Obzedat, Ghost Mafia

Welcome back readers to the EDH corner. Today, we will tackle the poll options from the MTG209 group about which general from Gatecrash I will be working with. I would like to take some time and thank the readers who voted for our decision. I hope to encourage more reader feedback in future articles. With that lets get into our winner, Obzdat, Ghost Council

Obzdat is a pretty fair creature in the realms of EDH. A 5/5 general is a decent sized threat without making him an overall attraction for negative attention. Obzdat's real strength lies in his two abilities. First, his bleed effect is highly annoying, but not crazy enough to get the table to turn on you. The fact that this ability triggers as a comes into play means we can abuse some blink effects in white to blip him in and out to get the ability to trigger multiple times. The second ability, however, is what makes Obzdat a deceptive powerhouse. Being able to blip out of existence until your next upkeep and gaining haste means that Obzdat can avoid all of your opponents mass removal and sorcery speed shenanigans and crack in after the board has been wiped. Add to that the bleed he brings in and well he is a pretty good control general. Players will have to constantly worry about Obzedat's blink and may burn removal better saved for one of your creatures.

In light of Obzedat, I feel this list should be a B/W punisher/bleeder list. Obzedat feels to me like a general that favors slow board control, slowing your opponents down, bleeding them out, and then finishing with a few concise strikes. The beauty of a list like what is being described is the fact that overall, the deck will not represent a consistent threat until it is so too late for any of the players to stabilize. This list can also be tuned to represent more of a rattlesnake type style. You can present a game board that makes it not nearly exciting or profitable to attack into. Through this use of turtling you can outlast opponents who's decks are much more powerful by simply making them regret or even question attacking you. The key is the ability to appear dangerous and not dangerous at the same time.

The following thread on MTGSalvation by forum poster capitacom has all the makings of a good Obzedat list

Capitacom plays quite a bit of scary stuff, but balances it out by playing a lot of seemingly fair cards like Blind Obedience, Bitterblossom, even Planar Collapse. This list embodies what Obzedat would look like as a deceptively powerful general.

Gatecrash EDH Review Part 2

Welcome back! Lets get right into the meat and potatoes of this article.

Lazav, Dimir Mastermind

Lazav is a very interesting take on a cloning machine. He does a very unique impersonation of  Sakashima, getting to keep his name so he does not infringe on other copies of legendary creatures you want to play. His biggest draw, however, is two fold. First, He gets to stay hexproof while hes copying a creature. That ability seems huge. Being able to have an Ulamog with hexproof seems downright ridiculous and the limitations of this seem endless. The second draw is arguably my favorite. Being able to copy a creature that goes to the graveyard from anywhere is pretty damn amazing. This ability feeds into what Dimir has been trying to push in the original and now subsequent Return to Ravnica. 

Overall, Lazav seems pretty good. To me, he feels like a very aggressive Dimir general. While a player focuses on milling several players out, Lazav focus attention on to himself. What makes him insane is the fact that many players play either Ulamog or Kozilek as a means to prevent themselves from decking. Lazav harness that strategy and tears it to pieces as a hexproof backed eldrazi crashes into the red zone. The fact that he retains his name also means general damage is a very real thing for this general.

Up next on the chopping block is what has been referred to as the EDH cycle of Gatecrash: the Primordials

Luminate Primordial, Diluvian Primordial, Sepulchral Primordial, Molten Primordial, Sylvan Primordial

These five big men are all absolutely amazing for EDH players. Their effects only get better with the amount of players playing, and most of them have a random evasion ability to back their big ends. That being said, I feel there is a pecking order to this list and I am going to discuss it now.

Molten Primordial feels the weakest of the cycle. That being said, the weak link being a 6/4 haster that threatens multiple creatures is pretty hilarious in my opinion. The reason I feel he is the weakest is that the threaten is only temporary. Just like Insurrection, Molten Primordial resolving usually means one or two people will die. However, if you do not end the game after casting him, rest assured the counter punch from the rest of the table will.

Luminate Primordial is 2nd weakest of this cycle. Her comes into play ability is pretty phenomenal at almost any point in the game. However, her body and vigilance are kinda underwhelming after having her exile some creatures. I feel giving her some sort of anthem or even first strike would have make her better, considering she is only a 4/7.

Diluvian Primordial is the midpoint of this cycle. First off, a 5/5 flyer for seven in blue is pretty scary good. This flyer has the ability to close out games as the board state is plugged up by ground creatures. Add in her comes into play ability and it is downright backbreaking. Being able to cast any instant or sorcery from each opponent's yard is pretty damn powerful. This card is all upside as the worst case is that you paid seven mana to wrath away the board in a color that normally can not do that. Best case: stealing dudes from players decks, drawing cards, blowing up troublesome permanents but all at once.

Sepulchral Primordial does exactly what Diluvian did, but makes it more permanent by stealing dudes from your opponents. Your opponents just set up some sweet reanimation targets: yours now. Your opponent just wrathed the board of some hardcore creatures? Sweet, look at the army you just got by paying seven. Add in intimidate and a 5/4 body and this looks like a resounding success for black mages.

Sylvan Primordial rocks the top of this list. A 6/8 with reach seems kinda underwhelming until you realize that green has not had a creature like this in a long while. Sure, green does get spiders from time to time, but nothing with a front end like this. Add in an ability to blow up noncreatures for each of your opponents and i think this card becomes fair. However, Wizards did one better and let green mages ramp for each permanent they blew up. This guy is all upside no matter how late or early in the game you are.

That wraps up this modest EDH review of Gatecrash. Next week, We will be tackling building a new EDH deck with one of the Gatecrash generals. This is where you, the viewers, can help contribute. This week leave comments or vote on the MTG209 page. Your votes will help decide what I should write about. See you all next week.

Gatecrash EDH review Part 1

After a fun weekend of Gatecrashing the hell out of Ravnica, lets turn some of the focus over to the EDH standouts from Gatecrash. This set had a ton of interesting cards and mechanics to bring to the table and for EDH it does not disappoint. Today I will cover the new generals presented by Gatecrash. So lets get to it!

Aurelia, the Warleader

Aurelia is nothing really new for Boros EDH. She and her team like to take a double dip in the red zone. Her ability is pretty crazy, getting to take an extra combat step for free once per turn. However, it really is nothing new for Boros. Sure a 3/4 flyer with haste and vigilance is a nice touch, but it still the same stuff we would have expected from Boros.

That being said, Aurelia will find a home in many Boros EDH lists. She is strong on her own and gets dumber with the number of creatures you have attacking with her.  Add to the fact that she is an Angel (Hello Kaalia) and she is a strong contender for any R/W/x list. As a general, she seems OK at best. Her big sister still seems like a much better choice for damaging general, but Aurelia seems like a great substitute or build around general involving multiple combat steps.

Borborygmos Enraged

Borborygmos is an interesting take on a Gruul general. Most Gruul generals tend to have effects that involve getting in people's faces. This guy can potenitally sit there, rip up his own lawn, turn it into a giant bowling ball and throw it like a fast ball at someone's face. Stapling on Seismeic Assult to a 7/6 with trample and the ability to get more land with attacking is one of the most interesting interactions out of a Gruul general I have seen in a while

Borborygmos is one of the few generals that needs to be built around. He can be chucked into a R/G/x deck and do some cool things. However, the maximum effect for this guy comes from building your deck around his ability to chuck lands like fastballs at people's faces. Abusing effects that put land into your hand like Borderland Ranger or Sylvan Scrying seems like the most effective way to make this general purr.

Obzedat, Ghost Council

Obzedat feel like both an upgrade and downgrade from his original iteration. On the upside this ghostly commander deals 2 and gives back 2, while dodging all sorcery speed removal from your opponents  Hell, giving him haste on his return from exile was a brilliant move to keep Obzedat as a power player. On the downside, this ghost council is not nearly as interactive as his predecessor. Obzedat is very vulnerable to instant speed removal and that can lead to some awkward situations.

Obzedat feels like a fine Orzhov general. He seems like the kind of general you can throw into any Orzhov deck and be happy with. As a 5 power commander, he only needs to connect 5 times, barring pumps, to win the game on his own. This could be the start of a voltron general in Orzhov, since he does dodge all the mass removal of the format. Just make sure not to rely on enchantments to have Obzedat cruise to victory.

Prime Speaker Zegana

Zegana screams sexy not just in constructed. Being able to draw a metric ton of cards plus having a huge body is nothing to scoff at in EDH. She happens to be in the colors that draw a bunch of cards and give evasion to fat creatures. These facts help cement Zegana as a new popular general for players. Zegana can come down early, thanks to ramp spells, draw a few cards, then get reset by blue's myriad of ways of blinking a creature out to reload your hand.

Zegana not only seems like a general you can throw out to lead your army, but she has the easiest potential to be built around. Playing various blink effects like Deadeye Navigator, Venser, etc and she can be reset multiple time to ensure you always have cards for any situatuon. Combine that with the fact you want to play giant creatures, usually green, to get the maximum effect for Zegana and you have the recipe for a spicy EDH list.

This concludes Part 1 of the Gatecrash EDH review. Stay tuned later this week for Part 2.

Rith the Awakener

Welcome, fellow Magic players to the first article of Alluring Treasure's EDH Deck techs. These articles are all about the local AT players and their EDH lists. We will take a look at their lists, talk to their designers, and see overall if their lists are something you might consider for EDH play.

First off quick introduction, My name is Brandon Agenbroad, a casual regular to Alluring Treasures. I was one of the few people to get the EDH league at AT off the ground and into play for a 4 month season. Overall, the league left some bad tastes in people's mouths, but it did encourage quite a bit of EDH play. These articles are meant to do much of the same. Hopefully, seeing weekly content about EDH players locally will inspire more people to take up EDH here in our area.

Our first submission comes from Matt Woods, store regular, resident lumberjack, 1st AT EDH League champion and overall nice gent. Matt brings us a take on one of the classic themes in EDH: tokens.

Rith, the Awakener

Lands                                                                                                 Artifacts

7 Plains                                                                                                Sol Ring

6 Forests                                                                                              Selesnya Signet

5 Mountain                                                                                          Chromatic Lantern

Gruul Turf                                                                                           Coalition Relic

Krosan Verge                                                                                      Solemn Simulacrum

Boros Garrison                                                                                    Gilded Lotus

Selsenya Sanctuary                                                                             Boros Signet

Clifftop Retreat                                                                                  Darksteel Ingot

Rootbound Crag                                                                                 Eldrazi Monument

Fire-Lit Thicket                                                                                   Gruul Signet

Rugged Prairie                                                                                    Akroma's Memorial

Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion                                                        Wurmcoil Engine

Maze of Ith

Sunpetal Grove                                                                                   Enchantments

Temple of the False God                                                                    Dragon Roost

Vitu-Ghazi, The City-Tree                                                                  Intangible Virtue

Jungle Shrine                                                                                       True Conviction

Gavony Township                                                                               Doubling Season

Boseiju, Who Shelters All                                                                   Collective Blessing

Kessig Wolf Run                                                                                Mobilization

Reliquary Tower                                                                                 Luminarch Ascension

                                                                                                            Parallel Lives

Instants                                                                                               Gaea's Anthem

Path to Exile                                                                                       Glorious Anthem

Captain's Maneuver                                                                            Aura Shards

Congregate                                                                                          Predatory Advantage

Oblation

Swords to Plowshares                                                                         Sorceries

Wild Ricochet                                                                                     Hour of Reckoning

                                                                                                            Titanic Ultimatum

Planeswalkers                                                                                    Overrun

Garruk Wildspeaker                                                                            Martial Coup

Elspeth Tirel                                                                                        Decree of Justice

Garruk, Primal Hunter                                                                        Nomad's Assembly

Sarkhan Vol

Elspeth, Knight Errant

Ajani Vengeant

Creatures

Verdant Force                                                                                     Rhys, the Redeemed

Sigarda, Host of Herons                                                                     Ant Queen

Dragonmaster Outcast                                                                         Dragonlair Spider

Utavara Hellkite                                                                                  Mycoloth

Worldspine Wurm                                                                               Avenger of Zendikar

Kamahl, Fist of Krosa                                                                         Mikaeus, the Lunarch

Urabrask, the Hidden                                                                         Geist-Honored Monk 

Trostani, Selesnya's Voice                                                                  Loxodon Hierarch

Soul Warden                                                                                       Essence Warden

Gisela, Blade of Goldnight

This list is pretty simple in what it does. It wants to make millions of creature, place some pump effects behind them and swarm the board to victory. Zerg Rush anyone? Do not take my word for it. I sat down and discussed some of the finer workings of this list with the creator, Matt Woods

Matt: This deck can do some unfair things. Landing Luminarch Ascension turn 2 against your opponents is often backbreaking and overpowered. This deck is mana hungry, always wanting to tap out to make more dudes or increase your board size. The only time you ever leave mana up is to abuse Rhys' second ability and double the board size. Outside of Rhys, my favorite card in this list is Wild Ricochet. This little card can create huge blowouts. My favorite play with this card: Wild Ricocheting an opponent's Fling which had flung a huge Lord of Extinction, killing that opponent and taking someone else out at the same time. At the same time, I have debated taking out Reliquary Tower and Overrun simply because they just do not do enough to warrant a main deck slot.

Matt: While the ideal plan for this deck is to play token generators and anthems, sometimes you just can land them. That is why this deck packs a few good creatures and spells that are inherently good on their own. That way, if the board does not favor token generation, you still have a game plan to get in the game. This deck does not like to see people who continuously use land destruction or disruption, since this deck wants man every day till Sunday.