Isperia's gametext is interesting, and provides card advantage in a controlling color combo that wants it most. She's also something of the "forgotten" tutor general: she may not be as consistent or bone-crushingly powerful as Sisay or Arcum, but she still has some nice synergies. The fact that she's extremely low budget makes her an outstanding option for a beginning EDH player. She can be tricky to use though: to capitalize on her ability we need three pieces of the puzzle to lock together:
1) She needs to connect with an opponent's jaw. This seems pretty obvious but needs to be mentioned. Flying should make it relatively easy for her to "get there", but Whispersilk Cloak, Steel of the Godhead, and Artful Dodge are all ways for her to sneak in past an enemy airforce. Tap effects are nice for getting past just one or two blockers; Feelings of Dread or Air Servant are good budget options.
2) We have to "win" the riddle game, guessing that card in our opponent's hands correctly. If you play against the same decks over and over you might end up being able to do this legitimately, and it becomes a nice way to punish tutor effects as well, but why play fair when you can cheat? How do we cheat? Well...
- Telepathy effects can let us see what's going on, either permanently or one-shot like with Peek and Gitaxian Probe.
- Bounce spells should let us sculpt opposing hands pretty easily.
- Library manipulation effects like Spin into Myth, Excommunicate, and Memory Lapse should let us know ahead of time what our opponents will be drawing.
3) We need a good range of fliers to fish for. We will want a mixture of big finishers, tool-box creatures, and interesting utility dorks for her to snag at a moment's notice depending on the board state.
The Isperia gameplan is good, but what else shall we do? Well, she lends herself well to control. If knowledge is power, than Isperia is a goddess! Knowing precisely what opponents will be casting, what they'll be drawing, what their next few turns look like, all mean that you can ration your counters accordingly.
Paths not taken: alternative ways to build the deck
Tribal: WU flier decks lend themselves well to tribal builds, especially spirits (Drogskol Captain, Angel of Flight Alabaster) and birds (Soulcatcher, Aven Brigadier). Those tribes have tribally appropriate commanders, but if you are wanting something new, wanting something with tutoring power and versatility, or perhaps just want to save $$$ (Geist of Saint Traft is pretty spendy nowadays) Isperia is a good alternative.
Pure Aggro: This deck is pretty controlling, ramping and countering to an early Isperia who then helps keep your hand full and tutors for various game-ending fatties. I think Isperia plays best this way, but there's an argument that you should instead capitalize on her propensity for bounce spells and cheap fliers and run a much more aggressive build, using Isperia as a sort of "super Ophidian" finisher at the top of a svelt curve. This build can still be pretty budget, using stuff like Zephyr Sprite, Cloud of Faeries, Spellstutter Sprite, Mistral Charger, and Stormfront Pegasus assisted by equipment and mass-pump effects like Spear of Heliod, Marshal's Anthem, Coastal Piracy, etc, although admittedly it'd prefer time warp effects to help pull ahead.
Flashy Sphinxes: It'd be great to be able to play entirely on your opponent's turns, and the current budget is low enough that Vedalken Orrery, Leyline of Anticipation, and Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir aren't out of the question so you can make that happen. Playing at instant speed would make your EtB critters better, and allow you to really abuse spells like Equilibrium.
Downgrading the deck:
Is $39 too rich for your blood? Do you want a challenge while you're playing? You can easily further budgetize this deck by opting for more "vanilla" fliers in place of the rares (Serra Angel, Snapping Drake, Voiceless Spirit) and for more "budget" walls like Wall of Air. There's also a truly outrageous amount of options for bounce and counterspells; you can cut some corners and save some money with cards like Cancel, Bone to Ash, Unsummon, Aether Tradewinds. I'd offer a word of caution, however: multiplayer commander favors power and card advantage over tempo and you are not an aggro deck, at least not really. If you begin replacing the multi-bounce/cantrip bounce/flashback bounce spells with 0-for-1 bounce spells, you'll really hurt the deck's overall power and may want to consider a more pure aggro approach with tons of cheap, offensive fliers. This deck's mana is actually a decent chunk of its cost, by the way: you can drop down to around $30 by just replacing Sejiri Refuge, Moorland Haunt, and Mistveil Plains with basics.
- The default list is pretty well primed to abuse Isochron Scepter, and you could easily make it even better at abusing it with the addition of stuff like Abeyance, Orim's Chant, Brainstorm, etc.
- This deck lacks sweepers; sweepers are expensive and contrary to a creature-heavy deck. But perfect knowledge of all your opponent's potential plays is a pretty powerful advantage to pair with sweeper effects like Austere Command, Wrath of God, Supreme Verdict, and Martial Coup.
- Some deterrents like Ghostly Prison or Propoganda wouldn't go amiss; stuff like Zur's Weirding is going to make you a huge target.
Hm, that deck seems awesome! I'd love to play against it sometime.
You could throw a Sphinx Ambassador in there too. It's a big flier and it also benefits from anything you might use to make Isperia connect. Cackling Counterpart is another pretty cool spell. I like it, at least.
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Commander:GB Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord (list) - U Talrand, Sky Summoner - GRU Maelstrom Wanderer
Hm, that deck seems awesome! I'd love to play against it sometime.
You could throw a Sphinx Ambassador in there too. It's a big flier and it also benefits from anything you might use to make Isperia connect. Cackling Counterpart is another pretty cool spell. I like it, at least.
Thanks! Sphinx Ambassador missed the list by that much. She's thematically appropriate, but is more money than my current curve-topping sphinxes without being clearly better. She's easy to kill for a 7-drop (Sphinx of Jwar Isle is resistant to removal), and she has to both survive a turn around the table AND connect AND you have to win a guessing game. Repeatable Bribery is obviously awesome, but that's a lot of "if" compared to the easy, immediate card advantage generated by Sphinx of Magosi and Uthuun.
Cackling Counterpart (and, for that matter, Rite of Replication and Phantasmal Image) would be a great adds, though. Lots and lots of EtB creatures to copy and abuse. I'm not sure what I'd cut but I'd imagine that Spy Network, Mistblade Shinobi, and Aethersnipe are currently the weakest links in the list.
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Sufferer of EDHD
Commander - Currently Playing: RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G) RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B) WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
I'm not sure what I'd cut but I'd imagine that Spy Network, Mistblade Shinobi, and Aethersnipe are currently the weakest links in the list.
I agree that the bounce effects are a little bit underwhelming.
If you're worried about creatures lacking any kind of protection, Neurok Stealthsuit might help a lot.
EDIT: I JUST REMEMBERED THE MOST AMUSING ISPERIA SUPPORT CARD EVER !!!1111ELEVEN!!!
But, seriously, I did.
Casting a Harm's Way on Isperia (even if she's blocked) and redirecting her combat damage to you will trigger her ability. This should result in you naming a card and revealing your own hand to show you don't have it, then searching your library for a creature card of your choice. The same works for Sphinx Ambassador.
EDIT: I JUST REMEMBERED THE MOST AMUSING ISPERIA SUPPORT CARD EVER !!!1111ELEVEN!!!
But, seriously, I did.
Casting a Harm's Way on Isperia (even if she's blocked) and redirecting her combat damage to you will trigger her ability. This should result in you naming a card and revealing your own hand to show you don't have it, then searching your library for a creature card of your choice. The same works for Sphinx Ambassador.
This sounds amazing but I'm not sure it works. Harm's Way says
"The next 2 damage that a source of your choice would deal to you and/or permanents you control this turn is dealt to target creature or player instead." Isperia isn't dealing damage to you pretty much ever, unless you pimp her out with Psionic Gift or something, and at any rate I think damage funneled through Harm's Way no longer counts as combat damage. I love me some Harm's Way but I'm not sure it cuts it in this list :(. Unless I'm reading things incorrectly?
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Sufferer of EDHD
Commander - Currently Playing: RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G) RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B) WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
This sounds amazing but I'm not sure it works. Harm's Way says
"The next 2 damage that a source of your choice would deal to you and/or permanents you control this turn is dealt to target creature or player instead." Isperia isn't dealing damage to you pretty much ever, unless you pimp her out with Psionic Gift or something, and at any rate I think damage funneled through Harm's Way no longer counts as combat damage. I love me some Harm's Way but I'm not sure it cuts it in this list :(. Unless I'm reading things incorrectly?
Ha, sorry.
My bad. But I was sure there was some card that allowed you to do this sort of insanity... I'll do a big gatherer search and post it here if I find it.
EDIT: Found it quicker than expected. It was not Harm's Way, it was Sivvi's Valor. Which is really kinda underwhelming because you have to deal yourself 3 damage to use it. Sorry....
There's also Carom,
Ha, sorry.
My bad. But I was sure there was some card that allowed you to do this sort of insanity... I'll do a big gatherer search and post it here if I find it.
EDIT: Found it quicker than expected. It was not Harm's Way, it was Sivvi's Valor. Which is really kinda underwhelming because you have to deal yourself 3 damage to use it. Sorry....
There's also Carom,
No worries, dude :). Happens to the best of us.
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Sufferer of EDHD
Commander - Currently Playing: RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G) RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B) WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
Updated with RtR Block and Theros. A few cards in the original list had surged in price in the last 18 months and got cut and replaced with new additions to keep the list under $40. The printing of Warden of Evos Isle, Windreader Sphinx, and Bident of Thassa are huge tempo boosts to this deck.
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Sufferer of EDHD
Commander - Currently Playing: RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G) RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B) WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
I just stumbled onto Thundercloud Elemental; if Isperia is swinging, you could use the Elemental to help by tapping some potential blockers to increase her chances of connecting with an opponent.
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"The sword blazed bright as he held it high, filling him with righteous might." - Book 4, Tome of Kor-Nevan
I just stumbled onto Thundercloud Elemental; if Isperia is swinging, you could use the Elemental to help by tapping some potential blockers to increase her chances of connecting with an opponent.
I'm not totally sold on Thundercloud: 7 mana is a lot for a 3/4 and four mana is a lot for his ability, especially since you still need to cast whatever you tutored up with Isperia. That being said, this deck is running some fairly questionable cards currently so in he goes. Stonecloaker is a great utility suggestion, however, one that I'm a big fan of and can't believe I forgot. This deck has a fair number of EtB creatures in it for extra mileage, plus it's tutorable graveyard hate.
I'm thinking I'll be adding all three of these cards, dropping a basic land, Forbid (it's .90 of my budget for a marginal effect), and Aven Cloudchaser. Thanks!
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Sufferer of EDHD
Commander - Currently Playing: RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G) RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B) WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
The Isperia gameplan is good, but what else shall we do? Well, she lends herself well to control. If knowledge is power, than Isperia is a goddess! Knowing precisely what opponents will be casting, what they'll be drawing, what their next few turns look like, all mean that you can ration your counters accordingly.
Without further adieu, the decklist!
1 Isperia the Inscrutable
Fliers: 23
1 Judge's Familiar
1 Angelic Wall
1 Squalldrifter
1 Fog Bank
1 Aven Riftwatcher
1 Flickerwisp
1 Wispmare
1 Stonecloaker
1 Gomazoa
1 Wandering Eye
1 Warden of Evos Isle
1 Plumeveil
1 Skymark Roc
1 Air Servant
1 Mulldrifter
1 Riftwing Cloudskate
1 Archon of Justice
1 Archon of Redemption
1 Spirit of the Hearth
1 Draining Whelk
1 Windreader Sphinx
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
1 Thundercloud Elemental
1 Temporal Adept
1 Aethersnipe
Countermagic: 9
1 Arcane Denial
1 Memory Lapse
1 Dissipate
1 Dissolve
1 Hinder
1 Rewind
1 Repel Intruders
1 Lay Bare
1 Condescend
Bounce: 10
1 Curfew
1 Sigil of Sleep
1 Withdraw
1 Azorius Charm
1 Capsize
1 Repulse
1 Undo
1 Spin Into Myth
1 Repeal
1 Crystal Shard
Knowledge and Riddles: 6
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Peek
1 Telepathy
1 Zur's Weirding
1 Glasses of Urza
1 Crystal Ball
1 Condemn
1 Favorable Winds
1 Dismantling Blow
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Whispersilk Cloak
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Azorius Signet
1 Azorius Cluestone
1 Prismatic Lens
1 Talisman of Progress
1 Azorius Keyrune
1 Bident of Thassa
Land: 37
1 Moonring Island
1 Mistveil Plains
1 Sejiri Refuge
1 Azorius Chancery
1 Azorius Guildgate
1 Flood Plain
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Moorland Haunt
20 Island
8 Plains
DeckStats.net price = $39.89!
Paths not taken: alternative ways to build the deck
Tribal: WU flier decks lend themselves well to tribal builds, especially spirits (Drogskol Captain, Angel of Flight Alabaster) and birds (Soulcatcher, Aven Brigadier). Those tribes have tribally appropriate commanders, but if you are wanting something new, wanting something with tutoring power and versatility, or perhaps just want to save $$$ (Geist of Saint Traft is pretty spendy nowadays) Isperia is a good alternative.
Pure Aggro: This deck is pretty controlling, ramping and countering to an early Isperia who then helps keep your hand full and tutors for various game-ending fatties. I think Isperia plays best this way, but there's an argument that you should instead capitalize on her propensity for bounce spells and cheap fliers and run a much more aggressive build, using Isperia as a sort of "super Ophidian" finisher at the top of a svelt curve. This build can still be pretty budget, using stuff like Zephyr Sprite, Cloud of Faeries, Spellstutter Sprite, Mistral Charger, and Stormfront Pegasus assisted by equipment and mass-pump effects like Spear of Heliod, Marshal's Anthem, Coastal Piracy, etc, although admittedly it'd prefer time warp effects to help pull ahead.
Flashy Sphinxes: It'd be great to be able to play entirely on your opponent's turns, and the current budget is low enough that Vedalken Orrery, Leyline of Anticipation, and Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir aren't out of the question so you can make that happen. Playing at instant speed would make your EtB critters better, and allow you to really abuse spells like Equilibrium.
Downgrading the deck:
Is $39 too rich for your blood? Do you want a challenge while you're playing? You can easily further budgetize this deck by opting for more "vanilla" fliers in place of the rares (Serra Angel, Snapping Drake, Voiceless Spirit) and for more "budget" walls like Wall of Air. There's also a truly outrageous amount of options for bounce and counterspells; you can cut some corners and save some money with cards like Cancel, Bone to Ash, Unsummon, Aether Tradewinds. I'd offer a word of caution, however: multiplayer commander favors power and card advantage over tempo and you are not an aggro deck, at least not really. If you begin replacing the multi-bounce/cantrip bounce/flashback bounce spells with 0-for-1 bounce spells, you'll really hurt the deck's overall power and may want to consider a more pure aggro approach with tons of cheap, offensive fliers. This deck's mana is actually a decent chunk of its cost, by the way: you can drop down to around $30 by just replacing Sejiri Refuge, Moorland Haunt, and Mistveil Plains with basics.
Upgrading the Deck:
Traditional staples like better dual lands (Hallowed Fountain, Tundra, Celestial Colonnade, Flooded Strand), better ramp (Sol Ring, Mana Vault, Solemn Simulacrum), better draw (Fact or Fiction, Sphinx's Revelation), better counters (Cryptic Command, Spell Crumple, Counterspell, Absorb), and better removal (Swords to Plowshares, Detention Sphere, Path to Exile) are all really great here of course. Utility staples like Time Warp, Sensei's Divining Top, Lightning Greaves, Snapcaster Mage, and Venser, Shaper Savant, would all be welcome in this list. Planeswalkers are nice too, especially Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Jace literally couldn't be more perfect for this list if he tried. Really huge ticket spells like Mana Drain, Force of Will or Moat are also, quite obviously, as back-breaking here as they would be anywhere. As far as specific tech goes...
Thoughts? Criticisms? Advice? Let me know!
RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR
WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG
GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG
GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G)
RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW
UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B)
WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
You could throw a Sphinx Ambassador in there too. It's a big flier and it also benefits from anything you might use to make Isperia connect.
Cackling Counterpart is another pretty cool spell. I like it, at least.
Pauper: UR some horrible homebrew izzet deck
Thanks! Sphinx Ambassador missed the list by that much. She's thematically appropriate, but is more money than my current curve-topping sphinxes without being clearly better. She's easy to kill for a 7-drop (Sphinx of Jwar Isle is resistant to removal), and she has to both survive a turn around the table AND connect AND you have to win a guessing game. Repeatable Bribery is obviously awesome, but that's a lot of "if" compared to the easy, immediate card advantage generated by Sphinx of Magosi and Uthuun.
Cackling Counterpart (and, for that matter, Rite of Replication and Phantasmal Image) would be a great adds, though. Lots and lots of EtB creatures to copy and abuse. I'm not sure what I'd cut but I'd imagine that Spy Network, Mistblade Shinobi, and Aethersnipe are currently the weakest links in the list.
RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR
WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG
GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG
GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G)
RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW
UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B)
WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
I agree that the bounce effects are a little bit underwhelming.
If you're worried about creatures lacking any kind of protection, Neurok Stealthsuit might help a lot.
EDIT: I JUST REMEMBERED THE MOST AMUSING ISPERIA SUPPORT CARD EVER !!!1111ELEVEN!!!
But, seriously, I did.
Casting a Harm's Way on Isperia (even if she's blocked) and redirecting her combat damage to you will trigger her ability. This should result in you naming a card and revealing your own hand to show you don't have it, then searching your library for a creature card of your choice. The same works for Sphinx Ambassador.
Pauper: UR some horrible homebrew izzet deck
This sounds amazing but I'm not sure it works. Harm's Way says
"The next 2 damage that a source of your choice would deal to you and/or permanents you control this turn is dealt to target creature or player instead." Isperia isn't dealing damage to you pretty much ever, unless you pimp her out with Psionic Gift or something, and at any rate I think damage funneled through Harm's Way no longer counts as combat damage. I love me some Harm's Way but I'm not sure it cuts it in this list :(. Unless I'm reading things incorrectly?
RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR
WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG
GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG
GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G)
RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW
UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B)
WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
Ha, sorry.
My bad. But I was sure there was some card that allowed you to do this sort of insanity... I'll do a big gatherer search and post it here if I find it.
EDIT: Found it quicker than expected. It was not Harm's Way, it was Sivvi's Valor. Which is really kinda underwhelming because you have to deal yourself 3 damage to use it. Sorry....
There's also Carom,
Pauper: UR some horrible homebrew izzet deck
No worries, dude :). Happens to the best of us.
RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR
WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG
GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG
GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G)
RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW
UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B)
WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR
WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG
GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG
GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G)
RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW
UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B)
WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
Current EDH decks:
WBG Doran, the Siege Tower (I Like Big Butts)
URG Surrak Dragonclaw (Guttural Response)
UG Ezuri, Claw of Progress (Phyrexia's Claw)
BR Kaervek the Merciless (Keep Kaervek Alive)
BG Ishkanah, Grafwidow (Descend into Delirium)
W Eight-and-a-Half-Tails (Mark 8.5)
U Thassa, God of the Sea (Here There Be Monsters)
Stonecloaker also provides utility.
Cheers!
Krichaiushii on PucaTrade.
I'm not totally sold on Thundercloud: 7 mana is a lot for a 3/4 and four mana is a lot for his ability, especially since you still need to cast whatever you tutored up with Isperia. That being said, this deck is running some fairly questionable cards currently so in he goes. Stonecloaker is a great utility suggestion, however, one that I'm a big fan of and can't believe I forgot. This deck has a fair number of EtB creatures in it for extra mileage, plus it's tutorable graveyard hate.
I'm thinking I'll be adding all three of these cards, dropping a basic land, Forbid (it's .90 of my budget for a marginal effect), and Aven Cloudchaser. Thanks!
RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR
WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG
GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG
GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G)
RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW
UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B)
WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
Sometimes, you even get a card out of it.
Cheers!
Krichaiushii on PucaTrade.