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Lost but Seeking... Volume I
Topic Started: March 15, 2011, 9:58 pm (193 Views)
RWF_Less
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Hello readers, and welcome to the first article in my ‘Lost but Seeking’ column. This article is entitled “An Introduction” as today I’ll be giving you a brief intro into the world of EDH, who I am (and how I got here), and a little taste of my favorite EDH deck,

So, to start us off, my name is Ryan and I am an avid EDH player. However, I also enjoy the limited and type 2 formats. I am 25 years old and a college student in Minnesota, USA. I started playing Magic: the Gathering around Lorwyn block, though I started playing competitive card games about 10yrs ago. I’ve competed in multiple Yugioh tournaments, as well as my competitive magic career. Mostly though, I’ve enjoyed Elder Dragon Highlander. Its casual, yet competitive nature, keep me interested year after year.

For those of you who might be new to the game, EDH, or Elder Dragon Highlander, is a casual/semi-casual format of Magic: the Gathering, a collectible card game. Each deck is based around a ‘general’ or ‘commander’ who sets the colors for the deck. For example, if my general is white, then all the cards in my deck must require white or colorless mana and produce white or colorless mana. Also, hybrid cards that make or require another color of mana would not be allowed. The rest of the deck is composed of a mixture of 99 cards featuring both land and spells. Unlike other Magic formats, each player starts at 40 life. But, each player can only take twenty one damage from any one general, which includes you own general too. Yep, that’s correct! If someone took your general with cards like Mind Control, Volition Reins, etc, they can kill you with it. Once you receive 21 general damage, or are dealt 40 overall damage, you are eliminated from the game. The important thing to remember is that damage dealt by a general counts as both general damage and regular damage.

To start the game, you place your general in the ‘command zone.’ It can be cast according to the card text (i.e. unless it has flash, or such ability, it can only be cast as a sorcery). The first time you cast your general, you simply pay its printed mana cost. But, once your general dies, if you chose choose to place it in the command zone, instead of the graveyard for example, you must then pay two generic mana more to cast for each time it has been destroyed. However, if you can get it back to your hand, or play it from your graveyard, you can cast it for its printed mana cost, instead of paying the extra mana.

Now that we all have a basic understanding of Elder Dragon Highlander (though I’m aware many did so already), I’d like to introduce you to my favorite EDH general of all time…

Posted Image

IF YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ THE BREAKDOWN, PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO THE DECKLIST

Now, this lady has a clear goal: put lots of lands into play and play big things. In that spirit, I’ve designed my deck accordingly. So, let’s take a look at what cards I use to put more land into play/increase my mana pool:

Instant/Sorcery
Explosive Vegetation
Skyshroud Claim
Kodama’s Reach
Cultivate
Gaea’s Bounty
Journey to Discovery
Early Harvest

Enchantment
Mana Reflection

Artifact
Gauntlet of Power
Coalition Relic
Sol ring

Creatures
Solemn Simulacrum
Wood Elves
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Yavimaya Elder
Primeval Titan
Oracle of Mul Daya
Omnath, Locus of Mana
Budoku Gardener
Patron of the Orochi
Seedborn Muse

So, now that we have all this mana floating around, what are going to do with it? Play fatties of course! Here is what I consider the viable large creatures in the deck…

Terastodon
Woodfall Primus
Regal Force
Avenger of Zendikar
Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
Rampaging Baloths
Chameleon Colossus

…and how do we find these creatures? Tutors and drawing of course!

Tutors
Tooth and Nail
Natural Order
Worldly Tutor
Green Sun’s Zenith
Fierce Empath

Draw
Sylvan Library
Horn of Greed
Skullclamp
Harmonize

Card Filtering
Sensei’s Divining Top
Abundance

I originally felt Skullclamp was an odd choice for this deck, but with cards like Wood Elves, Yavimaya Elder, and Avenger of Zendikar it’s a perfect fit.

So, we’ve tutored for our fatties, ramped into casting those fatties, but unfortunately, our opponent has put a roadblock in are way. Now what do we do? Removal to the rescue!

Removal Package
Lignify
Oblivion Ring
Duplicant
Desert Twister
Acidic Slime
Indrik Stomphowler
Krosan Grip

Unfortunately, most opponents are going to run a grip of removal themselves, so we have to be ready to deal with it.

Recursion
Restock
Loaming Shaman
Eternal Witness
Regrowth
Praetor’s Counsel

Then there are those special situations where you need that one card to help you win, that’s where you’ll find our utility cards…

Utility Package
Gaea’s Blessing
Dosan the Falling Leaf
Tormod’s Crypt
Lightning Greaves
Crucible of Worlds

Finally, there’s “the” bomb of the deck, the one card that simply wins games.

Genesis Wave

Usually, G-Wave, as it’s called, is cast for 30-50, which as you can imagine will make a pretty large impact in the game.

Our land package then goes as follows:

Gaea’s Cradle
Boseiju, Who Shelters All
Tranquil Thicket
Strip Mine
Yavimaya Hollow
36 Snow-Covered Forest

THE DECKLIST
General: Azusa, Lost but Seeking

Creatures
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Budoka Gardener
Wood Elves
Omnath, Locus of Mana
Fierce Empath
Loaming Shaman
Dosan the Falling Leaf
Eternal witness
Yavimaya Elder
Solemn Simulacrum
Oracle of Mul Daya
Chameleon Colossus
Indrik Stomphowler
Acidic Slime
Seedborn Muse
Duplicant
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
Rampaging Baloths
Primeval Titan
Avenger of Zendikar
Regal Force
Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer
Terastodon
Patron of Orochi
Woodfall Primus

Instant
Worldly Tutor
Krosan Grip
Early Harvest

Sorcery
Gaea’s Blessing
Regrowth
Journey to Discovery
Cultivate
Kodama’s Reach
Gaea’s Bounty
Explosive Vegetation
Skyshroud Claim
Natural Order
Harmonize
Restock
Desert Twister
Tooth and Nail
Praetor’s Counsel
Green Sun’s Zenith
Genesis Wave

Enchantment
Sylvan Library
Lignify
Abundance
Mana Reflection

Artifact
Tormod’s Crypt
Skullclamp
Sensei’s Divining Top
Sol Ring
Lightning Greaves
Horn of Greed
Oblivion Stone
Crucible of Worlds
Coalition Relic
Gauntlet of Power

Land
Gaea’s Cradle
Yavimaya Elder
Stip Mine
Tranquil Thicket
Boseiju, Who Shelters All
36 Snow-Covered Forest

So, that’s the deck. If you have any questions about why I made certain choices regarding the deck, or if you have any questions/comments about the article, please feel free to leave them here! Tune in for Volume II next week as I review the best Artifacts in EDH, and give you a taste of mono blue control EDH!

Thanks for reading, now get out there and game!

Ryan
Edited by RWF_Less, March 15, 2011, 10:00 pm.
Ryan "The TRWF"

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ExarionUniverse1
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great first article, waiting for more!
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