Uncle Landdrops here fillin' in for JC on the last day of the old year with another installment of Command Zone OG's.
For those that don't know, Command Zone OG's is more of a community based segment where we examine Legendary Creatures as Generals and whether they are On the Rise, Under the Radar, or Always Around amongst the online community.
We've got a little bit of a special one here today. Mostly due to indecision, I've got a few more creatures than I wanted- so enjoy.
ON THE RISE
The Pesky Esper Slow Roll - Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
Well, even if you don't understand my heightened lingo, all you really need to know is that Oloro's here, he really does nothing, and he's already becoming more and more relevant.
Today on the first page of TappedOut I must've seen 7 or so lists alone, and the number's only going to be bigger.
Basically, the deck promotes a very slow, control based game with incremental life gain value. Because he doesn't have to trigger to be in play, he's the first Commander to give you value from the Command Zone and provide double value via Clone effects.
Eventually, my prediction will be that this is a card people will grow to hate, like Edric. What it promotes is slow games, and supports bad deckbuilding in certain cases.
Still, I think Slow-Loro AKA Oreo is one tough cookie. I'm hoping it will inspire some great control decks with late-game combos, which I think is the route to victory.
ALWAYS AROUND
The Everyman's Board Police- Reaper King
Destroying permanents is his best quality at the table, particularly permanents that most people find pesky yet don't have the guts or the deckbuilding know how to add in. There's a reason everyone loves Vindicate, and it is for that reason that our vine-ridden, crow-scaring artifact monstrosity is a legit contender at the table.
In his most heinous form, Reaper King combos really well with a kicked Rite of Replication to make everyone at the table ready to flip the table, scoop, or try to do both at the same time and end up with disastrous and awkward results.
I've seen quite a few different Reaper King designs, and whether it's 1v1 or multiplayer, I think his flavor text appropriately describes what it means when he's on the battlefield.
UNDER THE RADAR
No Spark? No Problem! - Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
Optimally, this deck wants to be playing all the fetch lands. Clearly, this makes for a pretty expensive payout. Still, the ability to trigger Landfall every turn after Ob Nixilis comes out is important.
Promoting land plays is a great way you can support that all-too important quality of deck design- playing lands. Fundamentals are our friends, ladies and gentle-demons. Catering to them is a great way to reinforce positive game play and design.
The Red Undead - Squee, Goblin Nabob
Since most of the best cards in Red decks are wheel cards, discard/draw effects, and top-tier artifacts like Skullclamp, being able to power them up with Squee creates a much more stable arena for card advantage than most other red decks.
I have yet to see this deck in a game, but I hope to some day. It's a very neat and unique archetype for its coloring.
The Hungry Hungry Hydra - Polukranos, World Eater
In Commander, with access to ramp and plenty of deathtouch effects, Polukranos is a wonderful aggressive Commander option that does something Omnath and Azusa can't- be removal.
The fight mechanic is one of my absolute favorite things Wizards has come out with in the past few years, and as they continue to print more of it, this deck will get stronger.
If I ever decide to retire Yeva, this is my next option.
Magpie Love - Lu Xun, Scholar General
Thieving Magpie is a solid card we all know and love and have been able to access for years without paying a bunch of money. Reprinting various Portal 3 Kingdoms cards has really helped to make our format much more fun and compelling. With Horsemanship instead of Flying, Lu Xun's evasion is solid. He rewards you for attacking while helping to get damage in and doing what Blue decks really want to do- outdraw your opponent. Many blue decks fall victim to the "Draw, Go" strategy, which can often lead to skipping a crucial combat step. By playing Lu Xun, you can build this additional decision into your design, so as to create rhythm and not forget to take advantage of damage dealing.
Without any Voltron-ing, Lu Xun is 1 damage and 1 card, which most players aren't going to be too upset about in the beginning of the game if they don't plan properly, or they don't have removal.
Again, another low-cost, value-driven option that can really draw cards if you stack it up Bident of Thassa and Curiosity.
Sailing Ships And Loving Life - Gerrard Capashen
Inherently being underestimated has its advantages. As a card we rated to be one of the most "middling" cards on a Stack episode this summer, Gerrard is definitely a creature that you can use to prove people wrong.
The incremental life gain in conjunction with Hate Bears like Rule of Law and Ethersworn Canonist helps to keep cards in hand while Well of Lost Dreams and Cradle of Vitality can be used to find cards to finish the game, or simply end the game.
Gerrard isn't simply a nostalgia choice. It can definitely become something more, if you know where to look.
Remember to feel free to share cool and awesome lists with me if you've played or seen any of these decks in the comments below.
And Happy New Year! Hope you've got more good things on the way. Cause so do we.
Until next year, and the one after that, continue to remind your friends that playing the Mimeoplasm isn't okay.
-UL
Great article, well written!
ReplyDeleteJust have to say that Gerrard Capashen in an Oloro deck would be fun... In addition to nostalgia and style points for having Gerrard in your EDH deck, he could also push into a win condition with Test of Endurance or provide the extra lifegain for an Angelic Accord trigger.
Thanks Nick!
DeleteOloro's a really nice deck. I've been helping a friend of mine tweak his Oloro deck for a little now, and I've even thought a couple times about building Gerrard by himself. I try to maintain a mono-colored deck of each color in my portfolio.
There's a couple of cool lists I've found for each Commander if you're interested in building them. Lemme know and I'll be happy to send those links your way. And Thanks For Reading!