The Shadow Mage's Tour de Force (EDH / Commander)

This is one of my decks from my first 2 attempts at home brewing Commander Decks. This is my attempt at a Voltron Deck.

At the moment I am seeking help and suggestions on cards for tutoring, if the deck needs more and what cards to replace for it.

I started out by following a standard template which were on a few Commander Deck construction guides and also used the feel of a retail precon deck. I also started with what cards I have on hand, as some of the guides mentioned that the idea/spirit of commander is to use the cards you have on hand, and no other place to put them. I have slowly modified with other suggest/recommended cards I have brought/traded.

It (obviously) relies on the Monarchy mechanic to be used to its full effect. The cards included are pretty self-explanatory, and used primary for gaining and retaining Monarchy, then secondly, for their Monarch enhancements so I won’t include them in the description.

For the Voltron set-up I have gone with this set-up:

• Blackblade Reforged: It’s a great way to pump up on +1/+1 counters to get towards 21 damage.
• Commander's Plate: It seems a little OP to me. It’s too god not to include for its protection and counters.
• Darksteel Plate: Self-explanatory; Provides Indestructible
• Swiftfoot Boots: More protection – Would Mask of Avacyn or Mirror Shield be better here? The Haste seems wasted if it’s not played on the same turn Jared gets played
• Sword of Vengeance and Trailblazer's Boots: Serve similar purposes of damage getting though.
• Bastion Protector: I really like this. It serves the same basic purpose of Darksteel Plate, plus gives +1/+1 counters.
• Archon of Emeria Is good for limiting spells, and I can foresee this deck being weak to them and tapped non basics is a bonus
• Silent Arbiter will ensure that only Voltron damage is being dealt, and Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar will deal the damage to all opponents.
• Finally Pariah to retain Monarchy and ensure that Jared is getting pump up as much as possible.

I’m thinking about adding either Cobbled Wings/ Neurok Hoversail or Bladed Pinions for flying. Haunted Cloak seems a really nice fit as well. However, I have held off on these as if feels like that adding more equipment would make it equipment heavy, and limit other cohesiveness or abilities like mana generation, or general deck mechanics.

As for outside Voltron, Serra Ascendant seemed amazing for early game, and to a lesser extent, Fencing Ace seemed like a good choice to get the job done.

I have gone with few angels to bulk out the deck, and to work with Court of Grace - Angels can be nasty and scary. If the Voltron stratergy isn’t going so well, hopefully they will prop up the deck, or provide priority targets to keep heat off Jared if I don’t have monarchy.

Just for a quirk, and probably cheekiness, I have included Angel of Destiny I feel the built the deck well enough that this could be an alternative win condition with or without Voltron - The cheekiness is that I would only need to deal an unblocked 15 Voltron Damage.

I have included Moraug, Fury of Akoum for the dual purpose of Angel of Destiny attacking more than one opponent and additional Voltron combat. Unfortunately I haven’t played enough games to try this out, but if it’s viable I would look at replacing Serra Angel with Subjugator Angel.

The idea might sound silly, but I like it.

Finally, I think I have made the wise decision of adding Smothering Tithe to generate mana to equip quickly or play higher value cards.

Lotus Cobra seems like a nice addition, as it will prevent mana screw. But I’m unsure if I really need it, and what creature or mana ramp to replace with it. I also like Hushbringer, but I feel I am too inexperience of when or how to use it. The same goes with Brash Taunter - I have seen it included in a few Jared Carthalion decks I would like to included, but I am unsure if it fits into the style of my deck and how I would use it effectively.

Hopefully I haven’t been too boring or long with this description. I would look forward to hearing any advice on improvements, or if people have used the deck for their own use or even modified it.