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Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH/Commander] Vampire Swarm

« on: July 23, 2019, 04:55:42 pm »

Oh joy, we managed a short session! Three games played; one 5-player, two 3-player. I won the 5-player and one of the 3-player games. Not too shabby :-)  Not a thorough testing, obviously, but the deck worked like a charm in all three games. I didn't manage to pull off the pitiless-combo, but I amassed a sizeable army quickly in all games, which is  the main idea anyway.

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Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH/Commander] Vampire Swarm

« on: July 18, 2019, 09:00:07 pm »

Unfortunately it'll be some time before I can test it with my group. Most of them are on vacation now, and I leave in a week. No more playing before well into August I'm afraid    But when I've had a chance to try it I'll let you know. I'm confident I'll have stories of some legendary wins

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Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH/Commander] Vampire Swarm

« on: July 18, 2019, 06:04:57 pm »

Viscera/Bloodthrone: I need some free sac outlets. It's required for the Pitiless Plunderer/Bontu's Monument combo, but I also have some cards with abilities that trigger on creature deaths (the most important is Cordial Vampire). Also, if I have anything on the BF that pumps vampires, Skullclamp won't work without a sac outlet. On the other hand, I currently have 3 free sac outlets (Viscera, Bloodthrone and Yahenni). I suppose I don't need that many. I'll drop Bloodthrone because the +2/+2 is not really a big deal with all the other pumps I have, but I'll keep Viscera.

Oathsworn is important for the same reason. If I have Herald's Horn or Bontu's Monument and a free sac outlet on the BF, I can activate any death trigger as long as I have black mana - and if I have Pitiless Plunderer, I don't even need that. (And, as I'm sure you are aware, Oathsworn Vampire, Pitiless Plunderer, Bontu's Monument and a free sac outlet let me enter an endless loop that kills all opponents)

Pitiless Pontiff isn't very important, so I suppose I could let her go. Still, I love to spring that trap on an overeager opponent, and it's hard to find any REALLY powerful 1- or 2-drop vampires. I'll have to think about it

At some game nights I've used Filth and Blanket of Night to allow my vamps to attack unblocked, but it's a two-card combo which is unreliable in my deck. Cover of Darkness is much easier. It's a bit expensive, but I'll concider it for my shopping list.

Fervor is in my collection. I have used it from time to time, and it's awesome to suddenly drop 3 or 4 vampires and the same number of tokens, especially if I have Coat of Arms on the field   If I also have Anointed Procession the game's as good as won. I'll put him back in. I'll also concider getting Mass Hysteria.

Vampire Hexmage is situational. If I know some in may playgroup will play planeswalkers I might slip it in, but I agree that otherwise she's not very important. She's out.

Dark Ritual (which I own) and Culling the Weak (which I don't) are great, but only if I draw them early. At turn 10 they're almost inconsequential. Both of those cards are very good with 4 copies in a 60-card deck, but not as great in a commander deck. I think it's better to focus on a good mana base, which is the next thing I'll discuss:

I agree that lands should be fast for this kind of decks, and the scry-lands are not really pulling their weight. I'll keep Temple of Silence for the white mana, but I only need a splash of red so I'll drop Temple of Malice.

The Hideaway lands are very unreliable. To work optimally I have to draw an expensive card to exile, and with my avg cmc going down this becomes even more unlikely. On the other hand, Spinerock Knoll lets me play any card at instant speed on an opponents turn. That comes in handy sometimes. I'll leave Spinerock in but drop Windbrisk.

Cascading Cataracts is in my deck mainly because of Kheru Mind-Eater (and also Olivia when I had her), but it also gives excellent mana fixing. It's almost like having Vizier of the Menagerie on the field. And it's indestructible to boot. I think I prefer it over Fellwar Stone. The main problem with Cascading Cataracts is that it's unusable before I aquire enough mana, so Exotic Orchard is a nice addition (and I have it in my collection, yay)

Luxury Suite is an excellent replacement for Temple of Malice. A bit expensive, but it goes on the shopping list.

The bounce lands slow me down, but not by much. Also, I save space in the deck. With 3 fast lands i get 1,2 and 3 mana on the first 3 turns for a total of 6. With a bounce land I get 1,1 and 3 for a total of 5 (Turn 1:play and tap swamp. Turn 2:tap swamp, play bounce, return swamp. Turn 3:Play swamp, tap bounce and swamp). I now have 3 mana on the BF that only required 2 cards in my deck, at the cost of 1 less mana on turn 2. I believe it's worth it.

I agree about Everflowing Chalice. It's out.

I also have doubts about Concealed Courtyard. It's almost never fast! I'll replace it with Nomad Outpost for more flexibility even if it's no speed gain. When I inherit some money from a long lost uncle I'll buy Scrubland and Badlands, I promise.

As a last little tweak, I'll drop Stromkirk Noble for Skymarcher Aspirant. It makes me even less dependant on red mana, and it's nice with another flyer.

For now I'll work with the cards in my collection, so these are my changes for this iteration:
  - Temple of Malice
  - Everflowing Chalice
  - Stromkirk Noble
  - Windbrisk Heights
  - Bloodthrone Vampire
  - Concealed Courtyard 
  - Vampire Hexmage
   
  + Fervor
  + Plains
  + Swamp
  + Exotic Orchard
  + Nomad Outpost
  + Skymarcher Aspirant
  + Oversold Cemetery (cheap, and I have no other recursion)
 
I'm at about 3 avg cmc and have 25 fast lands and only 9 slow/bounce/transform lands. I'm down to 40 creatures (38 vamps), which is as low as I'll go. After some testing I might drop a land for another cheap vampire. I may also decide to drop Sorin, Grim Nemesis for another vamp, but for now he'll stay.

I officially declare this deck to be the ultimate killing machine, unbeatable and superiour under any conceivable circumstances - thank's for all your help   It really helps to have some input. When I sit by myself, mulling over my deck, it's easy to overlook some glaring truths.

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Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH/Commander] Vampire Swarm

« on: July 18, 2019, 09:51:16 am »

Thank you again. I have looked at your list, and agree with many of your points.

Sacrifice after declaring blockers, check. Vampiric Rites is back in (for now at least)

Olivia was never my favorite anyway, but at a point I played Archetype of Finalty which gave hear deathtouch - a great combination with her activated ability. A bit hard to get both cards on tht BF though, so agreed - she's out.

I also agree on Butcher of Malakir. I don't have Grave Pact or Dictate of Erebos in my collection yet, but they're on my shopping list 

I don't really agree on your take on Mephidross Vampire. The crucial difference between him an Necropolis Regent is that Necropolis Regent triggers on PLAYER damage while Mephidross triggers on CREATURE damage - meaning I get counters also when blocked or blocking. I already have Rakish Heir which gives counters on player damage (On the other hand, Mephidross and Rakish only give one counter, while Necropolis Regent give many. Ah, well...)

Door of destinies stays for now, but I see you point. It's a somewhat slow pump, but it's reliable. As long as I have the cards and the mana, I drop vampires every round, often several.

Planeswalkers:
* I agree that Sorin, Grim Nemesis might be slow for ulting, but that's not the main reason I have him. He also lets me draw a card each turn AND deal some damage to all opponents. I believe I'll keep him for now.
* Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord allows me to play one of my more expensive vamps for {2}{B} by using his -3 ability right away. In 4 turns I can get two expensive vampires on the battlefield for {2}{B}, not a bad deal!
* Sorin, Lord of Innistrad. I usually play him and immediately do -2 to get the +1/0 emblem. It's not a big pump, but it's the only really secure pump I have, the others are a bit more volatile. It's also quite easy to get several of these emblems.
* Sorin, Solemn Visitor. I'm not really sure if I can protect him long enough, so I agree, he's out.

One of the reasons I like planeswalkers is that they function like shields. As long as their ult is something my opponents fear, they'll spend a lot of resources on taking them out, giving me time to do other stuff.

Final parting has its place because it fetches two cards - Pitiless Plunderer to hand, Oathsworn Vampire to graveyard. I believe I will keep it, but also make room for Diabolic Tutor. I'll replace Diabolic Tutor with Diabolic Intent as soon as I get it.

As for Vanquisher's banner, I like it. Not too expensive at {5}. I drop a vampire or two almost every round giving me a great draw and the +1/+1 is thematically very correct for this deck.

Winter Orb. Ok, I see your point, and I'll cut it. Still, I'm gonna miss it. The hate and frustration it causes gives it great entertainment value 

Well of Lost Dreams looks very good, definitely something to put on my shopping list. With that AND Mind's Eye I have a steady stream of cards - as long as I have the mana.

------

I did some modifications yesterday (for example, I removed Mavren Fein who didn't work well with Ascendan Evincar, and I also removed Soul Collector, a costly creature stealer), and today, after reading your comments, I did these modifications:

Out:
  Olivia Voldaren
  Butcher of Malakir
  Sorin, Solemn Visitor
  Winter Orb
  Damnable Pact

In
  Vampiric Rites
  Vampire Cutthroat
 
 
Leaving me with 3 slots to fill. One of these I used for Diabolic Tutor, one for Radiant Destiny. I've used it before, and the vigilance is great. Teysa Karlov also gives vigilance, but only to tokens. In addition, with my limited fetch options it's good to have TWO cards that give vigilance.

To keep the deck legal (100 cards) I also added a swamp. It'm always a bit short on mana, so this will help.

The revised deck has better mana flow and a very comfortable mana curve. There are several cards I'll put in when I get around to purchasing them (Well of Lost Dreams and/or Mind's Eye. Demonic Tutor. Grave Pact and/or Dictate of Erebos, Diabolic Intent), but I feel the current revision is quite solid already.

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Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH/Commander] Vampire Swarm

« on: July 17, 2019, 07:15:11 pm »

Many excellent points and cards - thank you for taking the time 

Some of the cards you mentioned I have already concidered (and rejected), but there were some new treats I really liked.

Loreseeker's Stone is a bit too expensive, both to get in play and to activate. Blood Scrivener is too unpredictable. If I sit with 3 lands and nothing else on my hand, it doesn't do anything for me. Vampiric Rites costs a token AND 2 mana - I find that a bit too expensive for a card. I also think Arguel's Blood Fast costs to much. I don't have as much lifegain in my deck as some other vampire decks, so I can't be too extravagant with life.

Champion of Dusk, on the other hand, is a good candidate, and I've played him before. However, during testing I've discovered that I often got plenty of vampires, but didn't have much mana. I would often end up drawing 10+ cards, but only having mana to play a few or none. This meant I had to discard a bunch at end of turn. Still, on my next turn I had 7 cards ready to ble played - very nice. And, of cource, he's a vampire 

Now, to the cards I haven't seen before:

Greed seems like a decent choice. Initial cost was a bit higher than Arguel's Blood Fast and Vampiric Rites, but the activation cost was lower. Often the initial cost is not a big concern, but when I start draw more cards, activation cost is.

Mind's Eye looked really sweet! I'm surpised I haven't seen this before. I sometimes (often?) find myself in a sitution where I have plenty of mana and nothing to use it on. Might as well spend mana on opponents turns and have a stacked hand when it's my turn again! Also, it's nice to draw cards without paying with life every single time. Definitely a card I'll pick up the next time I go shopping 

Erebos, God of the Dead is somewhat expensive, but he's indestructible which helps. There aren't many enchantment wipes in my group, but it happens.


As for your other comments, I agree with your take on Dark Impostor. I actually hadn't thought about using her ability at instant speed - it makes quite a difference.

Finally, one thing about Ascendant Evincar you might not have concidered - he kills nonblack 1/1 creatures! There's usually at least one in my group who plays some kind of swarm deck with lots of tiny creatures. All those creatures - poof, gone   Furthermore, he can't cast more of these critters before Evincar is gone. (In addition he's a vampire, so I get another token and other synergy effects)

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Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH/Commander] Vampire Swarm

« on: July 17, 2019, 02:43:23 pm »

Yeah, Demonic Tutor is quite expensive, and Vampiric Tutor even more so. I'm not sure my wife would be symphatetic :-)

My gameplan is closer to mid range than ultra agressive, and I try to focus on vampires that pump the entire tribe, not just themselves.

Even if it's not ultra-aggro, I would still like to get the avg cmc down a notch or two. I feel I have plenty 2- and 3-drop vampires, but it would be nice to add a couple of 1-drops. I have concidered exchanging Dranas Emissary for Indulgant Aristocrat. His pumping is somewhat expensive, but he might give me something to do when there's nothing else to use mana on. I've also concidered dropping Dark Impostor. She's very nice, but her activated ability is a bit too expensive. I might discard her for a good 1-drop (or even for a non-vampire? Dark Ritual or Blade of the Bloodchief maybe?)

I'm also in doubt about Dark Prophecy. I frequently get short on cards, so I'm usually willing to pay life for draw, but Dark Prophecy is a bit too unpredictable, and I can really get hurt by a board wipe when I have amassed a ton of tokens.

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Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH/Commander] Vampire Swarm

« on: July 17, 2019, 01:30:54 pm »

Thanks for your input. I have corrected Sword of the Animist - don't know what I did there :-)

I own Diabolic Tutor, but not Diabolic Intent. It's on my shopping list though. I agree that Diabolic Intent would be better for this deck than Diabolic Tutor, since I usually have enough tokens.

This is mainly a tribal/aggro deck, so I've been more concerned about getting ENOUGH cards than getting SPECIFIC cards. I use Final Parting and Forerunner of the Legion to find specific cards, and I also played Beseech the Queen for a while, but so far, the games I've won have been by won by combat damage where no particular creature has been pivotal - just enough creatures, heavily pumped.

That being said, I would love to put Diabolic Intent in there, but I struggle deciding which cards I should drop to make room. I've already got too high avg CMC (as you mentioned), and this has happened because the 1-drop vampires are easiest to discard. Many of the more expensive cards are so yummy that it's hard to let them go :-)

Currently, my first candidate for removal is Drana's Emissary. Would you support this choice, or are there other cards you believe I could leave out?

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Deck Reviews / [EDH/Commander] Vampire Swarm

« on: July 17, 2019, 12:31:30 pm »

Hi,

I've constructed a vampire deck with Edgar Markov as my commander. I've only played MtG for a couple of months, and this deck is the result of much tweaking during that period. If you view the deck on Deckstats, you'll find comments on almost all the cards in the deck where I explain my thought behind them. You'll also see my Sidebord and Maybe-board and my reasons for not including those cards in the deck (the Maybe-board is actually more of an "No, and here's why"-board)

The deck focuses on pumping vampires and generating tokens and counters. There's a couple of simple combos thrown in, but mainly my win condition is to overwhelm with progressively stronger vampires.

As I mentioned, I'm quite new to MtG, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

https://deckstats.net/decks/132614/1354543-vampire-swarm

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Deck Comments / Re: Edgar - Comments

« on: May 21, 2019, 08:16:29 am »

Thank you again. I will definitely do something about my lands. I don't have any of them right now, but they're only a click away :-)  For now I might just swap some of the dual lands for faster basic lands.

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Deck Comments / Re: Edgar - Comments

« on: May 20, 2019, 04:47:16 pm »

Thank you for your input. This is only a work in progress, and my first deck ever, so there's bound to be strange things happening in it :-)   Also, I have only recently started my collection and have only a few cards (70-80% of all my cards are in that deck), and I didn't even realize there was a card called Mass Hysteria. I Have Fervor which seems to do the same thing except it only works on my cards.

When you say that Akoum Refuge slows me down, what do you mean? Should I replace it with a basic land that doesn't enter the battlefield tapped? As I said I haven't constructed any decks before, but I need both red and black mana. I felt that the flexibility of dual cards was worth the price of them entering tapped...
Btw: I'll ba grateful for any other tips you might have :-)