Hey Zoners! Welcome back to another installment of Better Deckbuilding.
Today's design features one of the more popular Legends to come out of Theros- Daxos, the shirtless swordsman extraordinaire.
Today's design features one of the more popular Legends to come out of Theros- Daxos, the shirtless swordsman extraordinaire.
WHY DAXOS?
Normally, I'm not one to jump on the new Commander train when a card comes out.
Obviously, Daxos was an exception. I've liked and entertained building Thada Adel for a while, and I thought Daxos offered a very similar-but-different way to create a deck that would allow me to play my opponent's cards to assemble exciting board states.
This quality of improvisation and his unique evasion were both what drew me to the card and the catalyst for the challenges I faced in assembling my list.
THE DECKBUILDING PROCESS
Building Daxos was a lot different from most of my other designs for several reasons.
I actually began design after Theros came out, with the idea of playing some serious Stax-Style cards like Frozen Aether, Kismet, Winter Orb, and Meekstone to create favorable control elements for Daxos.
However, after learning his ability wouldn't allow me to play my opponent's lands, I lost my motivation for a while, so I unsleeved him and put all my card choices back for a while. Sometimes this is a necessary component to deckbuilding, especially when the designer can't find a clear vision for the deck. A couple months later I saw Johnny Confidant's list, and it gave me a few nice ideas for fixing my own problems.
Although Daxos possesses a rather underrated set of combat skills, he still promotes a very random and spontaneous way of deck design. His damage is much like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates- it's just hard to know what you're going to want in a game, and hard to know what you're going to cast off of someone's library. Either way, the life gain and Commander damage combine nicely to stabilize the value.
This also means you still have to play threats. Daxos isn't going to get 21 damage without a few tricks, and when you're hitting your opponent's lands, and not drawing into cards you need, it's easy to lose games.
So unlike most of my decks, which have a very methodical Pick Commander-Plan Strategy-Design-Test-Re-Tool plan, I realized that the only way I was going to be able to balance its reactive qualities properly was to get it on the kitchen table as quick as possible. So I adapted my methods, and it paid off.
This isn't my favorite way to build decks- I tend to find I'm no different than most in this regard. Putting decks out before you're satisfied sets a design up for failure before it begins. Confidence is an important part of the game, and any trace of doubt you may have is almost always going to seep into the game at some point. The "Heart of the Cards" is real, folks, and this seemingly silly faith is a source of competitive advantage when you've practiced with a deck and you know it inside and out.
Still, if you're able to effectively manage your expectations about a deck, it only inhibits your deckbuilding prowess. With Daxos, I was able to bring it into both 1v1 and multiplayer games knowing what it was going to do against good and bad matchups in a regular game setting. As a result, I was able to carve out its identity and smooth out my problems.
PILOTING THE DECK
In a number of ways, mine was based off JC's deck, which consisted of combining strong "Good Stuff" cards with Daxos to create aggressive threats and have a little counterspell backup. Things that gave us double strike, and Swords in particular, provided the deck with strong Daxos pumps and a little extra value whenever Daxos would deal damage.
After talking with JC about piloting the deck, I took his blueprints a step further by enhancing the strengths of the deck, transforming it into a basic "GoodStuffs" deck by maximizing the value of many of the cards that were already powerful parts of Magic's history.
Most of my decks have hubs and themes that get built around, and Daxos is no different. The first is combat damage triggers. Much like Daxos, the Commander Card Pool is chock-full of cool creatures and artifacts that offer unique triggers that activate in combat. Combined with Swords, these cards are the driving force of the deck, which is interesting when you consider this combination to be more like the "Slow-Zorius" decks I coined in Ravnica Limited, and less like a weenie Aggro deck.
In piloting the deck, it's definitely a sweet blend of the two. The Control elements can drive the Aggro parts, and vice versa- creating a very effective blend that can match the speed of the table.
As a result of Daxos' ability, there's also a different approach to the way you play spells. 70-80% of the time, tapping out in the first main is not going to be great- especially when Daxos is out getting damage and a random card.
However, rather than waste time on irrelevant cards like Lantern of Insight, what I found to be slightly more effective is just playing Instants- counterspells, disruption- anything that I can hold in my hand so that I can respond if someone tries to disrupt combat. Since we don't tap out until our second main, we can almost always ensure our interests are protected.
Plus, it gives us the element of surprise when we flip awesome things. Early on in testing I flopped a bunch of nice ones: Oracle of Mul Daya, Markov Blademaster, Brutalizer Exarch. I've even double-striked a Vigor and Sepulchral Primordial off the top of someone's library.
Still, there are plenty of ways to make your own luck with Daxos- so let's pop the hood and check out some of the tech.
THE TECH
There are quite a few cards with "put on top of owner's library" in my Daxos list that make for some nice versatility.
Disempower is probably the "weakest" one of them, but only because the other cards are Memory Lapse, Lapse of Certainty, and Unexpectedly Absent. Unlike the overcosted Griptide or Vanishment, Disempower sacrifices popularity and versatility for a cheap casting cost.
All that said, I like this card quite a bit. It can be a poor man's Unexpectedly Absent if our opponents play Gods, or a way to steal their Eldrazi Monument during combat and before damage is dealt. The tempo brings huge swings, and it can be done in the most favorable moments.
I'm not sure of the potential Disempower has in other decks, but I have a good feeling that if you try it out you probably won't be disappointed.
Any opportunity I have to showcase my cool lands I'm going to do it.
I think it's still all the rage in tournament Geist of Saint Traft decks to play his favorite castle, and I'm playing it here for the same reasons. Again, our mana stays untapped through combat, so this can be a nice trick if your opponent(s) was/were born yesterday and forgot about the things they do in the mainstream world of Magic.
If your opponent is chump-blocking, or flashing in tricks, this is also a good thing too.
In my group, this card got the mispronounced nickname of "Django Castle," which is also why I'm playing it. Any opportunity to play cards with nicknames is fun, and it's a great little card for other decks too- especially Captain Sisay.
Yeah. That's right.
I know it's not tech, but I had the opportunity to play a Magic classic in here, and I took it.
Earlier I mentioned that there's troubleshooting to be done here. When you're not getting threats off the top of your opponent's library, or cards from your own, it's a difficult place to be in.
Divination is not something I'm recommending for a Daxos deck, but I like it a lot more than playing nonsense like Ponder.
And even though I really dig the new art on this reprint, my Divination is the Yu-Gi-Oh card Pot of Greed (Which does the same thing in their game), and was gifted one by a guy in my playgroup.
The deck is a little light on land (37) because I have access to a plethora of mana rocks, and Divination can help me smooth out my land plays. That's mostly what it's here for.
Sometimes, you just gotta stack fun cards on top of more fun.
As predicted, Lavinia is silly good. Combined with Daxos, she's even better.
And in my meta, because it's almost always going to have a red player at the table, it makes her one of the best. She shuts down just about every creature that could block Daxos while also being a decent threat. It's win-win, basically.
I play a few blink effects, but there's so much tempo and value to be had, it's nuts. I can only imagine what proper decks built around her might do, and it's been making me cringe since she was spoiled last year. I'm glad I haven't seen any yet, but I don't know how long we're going to be able to keep that up.
Definitely a great pal for Daxos, and vice versa. The Azorius deck has gotten so much stronger just in the last year with her, Daxos, Medomai, and Render Silent. I'm really surprised we don't see more of U/W floating around. Then again, we can't all be Venser's Journalist.
I know much of the Daxos design is not original, and so it's no surprise to see Elspeth, Knight-Errant. Her magic is no secret.
But it's worth pointing out how neat she is in conjunction with Daxos. Many times people will make a dude with her ability and not think twice.
However, Daxos keeps it fresh. It's actually Elspeth's pumps and evasion in here that has proven to be much more instrumental in ending games.
Turning Daxos into a 5/5 flyer is absurd even without double strike or a sword, as it ups an 11-turn clock if she's not dealt with.
I know I'm just supporting an already innately good card, but being able to make a good card better is rare. Adding dimensions to them demonstrates unparalleled sense of respect to other players, to the game of Magic, and to the cards themselves. Overall, it's just good business, and that's what TGZ is all about. So I'd be remiss if I avoided it.
Most of the planeswalkers in this deck are not here simply because this is a Good Stuff deck, even though they are part of the stereotype associated with it. They help "gain life" by taking damage away from you, and giving Daxos a way to continue to be unblockable and relevant as the game scales. Opening hands in this deck with mana rocks and an early P-Dub almost always ensure that the game is going to be quick. This has been the case in most 1v1 matchups I've played.
The last card in our list is Thran Dynamo, and it's kind of interesting.
You see, because of the way that Daxos' ability works, Thran Dynamo and other boring mana rocks like it have the capacity to accept change.
Via Daxos' ability, this colorless mana can be colored mana, which is a very interesting Magic rule-breaker. Creating ramp support has never been so neat, and it allows us to play cards that may be out of our price range in the early turns.
Thran Dynamo and Mana Vault are two cards I play in here that I can ramp with quickly, and that also smooth out my draws long term. With less lands, these cards are just as important in supporting my mana base as they are in supporting our ability on offense to cast whatever we can get our hands on.
Anyway, this is the current list: Daxos of Meletis EDH, and Johnny Confidant's list that inspired mine- Daxos of Mediocrity EDH. Please check 'em out, +1 them if you like 'em, and suggest to us some neat tech if you think it'll help.
With that, I'll end my turn.
-UL
Obviously, Daxos was an exception. I've liked and entertained building Thada Adel for a while, and I thought Daxos offered a very similar-but-different way to create a deck that would allow me to play my opponent's cards to assemble exciting board states.
This quality of improvisation and his unique evasion were both what drew me to the card and the catalyst for the challenges I faced in assembling my list.
THE DECKBUILDING PROCESS
Building Daxos was a lot different from most of my other designs for several reasons.
I actually began design after Theros came out, with the idea of playing some serious Stax-Style cards like Frozen Aether, Kismet, Winter Orb, and Meekstone to create favorable control elements for Daxos.
However, after learning his ability wouldn't allow me to play my opponent's lands, I lost my motivation for a while, so I unsleeved him and put all my card choices back for a while. Sometimes this is a necessary component to deckbuilding, especially when the designer can't find a clear vision for the deck. A couple months later I saw Johnny Confidant's list, and it gave me a few nice ideas for fixing my own problems.
Although Daxos possesses a rather underrated set of combat skills, he still promotes a very random and spontaneous way of deck design. His damage is much like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates- it's just hard to know what you're going to want in a game, and hard to know what you're going to cast off of someone's library. Either way, the life gain and Commander damage combine nicely to stabilize the value.
This also means you still have to play threats. Daxos isn't going to get 21 damage without a few tricks, and when you're hitting your opponent's lands, and not drawing into cards you need, it's easy to lose games.
So unlike most of my decks, which have a very methodical Pick Commander-Plan Strategy-Design-Test-Re-Tool plan, I realized that the only way I was going to be able to balance its reactive qualities properly was to get it on the kitchen table as quick as possible. So I adapted my methods, and it paid off.
This isn't my favorite way to build decks- I tend to find I'm no different than most in this regard. Putting decks out before you're satisfied sets a design up for failure before it begins. Confidence is an important part of the game, and any trace of doubt you may have is almost always going to seep into the game at some point. The "Heart of the Cards" is real, folks, and this seemingly silly faith is a source of competitive advantage when you've practiced with a deck and you know it inside and out.
Still, if you're able to effectively manage your expectations about a deck, it only inhibits your deckbuilding prowess. With Daxos, I was able to bring it into both 1v1 and multiplayer games knowing what it was going to do against good and bad matchups in a regular game setting. As a result, I was able to carve out its identity and smooth out my problems.
PILOTING THE DECK
In a number of ways, mine was based off JC's deck, which consisted of combining strong "Good Stuff" cards with Daxos to create aggressive threats and have a little counterspell backup. Things that gave us double strike, and Swords in particular, provided the deck with strong Daxos pumps and a little extra value whenever Daxos would deal damage.
After talking with JC about piloting the deck, I took his blueprints a step further by enhancing the strengths of the deck, transforming it into a basic "GoodStuffs" deck by maximizing the value of many of the cards that were already powerful parts of Magic's history.
Most of my decks have hubs and themes that get built around, and Daxos is no different. The first is combat damage triggers. Much like Daxos, the Commander Card Pool is chock-full of cool creatures and artifacts that offer unique triggers that activate in combat. Combined with Swords, these cards are the driving force of the deck, which is interesting when you consider this combination to be more like the "Slow-Zorius" decks I coined in Ravnica Limited, and less like a weenie Aggro deck.
In piloting the deck, it's definitely a sweet blend of the two. The Control elements can drive the Aggro parts, and vice versa- creating a very effective blend that can match the speed of the table.
As a result of Daxos' ability, there's also a different approach to the way you play spells. 70-80% of the time, tapping out in the first main is not going to be great- especially when Daxos is out getting damage and a random card.
However, rather than waste time on irrelevant cards like Lantern of Insight, what I found to be slightly more effective is just playing Instants- counterspells, disruption- anything that I can hold in my hand so that I can respond if someone tries to disrupt combat. Since we don't tap out until our second main, we can almost always ensure our interests are protected.
Plus, it gives us the element of surprise when we flip awesome things. Early on in testing I flopped a bunch of nice ones: Oracle of Mul Daya, Markov Blademaster, Brutalizer Exarch. I've even double-striked a Vigor and Sepulchral Primordial off the top of someone's library.
Still, there are plenty of ways to make your own luck with Daxos- so let's pop the hood and check out some of the tech.
THE TECH
Disempower is probably the "weakest" one of them, but only because the other cards are Memory Lapse, Lapse of Certainty, and Unexpectedly Absent. Unlike the overcosted Griptide or Vanishment, Disempower sacrifices popularity and versatility for a cheap casting cost.
All that said, I like this card quite a bit. It can be a poor man's Unexpectedly Absent if our opponents play Gods, or a way to steal their Eldrazi Monument during combat and before damage is dealt. The tempo brings huge swings, and it can be done in the most favorable moments.
I'm not sure of the potential Disempower has in other decks, but I have a good feeling that if you try it out you probably won't be disappointed.
| The "D" is silent. |
I think it's still all the rage in tournament Geist of Saint Traft decks to play his favorite castle, and I'm playing it here for the same reasons. Again, our mana stays untapped through combat, so this can be a nice trick if your opponent(s) was/were born yesterday and forgot about the things they do in the mainstream world of Magic.
If your opponent is chump-blocking, or flashing in tricks, this is also a good thing too.
In my group, this card got the mispronounced nickname of "Django Castle," which is also why I'm playing it. Any opportunity to play cards with nicknames is fun, and it's a great little card for other decks too- especially Captain Sisay.
I know it's not tech, but I had the opportunity to play a Magic classic in here, and I took it.
Earlier I mentioned that there's troubleshooting to be done here. When you're not getting threats off the top of your opponent's library, or cards from your own, it's a difficult place to be in.
Divination is not something I'm recommending for a Daxos deck, but I like it a lot more than playing nonsense like Ponder.
And even though I really dig the new art on this reprint, my Divination is the Yu-Gi-Oh card Pot of Greed (Which does the same thing in their game), and was gifted one by a guy in my playgroup.
The deck is a little light on land (37) because I have access to a plethora of mana rocks, and Divination can help me smooth out my land plays. That's mostly what it's here for.
Sometimes, you just gotta stack fun cards on top of more fun.
And in my meta, because it's almost always going to have a red player at the table, it makes her one of the best. She shuts down just about every creature that could block Daxos while also being a decent threat. It's win-win, basically.
I play a few blink effects, but there's so much tempo and value to be had, it's nuts. I can only imagine what proper decks built around her might do, and it's been making me cringe since she was spoiled last year. I'm glad I haven't seen any yet, but I don't know how long we're going to be able to keep that up.
Definitely a great pal for Daxos, and vice versa. The Azorius deck has gotten so much stronger just in the last year with her, Daxos, Medomai, and Render Silent. I'm really surprised we don't see more of U/W floating around. Then again, we can't all be Venser's Journalist.
But it's worth pointing out how neat she is in conjunction with Daxos. Many times people will make a dude with her ability and not think twice.
However, Daxos keeps it fresh. It's actually Elspeth's pumps and evasion in here that has proven to be much more instrumental in ending games.
Turning Daxos into a 5/5 flyer is absurd even without double strike or a sword, as it ups an 11-turn clock if she's not dealt with.
I know I'm just supporting an already innately good card, but being able to make a good card better is rare. Adding dimensions to them demonstrates unparalleled sense of respect to other players, to the game of Magic, and to the cards themselves. Overall, it's just good business, and that's what TGZ is all about. So I'd be remiss if I avoided it.
Most of the planeswalkers in this deck are not here simply because this is a Good Stuff deck, even though they are part of the stereotype associated with it. They help "gain life" by taking damage away from you, and giving Daxos a way to continue to be unblockable and relevant as the game scales. Opening hands in this deck with mana rocks and an early P-Dub almost always ensure that the game is going to be quick. This has been the case in most 1v1 matchups I've played.
You see, because of the way that Daxos' ability works, Thran Dynamo and other boring mana rocks like it have the capacity to accept change.
Via Daxos' ability, this colorless mana can be colored mana, which is a very interesting Magic rule-breaker. Creating ramp support has never been so neat, and it allows us to play cards that may be out of our price range in the early turns.
Thran Dynamo and Mana Vault are two cards I play in here that I can ramp with quickly, and that also smooth out my draws long term. With less lands, these cards are just as important in supporting my mana base as they are in supporting our ability on offense to cast whatever we can get our hands on.
Anyway, this is the current list: Daxos of Meletis EDH, and Johnny Confidant's list that inspired mine- Daxos of Mediocrity EDH. Please check 'em out, +1 them if you like 'em, and suggest to us some neat tech if you think it'll help.
With that, I'll end my turn.
-UL
Your tappedout link is broken, FYI. Really enjoy these deck techs though, keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know pbnj. I just fixed it.
ReplyDelete