[EDH / Commander] Talrand Casual Deck

[KittenSquared]

I'm just starting to get into Commander with my group of friends & I'm looking for some comments/suggestions to make this deck better without destroying my wallet completely. I've gone through a ton of revisions on my own & want some feedback to let me know I'm heading in a good direction.

Currently the plan is to either draw the cards I need naturally or use the massive amounts of draw spells to both get me drake tokens & give me the cards I need to keep anyone from doing anything too crazy.

Also, I'm not 100% sure about the card sections for this format, so let me know if I need to change any of the sections or move some things around.

Deck: Talrand Control Commander Deck

[WWolfe]

I have a Talrand deck that you may wanna check it. I haven't updated it since Rivals of Ixalan came out but it's current up to that.

[ApothecaryGeist]

Welcome to the Commander format!

Your land count is good, which is one area where new players struggle.  I might suggest a few more mana ramp cards, but you do have a lot of card draw, so it could work as is.  When you play this deck, does it do what you want it to do?  Are there any cards, colors, combos or strategies that this deck struggles against?

Happy Brewing! 

[KittenSquared]

I have a Talrand deck that you may wanna check it. I haven't updated it since Rivals of Ixalan came out but it's current up to that.

So I found a lot of cards I like in your build, and I have one big question.
Why Reality Shift? I see it in so many Talrand builds, but I just don't get it. Is removing a creature worth risking them just getting an equally mean creature out?

[ApothecaryGeist]

Yes.  It is.  Especially in mono-blue.  Most Commander decks are about 30% creature, at the high end.  Many are under 20%.  The odds are that the manifested card will be a non-creature.  Mono-blue's primary way to deal with a creature already on the field is bounce spells.  The creature will get cast again from their hand for certain.  if you're really opposed to the whole manifest idea, there is Imprisoned in the Moon.

Happy Brewing! 

[WWolfe]

I have a Talrand deck that you may wanna check it. I haven't updated it since Rivals of Ixalan came out but it's current up to that.

So I found a lot of cards I like in your build, and I have one big question.
Why Reality Shift? I see it in so many Talrand builds, but I just don't get it. Is removing a creature worth risking them just getting an equally mean creature out?

Reality Shift is a card a friend suggested that I've been play-testing. Naturally I've yet to draw it so I can't speak to it's effectiveness but I'm likely removing it and putting Into The Roil back in. The more I've looked at Reality Shift and thought about it the less sure I am about it for the very reason you mentioned.

[Soren841]

Reality shift is good.. for 2 mana they get a 2/2 and u exile a blightsteel Colossus or an Ulamog.. a 2/2 is not bad and very easy to deal with

[Morganator 2.0]

The only downside to Reality Shift, is realizing that you've been getting your ass kicked by a mountain the whole game.

Damn near every deck has more non-creature cards than creature cards, so odds are, your opponents are going to manifest a land. Reality Shift is less risky than Chaos Warp, and many people (myself included) use chaos warp all the time.

Your deck is actually really well made, especially considering the low cost. You have enough card draw, but in a counterspell deck, more never hurts. Remember, you're going to be countering the spells of 3 different players, so you need to be able to draw into your counterspells. You already have the good stuff (Rhystic Study, Opt, Ponder, Preordain), so the only things I can suggest are Mystic Remora, and maybe Azami, Lady of Scrolls. You have a decent number of wizards, so she'll give you lots of card draw, but 5 mana is a lot.

You also have a good number of counterspells. Dream Fracture and Swan Song are the only ones that are missing.

Finally, I don't know if you've noticed this, but you have an infinite combo waiting to happen. Imprint Isochron Scepter with Dramatic Reversal, and then have some artifacts that tap for mana (Say, Sol Ring and Sky Diamond), to generate infinte mana.

[Soren841]

What im trying to help you realize is you wont get your ass kicked by a 2/2. A basic 2/2 is never relevant in a game of EDH. What if they play flash hulk. R u gonna bounce it and let them just snapcaster mage to reuse flash or r u gonna exile hulk at instant speed and they get a 2/2 instead of instantly winning. Its one of those cards that u just hold for a game winning creature

[KittenSquared]

Finally, I don't know if you've noticed this, but you have an infinite combo waiting to happen. Imprint Isochron Scepter with Dramatic Reversal, and then have some artifacts that tap for mana (Say, Sol Ring and Sky Diamond), to generate infinte mana.

I actually love that and am putting Dramatic Reversal in, but I'll leave it up to the gods for now. My friends already grumble about some of the other cheese I've pulled in the past .

[tribe.br]

do you make this deck on the 8x8 theory,?

[Slappy T-Rex]

Any interest in adding favorable winds? It's not going to trigger Talrand but it's an easy way to make all of those flyers more effective.

[Morganator 2.0]

do you make this deck on the 8x8 theory,?

The what?

Never heard of this before, but you have my attention.

[KittenSquared]

do you make this deck on the 8x8 theory,?

The what?

Never heard of this before, but you have my attention.

Most likely referring to this, https://the8x8theory.tumblr.com/post/145429932739/the-8x8-theory-an-introduction, its the theory that if you start with 36 lands & compartmentalize your deck into 8 different core effects with 8 cards in each section, you'll end up with an effective deck. Its useful for some commanders, but with Talrand it's a little restrictive. Having only 8 spells that draw you cards & dig wouldn't be nearly enough, not to mention counterspells. When I started the deck, I was mostly basing mine off of other decklists & picking & choosing what seemed liek the most efficient for my budget at the time. Since then I've swapped out tons of pieces that seemed not worth & tried to optimize where i can.

Any interest in adding favorable winds? It's not going to trigger Talrand but it's an easy way to make all of those flyers more effective.

I'm on the fence about removing Propaganda for something a little more proactive since one pillow fort card seems a little out of place, but Favorable Winds is too much win-more for me. Won't save me from a proper board wipe & if I've got ~20 tokens out on the board safely, I'm already in a pretty good spot.

[Albeer]

Hi,
for an additional non-expensive counterspells i could recommend https://cards.deckstats.net/magiccard.php?utf8=1&lng=de&card=delay .
In 3 Turns whatever they played probably doesnt matter anymore and during that time they cant get the card back from graveyard.
And mb try to get Narset's Reversal from the new Set.
Would be perfect for Talrand
Hope i could help