Hi guys! My name is Jonathan and I live in Canada. I started playing mtg in 2011 and the only format I've ever played is Commander. This amazing format is the reason I got into magic and I don't think I'll move on to anything else in the foreseeable future. I play in several different playgroups, some more competitive than others. I consider myself to be half spike and half everything else. I like combos, I like hardcasting fatties, I also pay lots of attention to card arts and flavours. However as much as I like to win, I don't play very well because I haven't been playing for as long as others. I love deckbuilding, in fact I think I enjoy building decks more than playing them. This leads us the next section.
The Tri-colour Madness Deck Series:
As I've mentioned above, I really enjoy building decks and I see it as one of my creative outlets. I take pride in the decks I build and I enjoy seeing them being successful when played by me or others. So far I've built 10 decks, each of them features a unique tri-colour combo (yup, that's all of them!). On top of the the passion for deckbuilding, another reason for me to build so many decks is that I am relatively new to the game of mtg, and I want to try out all kinds of different decks.
You'll see a large variety of deck archetypes from this series including: timmy, theft/control, aikido(passive reactive control), ramp, rock/recursion, artifacts, mill/reanimation, tokens and voltron/aggro. For some decks, I decide on the archetype and general, then I search up all kinds of decklists online and from those I create my ideal list for that strategy(my spike side). For other decks, I just come up with an idea and dive into it blindly which results in decks that are 100% my own through extensive testing and modifying. All of my decks are built to be multiplayer oriented.
One problem that I came across when building these decks is that there are many card overlaps even though all of the decks utilize different strategies. I was unable to avoid including cards like primeval titan and consecrated sphinx in every deck of the appropriate colours. I've been trying my best to avoid this and limit the number of staples that go in all my decks. In the near future I will spend some time to focus specifically on cutting those staples from my decks.
The reason for me to post this series is that I want to share my passion with all of you, and at the same time receive some feedbacks and suggestions in order to help me further improve my decks. I'm sure this will be a great experience and help me and others in many different ways. Thanks in advance!
Yes the is necessary. Thraximundar is by far the most popular Grixis general. But as opposed to generals like Sharuum the Hegemon or Rafiq of the Many, Thraximundar allows for a large variety of decks. I've seen at least half of a dozen effective strategies built around this guy. Grixis control, voltron, stax etc. all work pretty well with this dude. It didn't take much pondering before I decided to use him as my grixis general. The name is cool, the zombie assassin creature type is badass, and the Raymond Swanland art is probably one of his bests. Thraximundar!!! is really powerful on his own. As soon as you cast him, he is a threat that demands answer. Also I've noticed that this guy's price has been gradually rising recently. I remember when I got him from a Alara foil pack in september 2011, a non-foil Thraximundar!!! was around 3$ and a foil one is $14. Now the prices are respectively $10 and $25. so if you plan to build a deck around this guy, get one ASAP.
Basic Land Art
I've been a huge fan of the basic land arts on magic cards ever since I started playing the game. In the beginning I loved the zendikar ones and filled my decks with them. Then they became a bit repetitive and boring. As a result my inner Vorthos pushed me to move on and search for some other land arts that fit well in my decks. I follow a few basic guidelines when searching for my lands. Obviously they must look good. They should also be on theme with the deck, and as a result of that, the lands in a deck are mostly from the same sets/blocks. Lastly, i try to keep my lands new-boardered, just because I like them better.
For Thraximundar, we have:
Avacyn Restored!! The lands in the Innistrad block are all gorgeous. I used to have the night version of the lands above from Innistrad. I do realize that they might fit Thraximundar's theme better. But... Just look at the lands up there, just look at them. I'm sure you're fine with them now I would really love to hear which lands you think are the best for this deck!
The Dirty Business:
Yupp this is my theft deck! Different from some of the other steal/sac decks, mine barely runs any red stealing effects (steal until end of turn). Instead I run cards like Control Magic and Roil Elemental, where if the permanent used to steal gets removed, the goods return to my opponents. However the deck minimizes my opponents' incentives from removing those by running a bunch of sacrifice outlets. When they lose something, they lose them for good. The deck steals mostly creatures, but there are a few cards like dominus of fealty and confiscate that allows us to take everything
This strategy doesn't synergy strongly with my general, but there is definitely some. First of all stealing my opponents' creatures allows me to keep their board relatively free of large things. This allows thraximundar!! to swing in uninterrupted and do some damage. Also, a large drawback with Aikido (reactive, utilizing opponent resources) decks is that if your opponents also play reactively, or just don't do anything at all, Aikido decks are also useless. Thraximundar!! fixes this problem somewhat. If my opponents have nothing, he goes in.
The deck also runs a gravepact sub-theme and some token generators. This makes sense because I already have a bunch of sac outlets, and this allows me to better keep my opponents' boards free of creatures.
In the commander precons, the wizards released this broken piece of crap called Homeward Path, which allows decks of any colour to wreck my strategies. As a result I was forced to jam a few colourless land-busting lands in my tri-colour deck that already needs fixing. So far homeward hasn't been a big problem for me because of that, but we'll see.
I really can't think of many more, this is where you come in!!
How can you help me?:
In this deck I'm trying to put in the best theft effects I can find. There are some cards in the deck that I think are weaker (olivia voldaren, confiscate etc.) and plan to replace as soon as I find better alternatives. But I just can't come up with any. Would appreciate suggestions on that!!
Thanks for reading my deck tech, please leave your comments! Also check my other lists in the series if you're interested!
Take Possession and Word of Seizing are two of my favorite theft cards. I'd *take* Take Possession over Confiscate any day: the 1 mana difference is hardly (if ever) going to matter, and Split Second is simply one of the most powerful mechanics available in a multiplayer FFA format.
Word of Seizing is incredible. Again, Split Second works wonders, and Threatening any permanent at instant speed is just awesome - I know you're less excited about Threaten effects, but IMHO this one is way too good to pass up. Steal fully charged Walkers all day!
Do you have enough outlets to effectively use Diabolic Intent, Increasing Ambition would be a good switch. I used to run Cruel Ultimatum in my Thraximundar deck. It just wasn't enough bang for my buck. I'd take it out and put in Bribery. Nothing better than stealing a creature before your opponent can play it. It also teach them to play Blightsteel Colossus and Eldrazi. You can also try Acquire if you want to steal their artifacts. You may need some more mass removal, Fault Line, Starstorm, Incremental Blight are good options.
Presbo: Indeed, will put Dais in, however I think goblin bombardment is even worse than spawning pit. Might switch that out instead. Thanks!
Voodoo: Ya Cruel Ultimatum is in there as a weak attempt at the grixis flavour. Will take it out for a better card. I will put in Bribery when I get one. About mass removal I have the habit of putting around 4-5 of them in each deck. This deck has starstorm, oblivion stone, and blasphemous act. However I do consider reins of power and insurrection to be psuedo board wipes because I usually have sac outlets on the field. Do you think I should run more than that? PLease let me know. THank you!
I fail to understand how Cruel Edict, Disentomb, Fugue, Concentrate, and Needlebite Trap all on ONE card doesn't result in "enough bang for [your] buck." It's stupid how good this card (Cruel Ultimatum) is - other cards might be better for the theft theme, but it's so hard to justify not including Cruel anyway. A.Minor is running enough creatures that he'll almost always get the full effect, which is ridiculous. It's essentially the definition of "bang for your buck."
Theendisnear: Thanks a lot! Actually I'm not even sure what my next deck is, let it be UBG then! Actually, to be exact I do have 10 decks, however I'm only confident to post 9 of them right now. The RWB(kaalia) deck I have build, however I don't like it too much at this moment and I might rebuild it into something else. I will be posting them in two batches of five. Will finish the first five very soon. I plan to post the remaining five once I figure out the RWB one. However if it takes me too long to do I'll just do 9 and wait for the last one.
Thanks again!
Deadboots: I kind of understand where he/she is coming from. Cruel Ultimatum 's drawback side only hits one person and it is quite mana intensive. Often times it'll be my only play for an entire turn. However, the bonus side is very very nice, getting five cards for one is amazing, and the life swing is icing on the cake. Some times it's also great to be able to set the leading player back a bit.
I will definitely test this card out and see how it is for me. Appreciate the comments!
Where in Canada do you live btw? Will you give us a spoiler on the 10 decks (General and theme) or would that ruin the fun?
PM'd.
Also made a few updates to the deck due to arrival of new shipment. Gilded drake and hall of the bandit lord(edit: nvm just realized that's redundant) for now!
Chandra: Thats true, do you think i should run that or it that betrays? Both seem nice.
It that Betrays is so so much better. Nothing beats the look on your opponent's eye when he realise his Crucible of World / Strip Mine only results in land destruction for him.
It's still not colorless, and has no color. That's a paradox. So either you're a Zen master or an idiot, I'll assume the Zen master for sake of argument. This card will have no paradoxes because it has a clear paradox. Deep stuff man.
BeingHumanBeing. It that betrays does deserve a spot i think, it is a bit fragile though, the thought of a 12 mana bomb dying to a path to exile makes me really uncomfortable.
Gather Speciemens can be hilarious. Another card i'm thinking about is spelljack. What do you think about these two?
Sure, he's hardly mana efficient, requiring a total investment of 14 mana to steal just one permanent(7 to cast him, then another 7 to change a permanent into an artifact and swipe it), but if your opponent cant get rid of him you can steal something every single turn. Even if memnarch is destroyed you still retain control of everything you stole with him.
Enslave is a better mind control. For one extra mana it slowly pings away at your opponents life total. Though one life a turn in edh is'nt much, it's still a nice little bonus.
Fool's demise has always been one of my favourite stealing effects. Ok so the creature has to die first, but your playing black and you've got thraximundar as your general. Should'nt be too hard. The fact that you get the enchantment back afterwards to steal another creature is why I love it so. If you need to keep one of your own dudes alive then just stick it on them instead. your opponent will kill it and it will come right back.
A nasty little combo- put fools demise on Keiga, the tide star and sac it to ashnods altar. Get a creature plus 2 mana, use that mana to help cast fools demise on Keiga again. Rinse and repeat as may times as you can each turn.
Also, I know you dont like one turn threaten effects but another instant speed one is act of aggression. Stealing an opponents creature mid combat and using it to block another attacking creature, killing both of them, is always fun.
Slave of bolas solves the problem of other threaten effects by not letting your opponent have their creature back afterwards.
Grimgrin, corpse-born is another sac outlet. He also functions much like thraximundar himself, killing creatures and getting bigger whenever he attacks.
Hm phyrexian vault and culling dais each have their ups and downs. I like how I can continue to use vault indefinitely and cash in right away for my sacrifices. However it does cost quite a bit more than dais. I'll have to do some testing. I think the main thing I'll pay attention to is how often I'm forced to tap out when culling dais is on the field.
I know your deck is focusing on stealing things - Helm of Possesion? You can steal every creature on the board with Rooftop Storm and your general. Of course if you ever lose your Rooftop Storm, Thrax is going to be a bit expensive... With that said you can even Bombard the table out with Rooftop and your General. Or generate infinite colorless mana with Rooftop and General - Phrexian Altar might be something to consider over Ashnod's as that way you can cast anything you want.
Have you considered Gravecrawler, that would give you an alternative over saccing your General over and over. It would only cost 1 black mana each time and with things like Goblin Bombardment you could essentially split every black mana you have into tiny targetable pings.
**Edit**
I realized that you have to pay additional costs for you General everytime. Oh well with Rooftop out the crawler is still buff.
Gravecrawler is really nice. For now I use Bloodghast in the deck because the landfall condition seems easier to meet in this deck than having a zombie on the field. Since I actually don't cast my general all that often. However Bloodghast has be quite amazing in the deck and I could definitely use another one. And that would be gravecrawler!!
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Thraximundar
Introduction:
The Tri-colour Madness Deck Series:
You'll see a large variety of deck archetypes from this series including: timmy, theft/control, aikido(passive reactive control), ramp, rock/recursion, artifacts, mill/reanimation, tokens and voltron/aggro. For some decks, I decide on the archetype and general, then I search up all kinds of decklists online and from those I create my ideal list for that strategy(my spike side). For other decks, I just come up with an idea and dive into it blindly which results in decks that are 100% my own through extensive testing and modifying. All of my decks are built to be multiplayer oriented.
One problem that I came across when building these decks is that there are many card overlaps even though all of the decks utilize different strategies. I was unable to avoid including cards like primeval titan and consecrated sphinx in every deck of the appropriate colours. I've been trying my best to avoid this and limit the number of staples that go in all my decks. In the near future I will spend some time to focus specifically on cutting those staples from my decks.
The reason for me to post this series is that I want to share my passion with all of you, and at the same time receive some feedbacks and suggestions in order to help me further improve my decks. I'm sure this will be a great experience and help me and others in many different ways. Thanks in advance!
Here are deck lists that I've posted so far:
:symr::symu::symg: Riku's RUG Goodstuff Deck
:symb::symr::symg: Kresh's Ultimate Timmy Deck
:symw::symu::symb: Sharuum's Etherium Empire
:symu::symb::symr: Thraximundar!!! Theft Deck
:symg::symb::symu: The Mimeoplasm Mill/Reanimator
:symr::symw::symu: Zedruu's Defense/Sunforger Deck
:symb::symg::symw: Karador Rock/Recursion Deck
:symg::symw::symu: Rafiq of the 1HKO
:symr::symg::symw: Rith and Her Token Army
The Badass:
Yes the is necessary. Thraximundar is by far the most popular Grixis general. But as opposed to generals like Sharuum the Hegemon or Rafiq of the Many, Thraximundar allows for a large variety of decks. I've seen at least half of a dozen effective strategies built around this guy. Grixis control, voltron, stax etc. all work pretty well with this dude. It didn't take much pondering before I decided to use him as my grixis general. The name is cool, the zombie assassin creature type is badass, and the Raymond Swanland art is probably one of his bests. Thraximundar!!! is really powerful on his own. As soon as you cast him, he is a threat that demands answer. Also I've noticed that this guy's price has been gradually rising recently. I remember when I got him from a Alara foil pack in september 2011, a non-foil Thraximundar!!! was around 3$ and a foil one is $14. Now the prices are respectively $10 and $25. so if you plan to build a deck around this guy, get one ASAP.
Basic Land Art
I've been a huge fan of the basic land arts on magic cards ever since I started playing the game. In the beginning I loved the zendikar ones and filled my decks with them. Then they became a bit repetitive and boring. As a result my inner Vorthos pushed me to move on and search for some other land arts that fit well in my decks. I follow a few basic guidelines when searching for my lands. Obviously they must look good. They should also be on theme with the deck, and as a result of that, the lands in a deck are mostly from the same sets/blocks. Lastly, i try to keep my lands new-boardered, just because I like them better.
For Thraximundar, we have:
Avacyn Restored!! The lands in the Innistrad block are all gorgeous. I used to have the night version of the lands above from Innistrad. I do realize that they might fit Thraximundar's theme better. But... Just look at the lands up there, just look at them. I'm sure you're fine with them now I would really love to hear which lands you think are the best for this deck!
The Dirty Business:
This strategy doesn't synergy strongly with my general, but there is definitely some. First of all stealing my opponents' creatures allows me to keep their board relatively free of large things. This allows thraximundar!! to swing in uninterrupted and do some damage. Also, a large drawback with Aikido (reactive, utilizing opponent resources) decks is that if your opponents also play reactively, or just don't do anything at all, Aikido decks are also useless. Thraximundar!! fixes this problem somewhat. If my opponents have nothing, he goes in.
The deck also runs a gravepact sub-theme and some token generators. This makes sense because I already have a bunch of sac outlets, and this allows me to better keep my opponents' boards free of creatures.
In the commander precons, the wizards released this broken piece of crap called Homeward Path, which allows decks of any colour to wreck my strategies. As a result I was forced to jam a few colourless land-busting lands in my tri-colour deck that already needs fixing. So far homeward hasn't been a big problem for me because of that, but we'll see.
Decklist:
1x Thraximundar
Stealing Stuff
1x Aura Thief
1x Blatant Thievery
1x Breaking/Entering
1x Bribery
1x Control Magic
1x Dominus of Fealty
1x Gilded Drake
1x Desertion
1x Helm of Possession
1x Keiga, the Tide Star
1x Molten Primordial
1x Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1x Olivia Voldaren
1x Reins of Power
1x Roil Elemental
1x Treachery
1x Sower of Temptation
1x Word of Seizing
Sac Outlets
1x Ashnod's Altar
1x Attrition
1x Culling Dias
1x Goblin Bombardment
1x Greater Gargadon
1x Phyrexian Altar
1x Spawning Pit
Mana Ramp/Fix
1x Coalition Relic
1x Gem of Becoming
1x Journeyer's Kite
1x Sol Ring
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Consecrated Sphinx
1x Cruel Ultimatum
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Recurring Insight
1x Rhystic Study
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Skullclamp
Tutors
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Diabolic Intent
Gravepact/Tokens Sub-Theme
1x Butcher of Malakir
1x Bloodghast
1x Bitterblossom
1x Fleshbag Marauder
1x Grave Pact
1x Grave Titan
1x Nim Deathmantle
1x Rapacious One
1x Reassembling Skeleton
1x Siege-Gang Commander
Removals
1x Barter in Blood
1x Chaos Warp
1x Decree of Pain
1x Blasphemous Act
1x Oblivion Stone
1x Damnation
Other Utility
1x Rakdos Charm
1x Spell Crumple
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Rooftop Storm
1x Cascade Bluffs
1x Graven Cairns
1x Sunken Ruins
1x Dragonskull Summit
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Blood Crypt
1x Watery Grave
1x Steam Vents
1x Polluted Delta
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Scalding Tarn
7x Island
4x Mountain
4x Swamp
1x Command Tower
1x Crumbling Necropolis
1x Reflecting Pool
1x Strip Mine
1x Tectonic Edge
1x Reliquary Tower
1x High Market (sac outlet)
1x Phyrexian Tower (sac outlet)
1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1x Bojuka Bog
1x Kher Keep
Deckstat:
Creatures: 18
Sorceries: 11
Instants: 7
Enchantments: 10
Artifacts: 14
Planeswalkers: 2
Lands: 38
Watchlist
Chromeshell Crab: Its nice to be able to steal at instant speed, but a total of 8 mana commitment is just way too high.
Bribery, Word of Seizing, Culling dias: In as soon as I acquire.
I really can't think of many more, this is where you come in!!
How can you help me?:
In this deck I'm trying to put in the best theft effects I can find. There are some cards in the deck that I think are weaker (olivia voldaren, confiscate etc.) and plan to replace as soon as I find better alternatives. But I just can't come up with any. Would appreciate suggestions on that!!
Thanks for reading my deck tech, please leave your comments! Also check my other lists in the series if you're interested!
Word of Seizing is incredible. Again, Split Second works wonders, and Threatening any permanent at instant speed is just awesome - I know you're less excited about Threaten effects, but IMHO this one is way too good to pass up. Steal fully charged Walkers all day!
CommanderEDH Decks:CommanderEDH DecksWULavinia of the Blinking TenthUW RGURiku the Epic Experimenter’s StormUGR UBRThrax and his Super FriendsRBU RWUZedruu the Hard HeartedUWR
WBU Zur the UnstoppableUBW
Voodoo: Ya Cruel Ultimatum is in there as a weak attempt at the grixis flavour. Will take it out for a better card. I will put in Bribery when I get one. About mass removal I have the habit of putting around 4-5 of them in each deck. This deck has starstorm, oblivion stone, and blasphemous act. However I do consider reins of power and insurrection to be psuedo board wipes because I usually have sac outlets on the field. Do you think I should run more than that? PLease let me know. THank you!
You are a lot like me and I am proud to be a Canadian with you
You'll have 10 you say?
Thanks again!
Deadboots: I kind of understand where he/she is coming from. Cruel Ultimatum 's drawback side only hits one person and it is quite mana intensive. Often times it'll be my only play for an entire turn. However, the bonus side is very very nice, getting five cards for one is amazing, and the life swing is icing on the cake. Some times it's also great to be able to set the leading player back a bit.
I will definitely test this card out and see how it is for me. Appreciate the comments!
PM'd.
Also made a few updates to the deck due to arrival of new shipment. Gilded drake and hall of the bandit lord(edit: nvm just realized that's redundant) for now!
RG Werewolves RG
It that Betrays is so so much better. Nothing beats the look on your opponent's eye when he realise his Crucible of World / Strip Mine only results in land destruction for him.
You got to try outGather Specimens. Just start practising for evil laughter you respond to your opponent kicking Rites of Replication on a Primeval Titan or Living Death with this gem.
The only colour with a 99/99
Signature by Spongy Pengwin
UBR: Sedris
Gather Speciemens can be hilarious. Another card i'm thinking about is spelljack. What do you think about these two?
Sure, he's hardly mana efficient, requiring a total investment of 14 mana to steal just one permanent(7 to cast him, then another 7 to change a permanent into an artifact and swipe it), but if your opponent cant get rid of him you can steal something every single turn. Even if memnarch is destroyed you still retain control of everything you stole with him.
Enslave is a better mind control. For one extra mana it slowly pings away at your opponents life total. Though one life a turn in edh is'nt much, it's still a nice little bonus.
Fool's demise has always been one of my favourite stealing effects. Ok so the creature has to die first, but your playing black and you've got thraximundar as your general. Should'nt be too hard. The fact that you get the enchantment back afterwards to steal another creature is why I love it so. If you need to keep one of your own dudes alive then just stick it on them instead. your opponent will kill it and it will come right back.
A nasty little combo- put fools demise on Keiga, the tide star and sac it to ashnods altar. Get a creature plus 2 mana, use that mana to help cast fools demise on Keiga again. Rinse and repeat as may times as you can each turn.
Also, I know you dont like one turn threaten effects but another instant speed one is act of aggression. Stealing an opponents creature mid combat and using it to block another attacking creature, killing both of them, is always fun.
Slave of bolas solves the problem of other threaten effects by not letting your opponent have their creature back afterwards.
Grimgrin, corpse-born is another sac outlet. He also functions much like thraximundar himself, killing creatures and getting bigger whenever he attacks.
Adding fire automatically makes everything awesome.
And thanks, I really do love lands!
You can steal every creature on the board with Rooftop Storm and your general. Of course if you ever lose your Rooftop Storm, Thrax is going to be a bit expensive... With that said you can even Bombard the table out with Rooftop and your General. Or generate infinite colorless mana with Rooftop and General - Phrexian Altar might be something to consider over Ashnod's as that way you can cast anything you want.Have you considered Gravecrawler,
that would give you an alternative over saccing your General over and over.It would only cost 1 black mana each time and with things like Goblin Bombardment you could essentially split every black mana you have into tiny targetable pings.**Edit**
I realized that you have to pay additional costs for you General everytime. Oh well with Rooftop out the crawler is still buff.