboard. The hope was that two sets of eyes and two nights of gaming would open our eyes to strengths, weaknesses, and intricacies that wouldn’t be normally caught and that the changes would be that much better for it.

Like I said, this is a great plan, and I should absolutely have been doing this before now. There is a hitch, however, which is best summed up by “be careful what you wish for.”

You know, that is if you don’t mind played-out metaphors.

Monday Night…Raw?

Being a responsible adult (or at least a heck of a lot more on his game than I am), Patrick not only played the deck but came back with notes.

Here’s a decent taste: 

“What I learned from game 1:

Played against Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker; Rafiq of the Many; and Sedris, Traitor King (all newer players). The Mirko Vosk deck was the “best” of the three, playing a bunch of mass draw effects with mill (he had Forced Fruition). I did see a Jin-Gitaxis, which the Rafiq player countered even though he had Reliquary Tower. No idea.

Some notes from the game:

– Early Journeyer’s Kite is awesome!

– I’m pretty sure I will always target myself with Cerebral Vortex. The only way this deck draws less cards is to not play it.

– Wants removal!

– Essence Backlash on Nemesis of Reason! Winning!

– Wants card draw!

– Wants graveyard hate!

– I could kill someone with Junktroller / Tunnel Vision. Is that fun? Doesn’t seem it.

– Wants evasion. Times two.

– There are huge problems in play that I can’t interact with. This is a problem.

– I have Pincher Token dominance.

– Needs board wipes!

– Doesn’t have much interaction happening.

– Low basic land count. Journeyer’s Kite has a sad face.

– Higure with no Ninjas. WTH?

– Thank you opponents for ignoring me.

I killed Mirko Vosk with Tunnel Vision after tucking his Jin-Gitaxis with Junktroller several turns before. I waited until he was threatening to “go off” next turn. I frontloaded it a lot and tried to play it off as “well, you’re scary, so I’m going to spank you.”

– I just killed something with Goblin Fesitvus. Tight!! Fesitvus for the rest of us!

– Bosh, Iron Golem and Spine of Ish Sah is awesome apparently.

– I would have lost this game so long ago if anyone had graveyard hate for Spine of Ish Sah. Just sayin’.

I won the game. I was playing against lower-powered decks (other than possibly the Mirko Vosk thing, which I killed with Junktroller / Tunnel Vision and then felt bad about). I was able to avoid getting attacked for several turns (Summoning Station was the MVP), and then I had enough mana to play Spine every turn while still doing other stuff. Eventually I started whittling down Sedris with multiple Pincer tokens, and when an Akroma’s Vengeance from Rafiq wiped the board, it hit as much of his stuff as mine (and I killed Sedris in response by flinging Bosh at him with Bosh). That’s right—Bosh threw himself at someone for lethal damage.

– This deck desperately needs some way to control the board that doesn’t involve casting a seven cost artifact every turn.

– I am terrified of playing this against good decks.

– The mana was awkward; this deck wants more basics, or more fixing, or more mana rocks, or whatever.

– Actually, I am going to write an article entitled “Draw Spells and Mana Rocks.” Draw spells and mana rocks make everything better.

– Seems extremely weak to creature hate. Has no creature hate of its own.

There are several decks here tonight that look extremely “good stuffy.” I’m glad I did not play against them.”

Man, he makes me look like a hack. I’m pretty sure my notes would be on my notepad app on my smartphone, they would be about three lines of unpunctuated gibberish, and I’d end up saving a grocery list over them anyway.

Let’s see how Wednesday night went with me in the driver’s seat.

About Wednesday Night…

Hey, imagine that. Lost the notes on my phone app. Absolutely shocking.

If memory serves correctly, here’s what went down:

I sat down to face Rafiq of the Many; Reaper King; and Odric, Master Tactician. (Heh…my spell check wanted that to read “Odric, Master Lactation.”) I pillow forted up very early behind Propaganda and Smoke and then spent quite a few turns drawing lands. I was attacked pretty mercilessly for several turns until the other players realized I didn’t have much happening. Thankfully, Rafiq was having mana issues, so I had some breathing room.

At some point, I played Tibalt. My hand was so small that I just passed the turn. No one attacked him until I finally begged the Odric player to out of some warped sense of wanting to be in on the game.

I spent a long time with Glistening Oil and Teleportal in my hands. Eventually, I found Goblin Welder, which allowed me to basically irritate Odric by turning his Strata Scythe into a Steel Hellkite and back at a few critical points. In time, I found Desolate Lighthouse. Goodbye, Glistening Oil.

After some Horobi, Death’s Wail / Fatestitcher shenanigans were board wiped away, I transfigured Fleshwrither, looking for something to get me going. Apparently, I missed the copy of Silent Arbiter, and the only four-drop creature I saw left was Junktroller. Sure enough, I then drew Tunnel Vision. I sat there depressed because I didn’t want to be “that guy” when the clouds parted, the sun came out, and the Odric player needed to hit a bathroom. Patrick sat down to take over and vowed to kill me as soon as possible.

Problem solved! I sent Patrick looking for the copy of Abu Jafar that mysteriously got Junktrollered to the bottom of his library the turn prior.

The game ended not long after. The Rafiq player had been able to land his commander, a Behemoth Sledge, and Finest Hour, which lasted long enough to bring the Reaper King player to single digits. Patrick was about to deck himself, and his army of tokens was being held back from untapping and swarming Rafiq for lethal damage by my Smoke, so he had to leave me alone.

He untapped, eliminated Reaper King, and passed the turn. The owner of the Odric deck returned in time to be handed his copy of Abu Jafar and the bad news. On my turn, I drew and played Bosh, which joined Goblin Festival. I passed.

Rafiq untapped and attempted to toss Armadillo Cloak onto his commander. I tossed my Junktroller at it and pinged it with Festival, winning the coin flip in the process and keeping it on my side of the board. (This became a key factor in short order.) He tapped down to play Void Stalker and Worship, leaving him at sixteen life, and passed the turn.

I untapped. Teleportal sent Bosh in unblocked for nine damage; Goblin Festival pinged Void Stalker to death, and I fired Bosh at his head for the final necessary points of damage.

That’s right—this deck beat Rafiq and won the whole game on the back of Goblin Festival. Screw “Battlecruiser Magic”—this is what Commander is all about!

After the Festival: My Review of the Deck

The Good

– I ended up loving the Fleshwrither tech. A deck like this—designed with the goal of hitting at a lower power level and with less popular choices—absolutely thrives with under-the-radar options like this. Horobi is a killer toolbox choice in this deck, and Silent Arbiter fits the theme really well. I’d like to expand this.

– Propaganda and Smoke. I typically don’t enjoy playing cards like Propaganda, which tend to encourage people to draw, not attack, and pass the turn. I like to keep games moving along, and I always wish cards like this would be something more aggressive instead.

In this case, these two cards were the saving grace of the deck. With limited removal options and a light creature load, it needs to have a way to lay out some measure of protection to make sure it gets to set up and reach the later game. Both Smoke and Propaganda stalled people out just long enough to do that.

– Bosh, Iron Golem. This deck needs to make strong moves when it gets to the point where it wants to start winning, and I like the big, aggressive creature angle over the combos.

– Horobi, Death’s Wail. This is the epitome of tech. For a four-mana investment, you get a 4/4 flyer that can start popping off creatures as soon as it hits the board and has the awesome added benefit of effectively shutting off equipment. This is the type of creature I want to add more of to the toolbox.

– The unique flavor and angle. Mike, when you say that you want to avoid staples and try to win with cards that you wouldn’t mind losing to, you really aren’t kidding around. I think this deck does a great job of accomplishing that for the most part. (I have some bones to pick later on, and I’m sure you know where this is going…)

The Bad

– The card draw issue. You also weren’t kidding when you said this deck was missing card draw, and it does so nearly completely. Both Patrick and I ran into stretches where we were sitting, playing draw go, and getting nowhere due to the inability to gain any real card advantage. The options are out there, and you need to have good ways to refill and find action once you reach the mid-game or this deck will flounder.

– Removal. It was very dry in this area, which was really highlighted by having to deal with a mono-white tokens deck. Odric got started building a threatening board, and the only option that I could find was Mogg Infestation. Not terrible in a vacuum, but he had Cathars’ Crusade. I want to increase the overall removal package quite a bit if I can find room.

– Lastly, I’d be neglecting my personal guidelines if I didn’t mention the Tunnel Vision / Junktroller thing. I can certainly appreciate the utility, and it sounds like this might be necessary in your metagame. To be completely honest, if I had faced some of the regular decks I’m used to seeing, it probably would have been far more crucial.

Still, for a deck that tries this hard to stay off the beaten path, I think you can do without this particular combo. Patrick tried to get some solid feedback from Twitter on whether anyone felt this was a fun way to win, and nearly everyone said no. In fact, I may not have used it at all if he hadn’t taken over for the Odric player because it felt bad to me.

The…Huh?

– Higure, the Still Wind was very confusing to both of us. Did I miss another Ninja in here somewhere?

– Fire Servant and Hypersonic Dragon. There are a very limited number of red spells that can damage an opponent, and most are so minor in effect that doubling down still won’t make much of a difference. Likewise, the sorcery count is pretty low to begin with, so getting flash for them doesn’t seem worth the slot.

– Teleportal. Sure, it kind of made a difference in my game, but I could have managed without it. Really, I’m questioning the inclusion of leveraging unblockability when so few creatures will offer a payoff for connecting with an opponent. Also, this sat in my hand for a very long time, and I wished it was anything else regularly.

– Flame Fusillade. I get that it’s a cool card and partially killed a Steel Hellkite with Smoke and Propaganda thanks to this card, but this deck doesn’t particularly load the board with permanents, so there’s a distinct lack of value with this card. In my case, it read “tap your entire board: deal seven damage to some things.” I think there are better options.

– Glistening Oil. It never came anywhere near doing anything political at all. Or actually anything period. I had the option of tossing it on a Rafiq that would have untapped and killed me in retribution or a variety of small and inconsequential beaters from Odric.

In the end, I discarded it to Desolate Lighthouse, and that felt like good value.

The Changes

Again, because of the play experience, I see where you’re going with this deck. As a result, there are a lot of things that I would usually pull out and upgrade that I can see and appreciate the functionality of, so they’re staying.

In fact, the overall list of changes is pretty light as a result of this methodology and also due to your stated desire to steer clear of staples and “good stuff” inclusions. In a lot of ways, this was a perfect deck for this experiment, and I think we’ve got some solid changes that will help to eke out a few more wins on average for you while maintaining the heart and soul of the deck.

(And yes, that means you get to keep Glistening Oil. You can thank Patrick for that one because I was trying to pull it out for just about everything I could. You win this time, Mike!)

OUT: Ghitu Encampment, Vivid Creek, Terminal Moraine

IN: Island, Mountain, Swamp

The first round of cuts is designed to clean up your lands a bit. There are a lot of “enters-the-battlefield tapped” lands in this list and a low basic land count to back it all up. I want to improve the function of cards like Thawing Glaciers and Journeyer’s Kite, so I’m pulling out three lands that I think the deck can do without to fit some more basics in.

Manlands are great with Smoke, but a 2/1 first striker isn’t going to accomplish much in this format. Creek comes in tapped, and I think you’ve got the mana fixing down enough to the point that you don’t need it. Moraine comes out because you actually need the basics to find in the first place.

OUT: Urza’s Factory

IN: Bojuka Bog

A bunch of 2/2 tokens that cost seven mana won’t be getting you there any time soon. Neither will a massive lack of graveyard hate.

OUT: Crawlspace

IN: No Mercy

Silent Arbiter can at least narrow the battle to a single confrontation and can frequently manage your end of things as well. (Plus, the Fleshwrither thing…) Crawlspace opens the door for two creatures and offers no defense against either. This is not the pillow fort card you want.

No Mercy does a far better job of scaring off would-be attackers. If you’re going to let creatures through, you should force your opponent to have to trade them for damage or at least make them go find something that regenerates.

OUT: Urza’s Blueprints

IN: Staff of Nin

This is a functional upgrade. Why force yourself to pay twelve mana, only to have some spiteful jerk name Blueprints with his Pithing Needle? (Pretend I said that with a straight face.)

Honestly, take the extra card each turn for six mana instead and gain some extra firepower in the process.

OUT: Boldwyr Intimidator

IN: Dimir House Guard

This guy really personifies your aim to get there the most off-the-beaten-path way possible. Still, the fact remains that you’re paying seven mana for a vanilla 5/5 creature with a pseudo-intimidate effect that costs mana. If this deck was heavy on creatures, I might let it slip past, but it isn’t, so I’m not.

Did I mention the Fleshwrither thing? Dimir House Guard is a second tutor-with-legs option that hits the four-mana mark, and it also has the added benefit of being a decent blocker and a free sacrifice outlet. I love this guy.

OUT: Fire Servant

IN: Notion Thief

I’m making Fire Servant even worse than I let on above, as I plan on cutting sorceries for other card types.

In its place, the first nod to additional card draw is added. You like “gotcha!” style cards, and this one is a great addition. Great under normal circumstances, gives you the opportunity to be the one saying, “How much are you paying for that?” instead of the guy who actually has the Rhystic Study out and the nut-high blowout when played in response to Wheel of Fortune.

Just make sure you have that Dimir House Guard sac effect handy when this is in play and someone tries to resolve a Consecrated Sphinx…

OUT: Higure, the Still Wind

IN: Ghastlord of Fugue

Since Higure is basically just another midrange beater with an activated evasion ability, we thought we’d upgrade you to something that is not only bigger and natively unblockable, but also gets you some value for being unblockable.    It’s never a bad thing to be able to force someone’s hand into using something before they want to, lest they just lose it outright.

OUT: Hypersonic Dragon

IN: Leyline of Anticipation

Since we’re going the direction of less sorceries and a bigger creature toolbox package, it makes sense to lose the narrow effect for one that turns your entire deck into instant speed responses.

OUT: Junktroller

IN: Memory Plunder

Since you already know I’m pulling the Tunnel Vision combo, Junktroller becomes a mediocre Reito Lantern that might be able to block down a creature or two. Or, you know, get tossed at someone’s head by Bosh.

Instead, you get the Swiss army knife of spells. You need more draw and more removal, and Memory Plunder is all of those things without actually having to be any one of them. Besides, there’s a certain joy to casting an instant speed Decree of Pain for four mana in response to the Avenger of Zendikar token onslaught.

OUT: Spiny Starfish

IN: Pontiff of Blight

I’ll admit it—I don’t get the Starfish. If you had a good way to make use of the tokens in this deck, and if the card only needed to be activated and not actually regenerate, I’d probably understand.

Since neither of those is the case, Pontiff of Blight seems like a better option. It’s an above average blocker, and you could use a touch of life gain in this deck. It also bears mentioning that mass extort is a very reasonable win condition in a deck like that that is designed to pillow fort up and ride out the storm.

OUT: Evincar’s Justice, Fanning the Flames

IN: Bloodfire Kavu

Let’s face it; you’re not taking down the game with Evincar’s Justice. In fact, this deck isn’t a big mana deck, so you’re going to start working pretty hard to get anywhere with this card. The same is exactly true for Fanning the Flames.

Since its likely there as a way to deal with tokens and other small creatures, Bloodfire Kavu gets the nod instead of Justice. Same net effect, just as obscure for style points, and fits the four-cost creature toolbox.

Its big brother comes in instead of Flames. Again, likely the same net effect (to get the buyback and four damage from Fanning the Flames will cost you nine mana!) except you get to keep the warm body afterward and it fits the tutor package.

OUT: Flame Fusillade

IN: Disturbed Burial

Since you know my issue with Flame Fusillade and since we’re aiming to work the creature toolbox theme to the forefront, Disturbed Burial is a buyback card that you will get great mileage out of. I think the loss of Fusillade as a damage source is more than covered, and you’ll be gaining a ton of reuse of the creatures with this little beauty.

OUT: Teleportal

IN: Lu Xun, Scholar General

I had to fit in at least one rare, obscure, and pricey card in somewhere, right?

Since we’ve cut some of the token generators, Teleportal loses quite a bit of its luster, so the replacement retains the unblockable end of things (unless there is a ton of horsemanship creatures floating around online) and also helps in the card draw area.

OUT: Tunnel Vision

IN: Unfulfilled Desires

I was at my happiest last week when I had Desolate Lighthouse in play; Unfulfilled Desires is a forgotten gem that acts as a supercharged Lighthouse as long as you have the life to pay. (Or, say, a Pontiff of Blight to help pay the taxes.)

And as you know, I was at my unhappiest staring at Tunnel Vision in my hand and dreading using it. Easiest switch of the whole deck for me.

OUT: Braid of Fire

IN: Shred Memory

This change is again along the lines of Memory Plunder above, even partially down to the name. I found that Braid of Fire seems powerful, but it really only helps if Bosh is in play or Urza’s Factory is online. Since the latter has been cut, Braid is out too.

The replacement is another jack-of-all-trades. At face value, Shred Memory is pretty decent graveyard hate; the transmute ability is going to be where the real value is gained. Get Armillary Sphere for some mana acceleration and fixing. Get Smoke for some added protection. Rakdos Charm for the sheer utility.

Flexibility like this is the key to keeping the deck moving through all phases of the game.

OUT: Goblin Festival

IN: Heretic’s Punishment

I know…this card effectively won me the game, and I’m cutting it? What’s wrong with me?

In retrospect, my win in that game hinged on winning the coin flip on the Festival activation that took out Rafiq. If that flip played out differently and I lost control of Festival, Worship would have been a nail in my coffin.

Since this deck has a decent host of high-cost cards in it, Heretic’s Punishment is a replacement that should be quite a bit more reliable, and might just end up pumping out more damage at the same time.

OUT: Mana Flare

IN: Treasure Mage

This deck is hungry for mana, but not at the expense of giving it to everyone else, effectively leveling the playing field in the process.

Instead, the other blue tutor mage finds Bosh, Spine of Ish Sah, Staff of Nin, and a few other spicy targets. I know that I’m adding several tutor effects to this list, but in playing it out, it really runs a fine-line between dead in the water topdecks and staying in the game. Adding these situational tutors allows the soul of the deck to be maintained while also giving it the ability to function a little more consistently than it used to.

That’s going to be the key to making it a better deck without sacrificing the core of what it is.

OUT: Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded

IN: Prophetic Bolt

My last cut removes the only planeswalker in the deck. Let’s face it; no one will let Tibalt go ultimate, and the ultimate is only situationally good to begin with. Having to loot twice to be able to hit someone with a Storm Seeker seems like a losing proposition. Looting three times first to keep Tibalt alive will make everyone think you’re going for the ultimate, and that will be the end of that.

Instead, Prophetic Bolt just takes care of the same bases with no nonsense. A good chunk of damage, and a handpicked card from the top end of your deck seems like a more than reasonable compromise to me.

The Deck

Here’s where we end up:

There you have it, Mike. I hope this fits the bill for you; it maintains your design philosophy while focusing and enhancing the creature toolbox and weeding out some of the unnecessary odds and ends with some stronger options. I think this will stay true to your vision and your play experience, but your win percentage should head north in the process.

You’ll be receiving a $20 coupon to StarCityGames.com for participating in Dear Azami today. I know that doesn’t quite help in the Magic Online arena, but maybe it’s a good reason to sleeve this up and play it in real life.

If you want to start looking at that option, here’s what the changes today will cost you:

Once again, Mike, thanks for being the test subject for my hands-on experiment today. I really feel like I learned some things that I never would have otherwise, and that was well worth the experience alone. To all the readers out there, please let me know in the comments if this is something you’d like to see more of. I’d be happy to revisit this on a more regular basis if you want to see more of it.

Thanks again, everyone. See you in two.

-Cass

Want to submit a deck for consideration to Dear Azami? We’re always accepting deck submissions to consider for use in a future article, like George’s Lavinia of the Tenth deck or Kristjan’s Scion of the Ur-Dragon deck. Only one deck submission will be chosen per article, but being selected for the next edition of Dear Azami includes not just deck advice but also a $20 coupon to StarCityGames.com!

Email us a deck submission using this link here!

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