Hey everybody. This is my Sharuum the Hegemon deck that I've been meaning to post for some time now, but never got to it. Its my go-to EDH/Commander deck.
As the name implies, I built this deck with one thing in mind: Versatility. I wanted a deck that could survive almost any situation that was thrown at it and still be able to perform admirably. As such, the deck plays like the usual control deck; slowly build up your resources, stop your opponents early threats, then win with your own large threats. But it also utilizes the incredible synergy that artifact-based decks can provide. Versatility and Synergy: these two things, when combined, form the ultimate Control-Combo deck.
I don't include any infinite combos in the maindeck, but I side them in depending on the people I'm playing against. Reason being that some people in my LGS don't care if I use them, while others hate them with a passion. I want to make the experience as fun for everyone as possible.
I change the deck very frequently, but I'll try to update the OP as often as possible. So without further ado, the deck.
These are some cards which I'm having trouble deciding whether to put in or take out.
Spine of Ish Sah: Repeatable Vindicate's are nice, but even with Phyrexia's Core its a lot of mana to dedicate to. Plus there are very few things that I can't already take out with the capsule's. But it does take out pesky lands.
Path to Exile and Swords to Plowshares: I like to have as many things repeatable as I can. But I suppose its more of a "why not" scenario.
Unwinding Clock: It seems cute but most of the time it only untaps like 2-4 artifacts, most of which are creatures. Stuff like Thran Dynamo and Dreamstone Hedron are pretty useless to untap during my opponents untap step, considering I have no colorless instants. The only use I see is to add blockers, but I usually don't attack with many creatures anyway.
Mirrorworks: It usually gets destroyed before I can use it, and it wants a ton of mana to be useful. Plus most of the things I want to copy cost a lot of mana anyways. But its ridiculous when I have the available mana.
Ancestral Vision: Card draw is always good, but I feel like this spot could be taken up by a more useful card. This would probably be the first card I would take out if I had to choose.
Vedalken Orrery vs. Shimmer Myr: I've been having a tough time with this recently. On one hand the Orrery lets me cast stuff like Akroma's Vengeance at the end of my opponents turn, which is huge. On the other hand Shimmer Myr itself can be cast at instant speed, costs less, and is searchable by Sphinx Summoner. But being a creature does make it more susceptible to removal. I'm beginning to lean towards the Myr, since most of the stuff I would want to cast at instant speed are artifacts anyway.
Thousand-Year Elixir: So far there are only three creatures in my deck with tap abilities, but they are easily searchable. And being able to immediately use Master Transmuter might be good enough to warrant an inclusion.
Pull from Eternity: I don't like to use one-shot cards unless they do something really worthwhile. Getting back just one exiled card doesn't seem worthwhile to me.
Sweet deck! Definately a little more potent my mine, but a little less budget too
Mirrorworks has been a bomb for me. No doubt, it's why it gets blown up for you. Helps if you can abuse it (and even play it) on your opponents turn, so keep Vedalken Orrery and Shimmer Myr in and perhaps even include Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir as another option.
I've been told that Thousand-Year Elixir is worth the include, even if the only tapper you got is Master Transmuter. My experiance tends to agree. Having more options definately helps and perhaps Voltaic Key is the more appropriate choice, but why settle for 1 when you can have 2?
Feel free to check out my decklist (in my sig) for more ideas and what I've done. I did go combo, but you mentioned that you sideboard combo, so you may find some sweet additions there.
Cheers
I've gotta wonder about Dreamstone Hedron. I recently pulled it from my decklist as it was too mana intensive to begin abusing. Is this guy really worth the include? (not sure myself and am really on the fence about this guy).
A tip of the hat goes to you for running Scourglass. Most think its underwhelming, but at instant speed, it's a sweet deadly card. Glad you have it.
I've gotta wonder about Dreamstone Hedron. I recently pulled it from my decklist as it was too mana intensive to begin abusing. Is this guy really worth the include? (not sure myself and am really on the fence about this guy).
A tip of the hat goes to you for running Scourglass. Most think its underwhelming, but at instant speed, it's a sweet deadly card. Glad you have it.
Thanks for your reply! I'll be sure to check your deck list as well.
I can understand your ambivalence towards Dreamstone Hedron. At first it would seem like a worse Thran Dynamo but I mainly use it because its recurrable card draw. Its also searchable by Treasure Mage. But I might think it over and just run Mind Stone instead. Its just that late game when its in the graveyard, its a very appealing target for Sharuum.
Scourglass has been very good to me. You'd be surprised how many people don't blow it up or counter it. I guess they see no point since I can just bring it back. Plus it save their mana artifacts which most board wipes don't do.
Mirrorworks is one of the last things I would cut. It gets blown up, but that's because it can take over the game on its own. It's an absolute house.
Unwinding Clock is still something I need to try, but I've got Leyline of Anticipation alongside both Vedalken Orrery and Shimmer Myr in Hanna, so it seems stronger. Untapping your mana stones is better when you can use that to immediately drop more threats.
I used to run Kuldotha Forgemaster, but that was back when I had a bunch of token makers like Myr Battlesphere and Thopter Foundry to make it efficient. But I suppose I could look it over again. It would give me more of a reason to run Thousand-Year Elixir anyway. I'll do some testing.
Looks like a fun enough list without going combo. It seems a little light on the beaters though seeing as that's the main wincon.
I've actually been thinking about it a lot lately and may run 1-2 infinite combos maindeck. Winning with beaters just isn't my playstyle and I don't have as much fun with the deck when its built that way. I'll think about it some more and update the OP when I've made my final decision.
Also, do you guys think I should run more counterspells? The deck has been having a tough time answering threats lately and I think that may be the reason why.
You may also need a sac outlet, read: Krark-Clan Ironworks I think you'll find the ironworks appeasing to avoiding Control Magic effects.
Look at the following for ideas on things to try:
[card]
Wash Out
Enigma Sphinx
Blightsteel Colossus
Darksteel Colossus
Day of Judgement
Damnation
Sanctum Plowbeast
Wrath of God
Darksteel Forge
Diabolic Tutor
Vampiric Tutor
Beeseech the Queen
Etherium Sculpter
Cloud Key
Future Sight
Magus of the Future Sol Ring
Capsize
[/card]
Even if aggro-beatdown is a main strategy, you can set up removal by playing key combo pieces. If you want to control the game, then you can try to do so with counters that cost more and give you the spell OR you could just counter them outright. The latter will save you mana, allowing you to do fun things, like that Vedalkan Orrery+Akroma's Vengeance. Just some thoughts on reducing cost, and adding an alternate win con.
Updated OP. Sorry its been so long guys, but I've recently been having mixed feelings about the deck in general, and am considering taking it apart. The reason being that I just can't bear to play the deck knowing that its not living up to its fullest potential. But at the same time, I know that if I make the deck as strong as can be, I just upset people I play against and that's an even worse feeling.
As crazy as this sounds, I treat my decks like my children; I can't bear to watch them grow knowing that they aren't living up to their fullest potential. And as heart-warming as it is to see that everyone else at the table is having a great time, nobody should sacrifice all of their fun just so everyone else can have a good time. Its all about finding a balance. And lately, this deck is making it really difficult to find that balance.
Long story short: I'm having trouble finding a balance between making the deck as good as it can be, but at the same time making it fun for everybody.
Unless anybody wants to try and convince me otherwise, I'll probably end up taking apart the deck, as painful as it is. Thoughts?
Updated OP. Sorry its been so long guys, but I've recently been having mixed feelings about the deck in general, and am considering taking it apart. The reason being that I just can't bear to play the deck knowing that its not living up to its fullest potential. But at the same time, I know that if I make the deck as strong as can be, I just upset people I play against and that's an even worse feeling.
As crazy as this sounds, I treat my decks like my children; I can't bear to watch them grow knowing that they aren't living up to their fullest potential. And as heart-warming as it is to see that everyone else at the table is having a great time, nobody should sacrifice all of their fun just so everyone else can have a good time. Its all about finding a balance. And lately, this deck is making it really difficult to find that balance.
Long story short: I'm having trouble finding a balance between making the deck as good as it can be, but at the same time making it fun for everybody.
Unless anybody wants to try and convince me otherwise, I'll probably end up taking apart the deck, as painful as it is. Thoughts?
I completely understand where you're coming from. My group started playing EDH years ago when the tier 1 decks were unknown and the metagame wasn't well defined at all so we just picked generals we thought would be fun. However we all try to make the best deck possible and as it turned out 2 of my generals, Zur and Jhoira, turned out to be much more powerful than I initially had though. So powerful that they made the games unfun and ultimately I ended up dismantling them because of this. My friend ran into the same issue with Azami & Sharuum. Optimized builds of these generals just turn into Archenemy which isn't why we play EDH so he dismantled those as well. Nowadays we try and carefully select our generals to make sure they aren't going to be too good when we optimize the decks, for example I chose Dosan the Falling Leaf as my monogreen general when I knew there were clearly superior generals I could have chosen. My advice, painful as it might be, would be to dismantle the deck and mail me all the money cards so you don't have to look at them anymore.
Updated OP. Sorry its been so long guys, but I've recently been having mixed feelings about the deck in general, and am considering taking it apart. The reason being that I just can't bear to play the deck knowing that its not living up to its fullest potential. But at the same time, I know that if I make the deck as strong as can be, I just upset people I play against and that's an even worse feeling.
As crazy as this sounds, I treat my decks like my children; I can't bear to watch them grow knowing that they aren't living up to their fullest potential. And as heart-warming as it is to see that everyone else at the table is having a great time, nobody should sacrifice all of their fun just so everyone else can have a good time. Its all about finding a balance. And lately, this deck is making it really difficult to find that balance.
Long story short: I'm having trouble finding a balance between making the deck as good as it can be, but at the same time making it fun for everybody.
Unless anybody wants to try and convince me otherwise, I'll probably end up taking apart the deck, as painful as it is. Thoughts?
If you and your group aren't enjoying the deck, pull it apart. EDH is all about the social interaction. If your deck is hindering that, you're better off dismantling it and finding something that fits better for everyone. Otherwise you end up not playing the deck, playing games that people don't really enjoy, or don't get asked to play.
With the number of available generals, you shouldn't have a problem finding something you love that you can build to full potential without forfeiting a good group dynamic.
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As the name implies, I built this deck with one thing in mind: Versatility. I wanted a deck that could survive almost any situation that was thrown at it and still be able to perform admirably. As such, the deck plays like the usual control deck; slowly build up your resources, stop your opponents early threats, then win with your own large threats. But it also utilizes the incredible synergy that artifact-based decks can provide. Versatility and Synergy: these two things, when combined, form the ultimate Control-Combo deck.
I don't include any infinite combos in the maindeck, but I side them in depending on the people I'm playing against. Reason being that some people in my LGS don't care if I use them, while others hate them with a passion. I want to make the experience as fun for everyone as possible.
I change the deck very frequently, but I'll try to update the OP as often as possible. So without further ado, the deck.
1 Sharuum the Hegemon
Artifact Creatures: 11
1 Master Transmuter
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Ethersworn Adjudicator
1 Duplicant
1 Sphinx Summoner
1 Inkwell Leviathan
1 Scarecrone
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Sanctum Gargoyle
1 Solemn Simulacrum
Non-Artifact Creatures: 4
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Indomitable Archangel
1 Treasure Mage
1 Trinket Mage
Non-Creature Artifacts: 22
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Vedalken Orrery
1 Dreamstone Hedron
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Pithing Needle
1 Executioner's Capsule
1 Dispeller's Capsule
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Voltaic Key
1 Expedition Map
1 Mirrorworks
1 Darksteel Forge
1 Mimic Vat
1 Mindslaver
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Scourglass
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Commandeer
1 Hinder
1 Faerie Trickery
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Path to Exile
Sorceries: 9
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Fabricate
1 Reshape
1 Praetor's Grasp
1 Ancestral Vision
1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Akroma's Vengeance
1 Austere Command
1 Black Sun's Zenith
Enchantments: 2
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Artificer's Intuition
Planeswalkers: 3
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Liliana Vess
Lands: 38
2 Plains
5 Island
3 Swamp
1 Mystic Gate
1 Sunken Ruins
1 Fetid Heath
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Drowned Catacombs
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Sejiri Refuge
1 Jwar Isle Refuge
1 Seachrome Coast
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Godless Shrine
1 Vivid Meadow
1 Vivid Marsh
1 Marsh Flats
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Tolaria West
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Vault of Whispers
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Mystifying Maze
1 Phyrexia's Core
1 Academy Ruins
On the fence:
Spine of Ish Sah: Repeatable Vindicate's are nice, but even with Phyrexia's Core its a lot of mana to dedicate to. Plus there are very few things that I can't already take out with the capsule's. But it does take out pesky lands.
Path to Exile and Swords to Plowshares: I like to have as many things repeatable as I can. But I suppose its more of a "why not" scenario.
Unwinding Clock: It seems cute but most of the time it only untaps like 2-4 artifacts, most of which are creatures. Stuff like Thran Dynamo and Dreamstone Hedron are pretty useless to untap during my opponents untap step, considering I have no colorless instants. The only use I see is to add blockers, but I usually don't attack with many creatures anyway.
Mirrorworks: It usually gets destroyed before I can use it, and it wants a ton of mana to be useful. Plus most of the things I want to copy cost a lot of mana anyways. But its ridiculous when I have the available mana.
Ancestral Vision: Card draw is always good, but I feel like this spot could be taken up by a more useful card. This would probably be the first card I would take out if I had to choose.
Vedalken Orrery vs. Shimmer Myr: I've been having a tough time with this recently. On one hand the Orrery lets me cast stuff like Akroma's Vengeance at the end of my opponents turn, which is huge. On the other hand Shimmer Myr itself can be cast at instant speed, costs less, and is searchable by Sphinx Summoner. But being a creature does make it more susceptible to removal. I'm beginning to lean towards the Myr, since most of the stuff I would want to cast at instant speed are artifacts anyway.
Thousand-Year Elixir: So far there are only three creatures in my deck with tap abilities, but they are easily searchable. And being able to immediately use Master Transmuter might be good enough to warrant an inclusion.
Pull from Eternity: I don't like to use one-shot cards unless they do something really worthwhile. Getting back just one exiled card doesn't seem worthwhile to me.
Trying to obtain:
Hallowed Fountain and Watery Grave
Vivid Creek
Enlightened Tutor
Ancient Den
Coalition Relic
Karn Liberated
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Venser, the Sojourner
Crystal Shard
Mycosynth Lattice
Nevinyrral's Disk
Volrath's Stronghold
Glassdust Hulk
Update log:
5/15/11: Updated Trying to obtain list.
8/23/11: Obtained a Solemn Simulacrum, updated deck list.
UWU/W BlinkUW
BMono-Black ControlB
Commander:
GWUJenaraGWU
BGeth MBCB
RGXenagosRG
WUBSharuumWUB (retired)
Modern:
xAffinityx (starting)
Standard:
Ha! That's a good one.
Mirrorworks has been a bomb for me. No doubt, it's why it gets blown up for you. Helps if you can abuse it (and even play it) on your opponents turn, so keep Vedalken Orrery and Shimmer Myr in and perhaps even include Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir as another option.
I've been told that Thousand-Year Elixir is worth the include, even if the only tapper you got is Master Transmuter. My experiance tends to agree. Having more options definately helps and perhaps Voltaic Key is the more appropriate choice, but why settle for 1 when you can have 2?
Feel free to check out my decklist (in my sig) for more ideas and what I've done. I did go combo, but you mentioned that you sideboard combo, so you may find some sweet additions there.
Cheers
I've gotta wonder about Dreamstone Hedron. I recently pulled it from my decklist as it was too mana intensive to begin abusing. Is this guy really worth the include? (not sure myself and am really on the fence about this guy).
A tip of the hat goes to you for running Scourglass. Most think its underwhelming, but at instant speed, it's a sweet deadly card. Glad you have it.
| B Erebos, God of VampiresB | GYeva SmashG | RBosh ArtifactsR | GURAnimar +1 BeatsGUR | RBVial's Secret Hot SauceRB | UBRNekusar, Draw if you DareUBR | RGBDarigaaz'z DragonsRGB | GBSlimeFEETGB | UBOn-Hit LazavUB | URBrudiclad's Artificer InventionsUR | GUBMuldrotha's ElementalsGUB | WUGKestia's EnchantmentsWUG | GUTatyova - Draw, Land, Go!GU | WGArahbo's EquipmentWG | BUWVarina's ZOMBIE HORDESBUW | WLyra's Angelic SalvationW | WBChurch of TeysaWB | UAzami...WizardsU
Thanks for your reply! I'll be sure to check your deck list as well.
I can understand your ambivalence towards Dreamstone Hedron. At first it would seem like a worse Thran Dynamo but I mainly use it because its recurrable card draw. Its also searchable by Treasure Mage. But I might think it over and just run Mind Stone instead. Its just that late game when its in the graveyard, its a very appealing target for Sharuum.
Scourglass has been very good to me. You'd be surprised how many people don't blow it up or counter it. I guess they see no point since I can just bring it back. Plus it save their mana artifacts which most board wipes don't do.
UWU/W BlinkUW
BMono-Black ControlB
Commander:
GWUJenaraGWU
BGeth MBCB
RGXenagosRG
WUBSharuumWUB (retired)
Modern:
xAffinityx (starting)
Standard:
Ha! That's a good one.
Unwinding Clock is still something I need to try, but I've got Leyline of Anticipation alongside both Vedalken Orrery and Shimmer Myr in Hanna, so it seems stronger. Untapping your mana stones is better when you can use that to immediately drop more threats.
With all of your recursion, have you considered Kuldotha Forgemaster?
I used to run Kuldotha Forgemaster, but that was back when I had a bunch of token makers like Myr Battlesphere and Thopter Foundry to make it efficient. But I suppose I could look it over again. It would give me more of a reason to run Thousand-Year Elixir anyway. I'll do some testing.
UWU/W BlinkUW
BMono-Black ControlB
Commander:
GWUJenaraGWU
BGeth MBCB
RGXenagosRG
WUBSharuumWUB (retired)
Modern:
xAffinityx (starting)
Standard:
Ha! That's a good one.
Magister Sphinx? Or are you trying to stay away from that effect?
On the land side:
Ancient Den for one more artifact land.
Arcane Sanctum good budget 3-color fix.
Banner by Nakamura, Thanks!
EDH Math
EDH Decks:
BB Drana: Down with the Sickness
BWR Kaalia Punisher: Heaven's on Fire
I've actually been thinking about it a lot lately and may run 1-2 infinite combos maindeck. Winning with beaters just isn't my playstyle and I don't have as much fun with the deck when its built that way. I'll think about it some more and update the OP when I've made my final decision.
Also, do you guys think I should run more counterspells? The deck has been having a tough time answering threats lately and I think that may be the reason why.
UWU/W BlinkUW
BMono-Black ControlB
Commander:
GWUJenaraGWU
BGeth MBCB
RGXenagosRG
WUBSharuumWUB (retired)
Modern:
xAffinityx (starting)
Standard:
Ha! That's a good one.
Thopter Assembly+Time Sieve
Sharuum+Sculpting Steel+Disciple of the Vault
You may also need a sac outlet, read:
Krark-Clan Ironworks I think you'll find the ironworks appeasing to avoiding Control Magic effects.
Look at the following for ideas on things to try:
[card]
Wash Out
Enigma Sphinx
Blightsteel Colossus
Darksteel Colossus
Day of Judgement
Damnation
Sanctum Plowbeast
Wrath of God
Darksteel Forge
Diabolic Tutor
Vampiric Tutor
Beeseech the Queen
Etherium Sculpter
Cloud Key
Future Sight
Magus of the Future
Sol Ring
Capsize
[/card]
Even if aggro-beatdown is a main strategy, you can set up removal by playing key combo pieces. If you want to control the game, then you can try to do so with counters that cost more and give you the spell OR you could just counter them outright. The latter will save you mana, allowing you to do fun things, like that Vedalkan Orrery+Akroma's Vengeance. Just some thoughts on reducing cost, and adding an alternate win con.
EDH:
UBGMimeoplasm (Reanimator Control)
WGBURProgenitus (Dream Halls//Good Stuff)
RNorin, the Wary (Metaddited Gaka List)
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane Studios!
As crazy as this sounds, I treat my decks like my children; I can't bear to watch them grow knowing that they aren't living up to their fullest potential. And as heart-warming as it is to see that everyone else at the table is having a great time, nobody should sacrifice all of their fun just so everyone else can have a good time. Its all about finding a balance. And lately, this deck is making it really difficult to find that balance.
Long story short: I'm having trouble finding a balance between making the deck as good as it can be, but at the same time making it fun for everybody.
Unless anybody wants to try and convince me otherwise, I'll probably end up taking apart the deck, as painful as it is. Thoughts?
UWU/W BlinkUW
BMono-Black ControlB
Commander:
GWUJenaraGWU
BGeth MBCB
RGXenagosRG
WUBSharuumWUB (retired)
Modern:
xAffinityx (starting)
Standard:
Ha! That's a good one.
I completely understand where you're coming from. My group started playing EDH years ago when the tier 1 decks were unknown and the metagame wasn't well defined at all so we just picked generals we thought would be fun. However we all try to make the best deck possible and as it turned out 2 of my generals, Zur and Jhoira, turned out to be much more powerful than I initially had though. So powerful that they made the games unfun and ultimately I ended up dismantling them because of this. My friend ran into the same issue with Azami & Sharuum. Optimized builds of these generals just turn into Archenemy which isn't why we play EDH so he dismantled those as well. Nowadays we try and carefully select our generals to make sure they aren't going to be too good when we optimize the decks, for example I chose Dosan the Falling Leaf as my monogreen general when I knew there were clearly superior generals I could have chosen. My advice, painful as it might be, would be to dismantle the deck and mail me all the money cards so you don't have to look at them anymore.
If you and your group aren't enjoying the deck, pull it apart. EDH is all about the social interaction. If your deck is hindering that, you're better off dismantling it and finding something that fits better for everyone. Otherwise you end up not playing the deck, playing games that people don't really enjoy, or don't get asked to play.
With the number of available generals, you shouldn't have a problem finding something you love that you can build to full potential without forfeiting a good group dynamic.