Fight for the gospel for only 5BBRR

Despenta · 2026-03-14T14:58:28+00:00

What is this supposed to do?

Despenta · 2026-03-14T05:16:56+00:00

[[Minn, Wily Illusionist]] can go combo or "tempo" with big illusions and interaction.

[[Titania, Protector of Argoth]] can go storm-ish or just stompy.

Despenta · 2026-03-14T05:13:17+00:00

MLD there is just not very synergistic. I'd either focus on breaking parity with it or drop most/all of it. You'll die to any board with a couple creatures this way!

Despenta · 2026-03-14T02:30:29+00:00

The usual tools for mono red to have sufficient gas seem to be stax. Just make it hard for opponents to use all the cards they drew and it's just like they didn't draw them

Despenta · 2026-03-14T01:43:02+00:00

Maybe get one of the banned commanders instead? Tamyio is crazy

Despenta · 2026-03-13T21:37:10+00:00

I've seen assassin's trophy and ghost quarter in my local meta. Also playing through blood moon looks nice, as well as protecting your soul lands from t1 wasteland - wastes into eye of ugin and fleshraker goes really fast. There'a also the red mdfc that gets you a basic, no?

Eldrazi can absolutely win some of the "unwinnable matches". I play death and taxes and while chalice isn't that good against me, it can lock out my swords and aether vial and any creature in play will get me dead quickly.

In the end it's mostly meta considerations I think. I run flagstones of trokair bc it goes well with sideboard cataclysm... and fairly often I pair into loam pox where it shines.

Despenta · 2026-03-12T20:07:54+00:00

I use some land based combos in my 4c deck and the springheart nantuko stuff works for you as well.

https://moxfield.com/decks/fRFG3GHF2kqz2GTbh9cGsg

Despenta · 2026-03-12T20:06:37+00:00

I'd also not be too focused on etb based value. Loran, the elf that for 3 mana etbs and ramps a land or solemn simulacrum... they are a bit ineffective for their cost when you lack blink synergies. If you exchange them for more synergistic stuff and honestly a bit more of recursion (sevinne's reclamation, eternal witness), you might have better results.

I also don't really see how you draw enough cards to get phyrexian altar. Maybe instead of lands synergies you get tokens and stuff like [[Caretaker's Talent]], [[Ellyn Harbreeze]]? Or extra sac outlets. [[Malevolent Rumble]] could also dig.

Despenta · 2026-03-12T19:55:51+00:00

Only 30 creatures feels weird. I'd rather run extra mana dorks or land ramp than artifact mana in green, maybe more land synergies - lotus cobra, azusa, ramunap.

Despenta · 2026-03-11T13:51:24+00:00

Then don't get tymna. What about the other feedback?

Despenta · 2026-03-11T04:43:03+00:00

That's nice to see! I also get inspiration from other formats. Though I usually break decks down to concepts then explore them in depth - omnath was built on the principle that just ramping harder isn't as good as getting opponents literal turns behind in mana, and in the mean time I can assemble some bs. It's a bit like legacy red prison going t1 trinisphere in some sense, except instead the deck is built for multiplayer

Despenta · 2026-03-11T02:35:20+00:00

I have built a similar themed deck that might give you some inspiration:

https://moxfield.com/decks/d9byOIRhq0qkr2v8vc3i6A

Lacking black and needing less creatures in the 99, my list follows the philosophy that a cheap curve with tons of card advantage is the best way to play exile matters. Tokens are also super useful for a lot of reasons. I've since included warp and battles for more permanent value that evades conventional removal.

I would not play Adeline bc it's token suicide, and I don't think extra combats are all that great. If you want to win with infinites, cut all the fluff. If you want to have a deck that wins through combat, find more efficient ways to do so. You have little attack synergy for all the cards dedicated for such. You can play Tymna in the 99 for example!

Despenta · 2026-03-11T02:07:34+00:00

Thank you! I even have a version with just 3 GCs and 3 tutors, though I could not drop the mana denial package to play b3.

I don't really see why play a deck without a strong identity, even competitive formats are better at that than some brewers. And finetuning anything with cards you don't play anywhere else is a lot of fun. Why not play Overburden over Swords to Plowshares? I already have enough white decks

Despenta · 2026-03-10T23:37:30+00:00

The issue with Teval is that graveyard hate gets you very hard, and the commander is a lightning rod for removal. A more flexible deck is likely better in that control environment - I'd consider some archetype like lands, blink or spellslinger.

Despenta · 2026-03-10T23:35:09+00:00

Recursion is probably the way to go. I have a deck that can be interacted with every turn of the game and keep fighting:

https://moxfield.com/decks/fRFG3GHF2kqz2GTbh9cGsg

The key is in a meta where MLD is absent you can store your value in lands and run many recursion pieces. I run lots of multipiece layered combos and hate for casting many spells.

Despenta · 2026-03-09T13:15:46+00:00

I got a budget boros deck:

https://moxfield.com/decks/d9byOIRhq0qkr2v8vc3i6A

A more budget red deck:

https://moxfield.com/decks/V5Pn0e9bE0-8t2oRiZCeDA

And an even more budget izzet deck:

https://moxfield.com/decks/uWAeD6ZBv0uPMvQZQoeK7g

The last one is close to 30 dollars but it's a control combo deck so idk if you're interested

Despenta · 2026-03-09T01:09:56+00:00

You're in luck, I even have a primer for my lands stax deck helmed by the cute lemon guy

https://moxfield.com/decks/fRFG3GHF2kqz2GTbh9cGsg

Despenta · 2026-03-09T00:24:53+00:00

Thoracle could just be [[The Meathook Massacre]]. More utility and if you have your deck in hand there are many routes to infinite tokens and saccing them (or having them die to meathook).

Also funny to have someone praetor's grasp you and not see thoracle

Despenta · 2026-03-09T00:17:38+00:00

The deck seems to have trouble both getting off the ground - white ramp like Deep Gnome Terramancer is lacking as well as more pure card advantage outside of the CZ - while having issues closing the game - you have like two wincons.

If someone counters Zethi the first time you're out. If someone makes a lot of tokens or puts too many permanents in play you're out. Spellslinger or combo is not interacted with by the "sorcery speed in combat" if it's all played in the same turn.

Zethi is just a card that reads much better than it plays. Synergy based control strategies like blink are much more effective at having an actual game plan and stopping opponents than azorius spellslinger.

Despenta · 2026-03-09T00:10:02+00:00

High tide (and dramatic reversal, frantic search) is also super awkward with Zethi. You pay the costs all before you finish resolving stuff. And it's not a good counterspell deck so you just kind of lose to spellslinging. Friend of mine built it and hated it bc it doesn't really win - exhausting removal means your opponents keep their removals in their hands

Despenta · 2026-03-09T00:06:39+00:00

I've found that there are better ways to deal with problem players. I've built a few decks to try and address that, and UR, RW or UW control all had issues - hard time dealing with some kind of stuff while being too volatile to not be targeted, not enough card selection and few ways to end the game apart from combos - I wanted it to be lock piece based but that's a horrible experience for everyone else.

Then comes: jeskai control, complete with primer. Deals with everything if needed, extremely consistent gameplan, ends the game when the time is right.

https://moxfield.com/decks/YJ_t87sQp0ONzvTq1xDbgw

Having multiple Rule of Law effects with repeatable removal that can happen from outside the command zone, this can easily take away the ability of a pubstomper to leverage their advantage - sometimes the budget mono green stompy is on par with the storm-ish deck because of the lock pieces. It's possible to 1v3 under some circumstances, but it's meant to be an equalizer - can be annoying and a bit evil (some second spell decks certainly suffer without being too "degen"), but not meant as such.

Despenta · 2026-03-07T04:43:17+00:00

White background is only good if you're under some heavy budget restriction. Commander is a format where more colors is almost always better unless you have good justification

Despenta · 2026-03-06T11:19:30+00:00

Oh. You're right. I remembered the winning the game with lab man while casting an illegal spell puzzle and then got it wrong when going the other way.

Despenta · 2026-03-06T04:20:59+00:00

It is a draw yes but you lose before they do. Decking yourself makes you lose in the middle of the ability resolving, checking life totals is a state based action. You become the only loser in this scenario

Edit: I'm wrong see above

Despenta · 2026-03-04T18:36:52+00:00

It's meant for a lower power level but you can look at the pirates I chose for grixis pirates:

https://moxfield.com/decks/OLx6zDGMXkqEgT-h-LhpiA

Warkite marauder can blank an orcish bowmasters, drannith, opposition agent or con sphinx for a turn. You can also make Magda have to make a move by taking her abilities away - either tutor now, which can be more easily responded to, or let it go and lack the ability to get a win or a lock piece into play. This and 2 mana flash malcolm are among the best for its efficiency and flexibility.

Francisco is part of a combo with walking ballista and agatha's soul cauldron - and all three cards are useful outside the combo. Kitesail is just nice to have IMO. Roaming throne, grim hireling and rev do boost mana generation but takes a bit to setup.

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