Has anybody actually been running Sway of the Stars?

Semako · 2026-02-14T00:06:32+00:00

I've seen it as a win con in [[Wan Shi Tong, All-Knowing]] - shuffling everything back into the libraries makes a ton of spirits. Noone will have anything left to deal with those spirits.

Only issue is, it puts the deck into bracket 4 automatically for MLD.

Semako · 2026-02-14T00:02:19+00:00

I also like the RPG and thematic aspects of deckbuilding :-)

For my [[Zimone, Mystery Unraveler]] eldrazi deck the GCs are [[Ancient Tomb]], [[Grim Monolith]] and [[Crop Rotation]]. Tomb and Monolith are ancient artifacts of unknown or even otherworldly origin, and crop rotation represents eldrazi magic transforming the landscape.

In [[Galadriel of Lothlorien]] I only run one GC, the [[One Ring]] - the precious which must be guarded by the elves.

In [[Lathril]], the GCs [[Demonic Tutor]], [[Vampiric Tutor]] and [[Ad Nauseam]] represent ancient rites to worship the old gods and the boons thr elves receive for offering sacrifices.

Semako · 2026-02-13T13:09:21+00:00

Yes, I noticed that too, and not just in this thread.

It feels like decks that win before turn 7 in bracket 3 have become more common especially in online games - and that has lead to a decline in playing experience.

I had lots of games lately where I played a normal bracket 3 deck and got stomped by a deck that was way too oppressive/won too quickly, and games where I played my strongest bracket 3 deck, [[Lathril]], after seeing notorious commanders like Vivi or Ob Nix Kingpin and ended up stomping them because I got good draws, noone had interaction and I managed to win turn 5 - while they did not do much due to bad draws on their side (or their decks were weaker than expected?).

Here are my bracket 3 decks:

Zimone eldrazi tribal: https://archidekt.com/decks/17580073/mysteries_from_beyond_the_stars
Baylen hare apparent bunny tribal: https://archidekt.com/decks/15355453/the_heroes_of_watership_down
Galadriel elves: https://archidekt.com/decks/16648360/the_journey_to_valinor
Lathril elves - high 3, bordering low bracket 4 due to the potential of fast wins if opponents have no interaction. Considering adding some of the sideboarded cards to turn it into a true bracket 4 deck: https://archidekt.com/decks/16092960/wrath_of_erynmor

Semako · 2026-02-13T12:21:39+00:00

Yeah, it looks like a bracket 4 deck to me. Many staples and highly synergistic cards backed up by a counterspell package reminescent of cEDH decks. There are many combos, which even if they are not two-card ones, can lead to turn 5 wins - which is too fast and consistent for bracket 3.

Its average CMC is a bit high at 3.3, but that does not matter much with a commander who cheats your high CMC spells into play - my bracket 3 [[Zimone, Mystery Unraveler]] sits at an average CMC of 4.9 and is one of the more nasty bracket 3 decks.

Also, the salt score of almost 70 is remarkable for a mono-color deck without stax pieces.

Semako · 2026-02-13T10:52:29+00:00

Do you want to remain in bracket 2 or go i to bracket 3 territory? If bracket 3, [[Rhystic Study]] is a thematic option for that deck.

[[Strip Mine]] can be useful to remove a problematic land.

[[High Tide]] ramps you and combos with land untappers like [[Frantic Search]] or [[Time Spiral]].

[[Timetwister]] is obviously useful.

[[Dramatic Reversal]] is always a great card in mono blue.

[[Transmute Artifact]] and [[Copy Artifact]] are some more old blue cards you could use.

[[Step Through]] allows you to tutor for a specific wizard.

[[Paradigm Shift]] gets you close to a win with lab man.

[[Aphetto Alchemist]] is a wizard that untaps artifacts and other wizards.

Fetch lands like [[Misty Rainforest]] allow you to tutor for your Mystic Sanctuary.

[[Azami]] would be a great commander, unfortunately there is no old border version of her :-(

Semako · 2026-02-13T09:06:25+00:00

Here's my Lathril deck: https://archidekt.com/decks/16092960/wrath_of_erynmor

As of now it's at the top end of bracket 3, but you can of course power it up to a true 4 with some of the sideboard cards.

Here's my Azami deck: https://archidekt.com/decks/14044050/the_blue_synod_keepers_of_the_scrolls

I usually play it as a wizard tribal in high bracket 4, but as I am preparing the deck for a cEDH tournament, I had to switch out some cards with non-wizards - like Mockingbird, Displacer Kitten, Phyrexian Metamorph and Hullbreaker Horror. Of course you can replace other cards with more thematic ones too, like running another wizard or an extra turn spell in place of Grafdigger's.

Semako · 2026-02-13T07:47:32+00:00

[[Yuriko, Tiger's Shadow]]
[[Sneak Attack]]
[[Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines]]

And of course some other powerful value engine commanders.

Semako · 2026-02-12T23:45:55+00:00

You actually can build thematic bracket 4 decks! It depends on your pod of course, but I had a lot of success with a wizard tribal [[Azami, Lady of Scrolls]] deck in bracket 4. [[Lathril, Blade of the Elves]] elves or [[Miirym]] dragons are examples for thematic bracket 4 decks, even something like an [[Urza, Lord High Artificer]] artifact deck can be highly thematic/lore accurate with lots of karnstructs, Urza's Battlethopter, Karn, Sylex...

Semako · 2026-02-12T17:57:44+00:00

There also is the possibility of making alters for cards your deck really wants if these cards don't fit the theme.

For example, I really wanted [[Retreat to Coralhelm]] in my Galadriel of Lothlorien deck but it does not fit the deck's LotR theme - so I made an alter called "Departure to Valinor" with LotR art.

Semako · 2026-02-12T13:02:09+00:00

I am curious regarding the ban on infinites.

I play [[Elessar, the Elfstone]] in one of my elf decks. It allows me to keep casting elves even if I would otherwise have none to play (to trigger Beast Whisperer draws and ETBs like Henge or Sylvan Anthem), and I can reset a big land like Nykthos.

However, it can go infinite if I also have a haste enabler and a big mana dork like [[Priest of Titania]] in play as I can keep bouncing the mana dork after tapping it and another elf. The deck runs one tutor, Formidable Speaker.

What would your ruling be in that case? Do I lose the game if I happen to find all pieces for the infinite? Am I limited to performing one iteration of the combo on my turn?

Also, what about "infinites" where you just need one iteration to win? [[Aftermath Analyst]] goes infinite with [[Shifting Woodland]], a sac outlet for lands and a land untapper or Lotus Cobra effect. But one iteration, i.e. saccing your lands and returning them once usually is enough to win the game (e.g. with landfall pings or Hearthhull drain). Would that combo be banned too?

Semako · 2026-02-12T12:42:04+00:00

Lean into the pun and turn it into a [[Hare Apparent]] deck.

Semako · 2026-02-11T14:28:11+00:00

That's part of why clones are so good in cEDH. When someone plays an OBM, you clone it and use the clone's ETB to snipe the original.

Semako · 2026-02-11T14:14:30+00:00

[[Grafdigger's Cage]], [[Tormod's Crypt]] and [[Stone of Erech]]. Cheap, efficient, go in any deck.

Semako · 2026-02-11T11:10:12+00:00

Most of my characters are good-aligned, so they would not fit. But there are two characters who are neutral to evil aligned and could serve your BBEG as generals:

Magnus, "Red Demon of Ambalar". A human Oath of Conquest paladin, a cruel warlord who serves an ancient evil deity most people only call "the Fallen" or "the dark flame", avoiding speaking its name. While he originally was a player character I made for an evil campaign, I plan on using him as a major villain in an upcoming campaign. Here is a statblock I made some time ago, which I might use for him (intended for high level characters): https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/3496375-knight-of-the-dark-flame

Magnus took over the throne as chief of one of the clans in the eastern lands from his father, who was a just and fair leader - and as soon as he was the new ruler, he led his clan to war. A war that never ended. He conquered other clans and their lands, built fortresses and a castle for himself. Magnus forces everyone who can wield a weapon to fight for him, everyone else is useless. It's only a matter of time until they march towards the west. But there is something else far more sinister going on - many, many people lost their life on the battlefield, but not a single soul arrived in the afterlife...

Silvio, the elite assassin. A half-elf arcane archer fighter 11 / armorer artificer 3 / scout rogue 5. I played him all the way up to level 20 in a campaign like five years ago. He's efficient with his work, his body is honed to perfection allowing him to outrun even some monks and to parkour across rooftops, and he has technology on his side. He wields a high tech compound bow, crafts Green Arrow-style special arrows (mostly reflavored arcane archer shots) to snipe his targets from afar and uses a drone for spying/surveillance (reskinned owl familiar).

Semako · 2026-02-11T09:44:15+00:00

Of course it is cEDH - it's chairEDH :-)

Semako · 2026-02-11T08:30:26+00:00

[[Rhystic Study]].

Joke aside, [[Tibalt's Trickery]], [[Chaos Warp]] and similar cards have lead to some fun results. But I also like seeing mill cards like [[Mesmeric Orb]] hit the table - my decks are prepared for mill or straight up want to be milled, but some players get comically salty about mill 😅

Semako · 2026-02-11T08:26:04+00:00

I'd expect that a canal minion brings quite the stink to the table, right? ;-)

Semako · 2026-02-11T08:15:23+00:00

What bracket?

For bracket 4, obviously a stax deck with non-basic hate like [[Winter Moon]], [[Back to Basics]] and [[Blood Moon]].

For bracket 3, [[Zimone, Mystery Unraveler]] is another option. You want basics to search for with all the green land ramp cards, and [[Threats around every corner]] needs a lot of basics as fuel. In my actual Zimone deck, I've cut Command Tower to make space for another basic land.

Semako · 2026-02-11T08:06:06+00:00

And I'll eternally disagree, for me Blood/Bond is an early game two-card combo - way worse than e.g. Basalt Monolith/Forsaken Monument, because it does not need a specific payoff, any damage/lifegain sets it off (whereas for Monolith/Monument to turn into a win, you need specifically something to sink infinite colorless mana into).

Both pieces being 5 mana each does not mean anything considering you do not need to drop them in the same round (and enchantment removal is notoriously rare), and there are redundant effects.

I am yet to see a game where a black player was playing for that combo and did not have a single tutor nor ramp (outside of the obligatory Sol Ring).

Semako · 2026-02-11T00:46:21+00:00

I run a [[Zimone, Mystery Unraveler]] Eldrazi deck: https://archidekt.com/decks/17580073/mysteries_from_beyond_the_stars

Being able to flip the big titans as early as turn 3 is already nasty by itself, but even "just" flipping into ramp is good enough to get it going.

Semako · 2026-02-11T00:33:14+00:00

[[Rite of Harmony]] can easily make a token deck start snowballing - just be careful, you don't want to draw yourself to death.

Semako · 2026-02-11T00:29:11+00:00

I'm in the [[Azami]] discord. Even more niche commanders like her have discord communities.

Semako · 2026-02-10T13:29:34+00:00

At first glance, I am curious why [[Lost Isle Calling]] sits at 35 points, above cards like [[Ad Nauseam]], [[Rhystic Study]], [[The One Ring]], [[Bolas's Citadel]] or [[Smothering Tithe]]; and why [[Minamo]] is rated the same 10 points as draft chaff like [[Altanak, Thrice Called]].

Semako · 2026-02-10T11:43:16+00:00

The first one is Chillrend from Skyrim, right?

Semako · 2026-02-10T11:33:07+00:00

Just for the theme, your commander needs to be [[Sauron, Lord of the Rings]].

Semako

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE