It still needs work, but I found that in general, the lower power often meant that the CMC was a bit more advantageous for the creatures, which then became a benefit when Doran was on the field.
I usually play against 2 friends, and we see a lot of creature heavy decks, and thus far this has remained fairly competitive. We don't use a banned list (but nobody has gotten out of hand, and we don't use proxies), and have house ruled that it takes 20 counters to kill a player.
In laying it all out, I'm a bit iffy on the mana base, as additions have made it a little more "comes into play tapped" heavy than I normally like. Creature heavy as we play, I should probably try to pack in some more mass removal, and while I believe I'll find a home for a few Innistrad cards in the coming weeks, the orders I put in with my usual shop probably won't arrive until next week, so they've yet to make the roster.
The equipment can provide some survivability (above and beyond the natural rattlesnake'esque powers of wither/infect style creatures, minimizing people's interest in potentially hamstringing their bigger creatures) while stabilizing, and once Doran hits the field, they become extremely cheap ways of making even smaller creatures pack a punch. A Tangle Angler becomes pretty nasty with nothing more than a shield on it.
Hot sauce. Like I said in the other thread, straight up infect is really sexy.
A few suggestions:
It looks like you could benefit from Reveillark, Sun Titan or both. Both make terriffic top decks in any kind of Doran aggro, really. And along those same lines, Debtor's Knell is never a miss in these colors.
I like how the equips are specially selected for this deck. There are just certain equips/enhance that I always play in every aggro EDH deck, for power alone. Umezawa's Jitte, Swords of Choice, etc. They might replace a shield or a fireshrieker or something, and of course, throw a Stoneforge in there if you have it. Elspeth Knight-Errant and Angelic Destiny are also cards I tend to value highly in white aggro, whether vultron or swarm. Shade's Form also seems fairly comparable to Untamed Might, less surprise, less damage up-front, but most of the time more powerful at the end of the day.
There are certainly tons of benefits for this high of a creature density, but added gas will probably serve you just as well or better in long games. Along the lines of the Oversold Cemetery you already have, Hibernation's End is pure steam, and Lurking Predators is super popular too. For general draw, Sylvan Library and Phyrexian Arena go into just about every multiplayer deck I own in these colors, as would Necropotence if I had one. And for density, you might benefit from more selection out of your deck, like through Congregation at Dawn, Green Sun's Zenith, Proclamation of Rebirth, Defense of the Heart, Eladamri's Call, Chord of Callingetc. Tooth and Nail is good, so are these, and you can rarely go wrong by adding those that are card neutral or better. You'd be able to play Skitheryx and Blightsteel much more consistently, or hit early drops if that's what the situation calls for.
If your meta is creature heavy, the sweeps you're looking for are more in the vein of the Retribution of the Meek that you already have. Meekstone, Solar Tide and Austere Command are cards that you'd be getting the better of far and away. Huge amounts of value there. Meekstone is my personal favorite, as it's Sun Titan's best friend.
Otherwise, there's just general goodstuff, play it if you have it. Nether Void, Gaddock Teeg, Hokori, Dust Drinker, Winter Orb, Armageddon and it's ilk, etc. are things I usually play whenever I can in aggro, but they're primarily to stop control. I also tend to play No Mercy, Ghostly Prison in decks where I tend to step out and take an early lead, since you will generally be playing against all opponents in concert when you have your good draws.
Overall, Doran looks like one of the best infect generals out there. Super fun to just steamroll with.
I have a Sun Titan and will definitely consider him as an addition, but I've yet to procure a Reveillark or Debtors' Knell (though I've been keeping an eye on both on ebay for some time now).
My Swords of ___ and ___ all have a home in my Rafiq deck, but they did once sit in this one. Sadly, I lack a Jitte and doubt I'll be able to justify one in the near future.
Shade's form is definitely something to ponder. I agree that it reduces the "surprise, you thought you'd survive, but now you're dead!" element, but the recursion included in the enchantment gives it Totem Armour'esque power.
I'll definitely give some thought to your other suggestions (some I own, like Solar Tide, Austere Command and No Mercy, they're just in other decks at the moment), some I'll have to look into snagging, but the effort is sincerely appreciated.
Glad to see I'm not the only one who likes having a general that breaks some cardinal rules at the helm of a nasty mechanic.
Definitely has potential, thanks for the suggestion, I'll have to keep an eye out for one. Even with a 20 counter requirement, that could let me off a player early and very cheaply.
Invigorate has potential, but I do like the X pump as a potential finisher, not just for me, but for mucking between other players. With a Mirari's Wake in play, throwing out a beefy Untamed Might to let one player do my dirty work has helped in the past.
Order of Whiteclay are awesome, but the deck lacks cheap non-attacking methods of tapping them consistently. I used to have a Cleric deck built that abused Master Apothecary (among other things) and had very few creatures that cost more than 3 to really put those Whiteclay folks to work.
This deck seems like a lot of fun, and I'm building one for myself; a few possible suggestions: Necroskitter for a little bit of control/opponent creature recursion when they die. It seems to go well with an infect theme and essentially a 4/4 for 3 with Doran out could be good as well. Indomitable Ancients can be a one-shot with anything that gives it infect, plus it's essentially a 10/10 for 4 with Doran out, putting them on an effective 4 turn clock without infect.
I keep wanting to go a bit more treefolk themed with this, but I really like this list and want to see how it plays out.
Remove the Birds of Paradise. In a normal 60 card constructed deck he is excellent, but in EDH those first 3-4 turns do not dictate the game, which nullifies his tempo advantage. Since you deck is not designed to be that fast, replace him with something that does not die to wrath effects and will give you an advantage that will last.
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1 Doran, the Siege Tower
Infectious Creatures/generators
1 Glistener Elf
1 Necropede
1 Plague Myr
1 Ichorclaw Myr
1 Plague Stinger
1 Blight Mamba
1 Flensermite
1 Contagious Nim
1 Cystbearer
1 Priests of Norn
1 Rot Wolf
1 Septic Rats
1 Whispering Specter
1 Viridian Corrupter
1 Phyrexian Crusader
1 Core Prowler
1 Corpse Cur
1 Hand of the Praetors
1 Blightwidow
1 Tangle Angler
1 Phyrexian Vatmother
1 Reaper of Sheoldred
1 Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
1 Spinebiter
1 Phyrexian Swarmlord
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Retribution of the Meek
1 Damnation
Proliferators
1 Contagion Clasp
1 Contagion Engine
Tutoring
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Liliana Vess
1 Stonehewer Giant
1 Tooth and Nail
Mana Fixing / Acceleration
1 Sol Ring
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Sylvan Scrying
1 Pale Recluse
1 Fertile Ground
1 Manalith
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Krosan Tusker
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
Equipment
1 Accorder's Shield
1 Kite Shield
1 Slagwurm Armor
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Nim Deathmantle
1 Trailblazer's Boots
1 Lashwrithe
1 Fireshrieker
1 Ensouled Scimitar
1 Grafted Exoskeleton
1 Oversold Cemetary
1 Forgotten Ancient
1 Norn's Annex
1 Glory
1 Untamed Might
1 Aura Shards
Land
1 Vivid Grove
1 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Yavimaya Hollow
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Tainted Wood
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Mirrodin's Core
1 Shimmering Grotto
1 Gavony Township
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
1 Marsh Flats
1 Tainted Field
1 Orzhov Basilica
6 Plains
8 Forest
10 Swamp
It still needs work, but I found that in general, the lower power often meant that the CMC was a bit more advantageous for the creatures, which then became a benefit when Doran was on the field.
I usually play against 2 friends, and we see a lot of creature heavy decks, and thus far this has remained fairly competitive. We don't use a banned list (but nobody has gotten out of hand, and we don't use proxies), and have house ruled that it takes 20 counters to kill a player.
In laying it all out, I'm a bit iffy on the mana base, as additions have made it a little more "comes into play tapped" heavy than I normally like. Creature heavy as we play, I should probably try to pack in some more mass removal, and while I believe I'll find a home for a few Innistrad cards in the coming weeks, the orders I put in with my usual shop probably won't arrive until next week, so they've yet to make the roster.
The equipment can provide some survivability (above and beyond the natural rattlesnake'esque powers of wither/infect style creatures, minimizing people's interest in potentially hamstringing their bigger creatures) while stabilizing, and once Doran hits the field, they become extremely cheap ways of making even smaller creatures pack a punch. A Tangle Angler becomes pretty nasty with nothing more than a shield on it.
Changelog:
-1 Surestrike Trident +1 Lashwrithe
-1 Bonehoard +1 Aura Shards
-1 Elfhame Palace +1 Mirrodin's Core
-1 Arctic Flats +1 Gavony Township
-1 Greypelt Refuge +1 Shimmering Grotto
WCommander EeshaBDrana, Kalastria BloodchiefBGGlissa, the TraitorBWVish Kal, Blood ArbiterRUNin, the Pain Artist
UGEdric, Spymaster of TrestWRBasandra, Battle SeraphBGWDoran, the Siege TowerBGWGhave, Guru of Spores
RGWUril, the MiststalkerGUBThe MimeoplasmUWGRafiq of the ManyWUBRGSliver Overlord
A few suggestions:
It looks like you could benefit from Reveillark, Sun Titan or both. Both make terriffic top decks in any kind of Doran aggro, really. And along those same lines, Debtor's Knell is never a miss in these colors.
I like how the equips are specially selected for this deck. There are just certain equips/enhance that I always play in every aggro EDH deck, for power alone. Umezawa's Jitte, Swords of Choice, etc. They might replace a shield or a fireshrieker or something, and of course, throw a Stoneforge in there if you have it. Elspeth Knight-Errant and Angelic Destiny are also cards I tend to value highly in white aggro, whether vultron or swarm. Shade's Form also seems fairly comparable to Untamed Might, less surprise, less damage up-front, but most of the time more powerful at the end of the day.
There are certainly tons of benefits for this high of a creature density, but added gas will probably serve you just as well or better in long games. Along the lines of the Oversold Cemetery you already have, Hibernation's End is pure steam, and Lurking Predators is super popular too. For general draw, Sylvan Library and Phyrexian Arena go into just about every multiplayer deck I own in these colors, as would Necropotence if I had one. And for density, you might benefit from more selection out of your deck, like through Congregation at Dawn, Green Sun's Zenith, Proclamation of Rebirth, Defense of the Heart, Eladamri's Call, Chord of Callingetc. Tooth and Nail is good, so are these, and you can rarely go wrong by adding those that are card neutral or better. You'd be able to play Skitheryx and Blightsteel much more consistently, or hit early drops if that's what the situation calls for.
If your meta is creature heavy, the sweeps you're looking for are more in the vein of the Retribution of the Meek that you already have. Meekstone, Solar Tide and Austere Command are cards that you'd be getting the better of far and away. Huge amounts of value there. Meekstone is my personal favorite, as it's Sun Titan's best friend.
Otherwise, there's just general goodstuff, play it if you have it. Nether Void, Gaddock Teeg, Hokori, Dust Drinker, Winter Orb, Armageddon and it's ilk, etc. are things I usually play whenever I can in aggro, but they're primarily to stop control. I also tend to play No Mercy, Ghostly Prison in decks where I tend to step out and take an early lead, since you will generally be playing against all opponents in concert when you have your good draws.
Overall, Doran looks like one of the best infect generals out there. Super fun to just steamroll with.
___________________
Standard
UWR Midrange RWU
EDH
WUB[Riddle of the Etherium Gods - Sharuum the Hegemon]BUW
I have a Sun Titan and will definitely consider him as an addition, but I've yet to procure a Reveillark or Debtors' Knell (though I've been keeping an eye on both on ebay for some time now).
My Swords of ___ and ___ all have a home in my Rafiq deck, but they did once sit in this one. Sadly, I lack a Jitte and doubt I'll be able to justify one in the near future.
Shade's form is definitely something to ponder. I agree that it reduces the "surprise, you thought you'd survive, but now you're dead!" element, but the recursion included in the enchantment gives it Totem Armour'esque power.
I'll definitely give some thought to your other suggestions (some I own, like Solar Tide, Austere Command and No Mercy, they're just in other decks at the moment), some I'll have to look into snagging, but the effort is sincerely appreciated.
Glad to see I'm not the only one who likes having a general that breaks some cardinal rules at the helm of a nasty mechanic.
With Doran out it's (effectively) a 4/4 Vigilance Infector for 3.
WCommander EeshaBDrana, Kalastria BloodchiefBGGlissa, the TraitorBWVish Kal, Blood ArbiterRUNin, the Pain Artist
UGEdric, Spymaster of TrestWRBasandra, Battle SeraphBGWDoran, the Siege TowerBGWGhave, Guru of Spores
RGWUril, the MiststalkerGUBThe MimeoplasmUWGRafiq of the ManyWUBRGSliver Overlord
DECKS
Ertai | Squee | Roon | Aurelia
USEFUL RESOURCES
Commander Decklist Database
Statistical breakdown of the commander metagame
50 Commanders / 50 Decks
27 Colors / 27 Decks
Also, consider Order of White Clay for some recursion, as well as Juniper Order Druid, since pump is stupid good with infect.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Definitely has potential, thanks for the suggestion, I'll have to keep an eye out for one. Even with a 20 counter requirement, that could let me off a player early and very cheaply.
Invigorate has potential, but I do like the X pump as a potential finisher, not just for me, but for mucking between other players. With a Mirari's Wake in play, throwing out a beefy Untamed Might to let one player do my dirty work has helped in the past.
Order of Whiteclay are awesome, but the deck lacks cheap non-attacking methods of tapping them consistently. I used to have a Cleric deck built that abused Master Apothecary (among other things) and had very few creatures that cost more than 3 to really put those Whiteclay folks to work.
Again, thanks for the suggestions!
WCommander EeshaBDrana, Kalastria BloodchiefBGGlissa, the TraitorBWVish Kal, Blood ArbiterRUNin, the Pain Artist
UGEdric, Spymaster of TrestWRBasandra, Battle SeraphBGWDoran, the Siege TowerBGWGhave, Guru of Spores
RGWUril, the MiststalkerGUBThe MimeoplasmUWGRafiq of the ManyWUBRGSliver Overlord
Necroskitter for a little bit of control/opponent creature recursion when they die. It seems to go well with an infect theme and essentially a 4/4 for 3 with Doran out could be good as well.
Indomitable Ancients can be a one-shot with anything that gives it infect, plus it's essentially a 10/10 for 4 with Doran out, putting them on an effective 4 turn clock without infect.
I keep wanting to go a bit more treefolk themed with this, but I really like this list and want to see how it plays out.
BGW Doran, the Siege Tower BGW
URG Animar, Combo Player URG (needs updating)
WBR Kaalia of the Vast WBR
Travelers Amulet, Wayfarer's Bauble, Horizon Spellbomb, Expedition Map, and/or Armillary Sphere could replace Krosan Tusker and Pale Recluse. They are good creatures, but you are not packing a great deal of grave recursion which reduces what makes these cards effective in commander.
Remove the Birds of Paradise. In a normal 60 card constructed deck he is excellent, but in EDH those first 3-4 turns do not dictate the game, which nullifies his tempo advantage. Since you deck is not designed to be that fast, replace him with something that does not die to wrath effects and will give you an advantage that will last.