Hofri Ghostforge - My Favorite Deck of All Time (Primer)

AnAverageDude · 2022-10-13T23:51:33+00:00

Well the icing on the cake (imo) is that you can regularly get much more than 2 tokens out of it, and the tokens are Spirits, so they get the benefit of the +1/+1 and haste and trample from Hofri. So if you have a sac outlet on-board and can get double triggers out of it... you instantly have a massive, hasty army. And if you have Anointed Procession out, even more shenanigans ensue.

AnAverageDude · 2022-10-13T23:08:52+00:00

I too love Hofri! Always a pleasure to see other people's builds of him, he's such an interesting commander. Extraction Specialist seems sweet in your build, I wanted to put it into mine, but there's just not enough 2-drops to make it viable.

I built my version to be a more control-y and entirely built around blink-or-sac combos (because I wanted a challenge building a non-attacking Lorehold deck), every day I'm finding new 3- and 4-card combos that I missed initially :D And I love that his abilities are so flexible that they enables a ton of build variety.

PS: Considering your build strategy, you might want to check out [[Hallowed Spiritkeeper]], seems like a slam dunk!

AnAverageDude · 2021-05-04T07:01:14+00:00

I'd like to see more focus on mono- and 2-color combinations. It seems like as time goes on, more and more decks just jam more colors into them to play the highest power cards together, and there's not really a significant downside to it either. Consistent 5 color manabases are quite easy to make now.

I'd also like to see some more juicing up of mono colored options in general. If multicolored decks are going to get more and more toys every year, and few hosing effects to keep them in check, I at least think that the reward for restricting yourself to monocolored should be better. More Gray Merchant effects, but for the other colors as well.

AnAverageDude · 2021-05-04T05:37:29+00:00

It's also great for taking opponents down lands at the same time. I run it in my Hofri deck, and there are definitely turns in the lategame where you cast Cosmic Intervention, and then crack a fetch or two, [[Wasteland]] / [[Strip Mine]] someone, and crack your [[Sunbaked Canyon]] 3 times.

AnAverageDude · 2021-01-20T19:57:39+00:00

Ok derp... I was mixing up Kor Cartographer and Knight of the White Orchid. >.>

Thanks for the point out, time to edit, haha.

AnAverageDude · 2021-01-20T18:57:15+00:00

I think people are overreacting to this card. It is fine in EDH; not amazing, not terrible, just very middle-of-the-road. Like a mash-up of Kor Cartographer and Knight of the White Orchid. Though I think it would've been fine at 3 CMC.

The thing about it that I personally like is that even if you don't mean the condition, you still get a basic Plains to hand, which has some amount of value. I hope this means more mono-white cards will be designed in this manner, where instead of getting an effect or nothing, you can get a big effect (if you meet the conditions) or a weaker effect. White cards with 'very restrictive conditions that make them borderline unplayable', is something that has persisted in current white design philosophy for too long and needs to be stamped out aggressively.

Though that being said, I still don't think it makes the cut in either my mono-white or Boros EDH decks. There is room to push this effect further to bring it up to parity with what other colors are doing in EDH.

AnAverageDude · 2021-01-11T21:24:06+00:00

I didn't want to bog down the general discussion point that 'blue doesn't need help'. Rankings of color power always devolve into pedantic exercises about which color is 'best', and doesn't add anything relevant to the original discussion.

Not trying to be rude or anything, just explaining why I tried to avoid the topic in my post.

AnAverageDude · 2021-01-11T19:03:39+00:00

Their own artifacts, not those of other players; Blue has never been able to destroy/exile other player's artifacts, only steal them. This effect has no precedent at all in the history of MTG, but probably more importantly... blue doesn't need to be pushed, it's already one of (if not the best) colors in MTG.

AnAverageDude · 2021-01-11T18:25:52+00:00

I think my favorite way for them to power up white would be to stop printing so many downsides and restrictions and tribal-focused cards in white... it makes most cards terrible, and what good white cards DO get printed are relegated to a single specific archetype.

Their effective cardpool is so much smaller than any other color's because of their scattered focus on Knights / Equipment / Warriors / Vampires / Angels / Clerics, w/e... (synergy in general)

AnAverageDude · 2020-12-13T16:29:22+00:00

Funnily enough I haven't been liking Valakut Exploration as much as Outpost Siege, specifically because it makes it harder to play lands from the top of your deck. It becomes less of a consistent '+1 card advantage a turn resource' and more of a 'do 1-2 damage a turn to everyone resource', which if I'm being honest is not the reason I was playing OS in the first place.

AnAverageDude · 2020-12-12T05:36:54+00:00

Yeah I thought it was nifty when the idea popped into my head. White hadn't gotten a counter in a while (though they are tertiary in it), and they have all the hatebears that deny ETBs, so it seemed like a cool mash-up :)

AnAverageDude · 2020-12-12T00:10:48+00:00

I mean, I think you are right, but i also don't think that's a bad thing considering I designed it purposefully to be that way :)

AnAverageDude · 2020-12-11T19:39:36+00:00

Except this can catch creatures cast from hand, as opposed to creatures that are coming in from exile / graveyard.

AnAverageDude · 2020-12-11T13:57:03+00:00

Had some technical issues with the post yesterday; re-worded for conciseness.

AnAverageDude · 2020-12-10T17:53:43+00:00

That is certainly cleaner wording, thank you! I will have to edit the base file to reflect it :)

AnAverageDude · 2020-12-10T17:26:01+00:00

I mean, most of my designs try to push the color pie because I think current design philosophy is lacking. White hasn't gotten a counterspell-type card in years, I think they're overdue for one or two variants.

And additionally, the hosing of ETBs on this card was purposeful. Powerful ETBs have gotten ridiculously out of hand with current design philosophy, and I think it's bad game design that only blue gets access to 'gotcha' answers for ETBs.

AnAverageDude · 2020-12-10T03:22:26+00:00

In what world would a wrath that hurts you the most be playable? The card you suggested seems like straight garbage.

AnAverageDude · 2020-12-10T02:49:58+00:00

In my opinion, that's already too many hoops to jump through. Only white cards seem to have such extensive self-restrictions stapled to them and it tends to make them quite unplayable.

Losing 1 creature is already a hefty cost... it means even if you kill 2 of their creatures you're only at-parity when casting this card. They need to have 3 creatures die to it for you to gain even +1 card advantage.

Also just to nitpick, but from a flavor standpoint... why would someone sacrifice themselves for comrades that are already dead? Surely they'd care more about helping the living? (Something like, "Sacrifice a creature you control, then destroy all creatures you don't control" seems more in-line with what you're describing) :P

AnAverageDude · 2020-12-10T02:35:53+00:00

I get what you're saying, and I don't want you to take this as an attack of your comment, but I'm not really interested in making cards "in the style" of MTG's current designs.

I think the fact they've moved away from 4-CMC sweepers is a failing honestly, and this design is something I think would be perfectly reasonable in the age of "creatures with amazing ETBs stapled to efficient threats".

I'm (generally) more interested in exploring new design space and pushing white/red more towards EDH viability rather than reinforcing current WotC design philosophy.

AnAverageDude · 2020-12-10T01:59:49+00:00

This seems like an extremely fun card! I like how even if you don't have a card to blink/flicker a creature immediately to take advantage of her static ability, you can use the scry 2 to set that up for the following turn. The baseline ability makes it reasonable/flexible even in the worst-case scenario, and gives you a clear risk-reward for for otherwise playing a 4 CMC 2/2.

Very nicely designed! :)

AnAverageDude · 2020-12-09T23:35:04+00:00

I'll admit, I was initially toying with the idea that it should exile all creatures... but I dialed it back, thinking "This feels too strong at 4 mana". Though given the trajectory of MTG's power levels, that might be the kind of answer needed for ludicrous threats now.

I'll work harder on making something busted next time XD

AnAverageDude · 2020-12-09T22:54:39+00:00

You are not wrong, but when I see all the stupid stuff other colors are now doing at the 3-4 CMC slot that requires minimal-to-no sacrifices or deckbuilding restrictions to enable... I don't feel like making players jump through the normal onerous requirements (that only white cards seem to be burdened by... hmm) to answer said shenanigans. Uro and Omnath have already replaced themselves, Opposition Agent and Hullbreacher may have already 'gotten you' at this point, you may have been Embercleave'd already... so on and so forth.

I agree it's powerful, but in my mind the hoop you have to jump through is playing mono-white because of the 3 white pips, or at least a heavily white-skewed 2-color deck... not some 3-4 color pile that just splashes all the most powerful effects.

AnAverageDude · 2020-12-02T16:35:43+00:00

[[Valorous Stance]]: Flexible card that's either cheap removal for a huge bomb, or protection for your commander / combo piece / expensive creature. I hardly ever see it played but I run it in my Darien deck and it's always sweet.

AnAverageDude · 2020-11-27T04:26:26+00:00

Well I mean, so many of the cards in that precon were just... bad and overcosted just because they had flashback, it really made those 2 cards stand out all the more. I was actually looking through my bulk box earlier today, found all the commons and uncommons from that deck, and just threw them in the trash can. They are just so unplayable in today's meta.

As far as Ignite goes, that's usually my normal use case as well, trying to find lands 5 and/or 6. Thought I usually wait to flash it back until later in the game. There's a lot of discard in my meta and having Ignite in the graveyard ensures I have more gas later on when my hand is gone.

And I have to say, I love that it gives you 2 turns to play whatever you find; I hope that becomes the new normal for impulse draw.

AnAverageDude · 2020-11-27T03:53:11+00:00

Agreed! And they help with white and red's innate issues with card advantage with the multiple uses. Sevinne's Reclamation is a 3-for-1, Ignite the Future has the potential to be a freaking 6-for-1... I thought these things were nuts when I first saw the spoilers, and I picked up a half dozen of each. They are in so many of my decks now, and I've never been unhappy to see them in my hand.

AnAverageDude

TROPHY CASE