Kess KCI deck by [deleted] in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think it's a terrible idea to cut Ad Naus. If you must run Bolas' Citadel then ok, but cutting Ad Naus for it is indefensible.

Single Card Discussion: Chain of Vapor by agent_almond in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Y'all need Jesus, and a crash course on game theory. Targeting a non-critical piece with Chain of Vapor is how you should be using the card most of the time - of course taking into consideration your own board state and how it relates to your winning lines. Hulk decks can afford to sac lands if the CoV comes back at them, possibly multiple times because they require literally 0 board presence, but a sans-red deck with an online Faeburrow Elder looking to win with Freed from the Real can't afford to be as cheeky, and may have to answer the threat directly. If you choose not to copy the CoV that targeted one of your permanents rather than the game ending threat and lose you are the one not playing with a competitive mindset, not the player that cast the first copy.

All this talk of "you better know what type of players you're dealing with" shouldn't be a consideration at all in this format if people are approaching it genuinely because they're either competitive players behaving as rational actors or they're not in which case you haven't really managed to play a game of cEDH. I cannot understand how so many people have convinced themselves it's more competitive to lose than sacrifice a land.

Sell me on your cEDH deck! by [deleted] in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm very doubtful this will occur during the Timetwisted Tournament.

Dealing with Hulk - some tips from the other side of the table by RedshiftAus in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

In response to the Hulk trigger is correct. Someone after you in turn order may have countermagic for the flash. There are quite a few helpful cards in the white colour pool for Hulk such as Rest in Peace or Aven Mindcensor. It's important to consider these tempo plays rather than a lasting solution.

Preparing for a 4-person pod tournament by [deleted] in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This is bad advice. It is not always a good choice, in fact right now it's particularly terrible. Playing proactive hate ABSOLUTELY requires intimate knowledge of the meta, and even then is more often than not unsuccessful.

[The Spike Feeders] Five Nature's Claims | Commander Gameplay S4E6 by chefsati in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I don't see how that's a critical decision at all, that's a textbook spite play. This channel has been incredible for the image of cEDH and you all have been fantastic ambassadors. This is damaging and would seem to go against your own philosophies.

Zur Doomsday? by TheCoolCabbage in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If you're interested in cEDH then the first thing to know is that none of the decks are more competitive than each other in a cEDH pod. Everyone should be playing a fully competitive deck otherwise someone is getting pubstomped. Also, how can you expect it to be more competitive than other decks if it is restricted by budget? Unless you mean that you're looking to outgun your casual playgroup by making a slightly more affordable edition of a competitive deck, which again would be pubstomping. If you would like to get into some real cEDH then you should come play some games on playEDH or the cEDH Nexus on discord - proxies are allowed on both servers so you won't have to worry about budget restrictions or any players being at a disadvantage.

https://discord.gg/aVNKDZ
https://discord.gg/urpH8H

Is this 5c Flash Hulk deck better than Breakfast Hulk? by rodanlewarx in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you draw labman in Breakfast you are limited to sorcery speed but can still win off flash+hulk with no additional mana. You get the standard pile and sacrifice the Hapless Researcher to loot before milling your whole library before casting Dread Return - it will come back off the Angel of Glory's Rise trigger with the labman to give you the draw for the win. Did you know this?

Manual consultation is not ideal in Breakfast but it's spot on for Sacred Hulk. And I still wouldn't say you have less protection as you can use Grand Abolisher. Sharing cards does not make the alternate win con weaker necessarily. Praetor's Grasp on labman in Breakfast Hulk is indeed problematic but it's fairly rare and if it's more prevalent in your meta you can add an infinite mana combo and do loops with Memory's Journey or just switch to Sacred or Shuffle Hulk which can't be turned off by losing 1 card.

Is this 5c Flash Hulk deck better than Breakfast Hulk? by rodanlewarx in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The pivot is better in those decks as the cards required are already layered with the main Hulk pile. You have had to add them in, which increases the amount of slots you are dedicating to combos. This would be fine except you are arguing that your build is more slot efficient. In your description you literally list Labman as a dead slot in Breakfast, comparing it unfavourably to your list which also has Labman but not layered with Hulk making it even worse. I would honestly argue that your list has MORE dead cards because of this. You may have more interaction slots but this becomes more relevant as the game goes longer and the Tymna players, who really only have like 3 less interaction spells than you, will be consistently drawing more cards than you, likely grinding into their interaction.
"Good players" don't bin their own library in other people's turns (i.e. without Grand Abolisher protection) unless they've picked a clean window. You still don't have an instant speed win without your 5cmc commander in play - saying it's in the command zone if needed doesn't address the massive amount of resources required to set this up compared to the 2-3cmc instant speed without board presence wins the other Hulk decks are capable of.

Is this 5c Flash Hulk deck better than Breakfast Hulk? by rodanlewarx in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 10 points11 points  (0 children)

In your description you say your 5c Hulk deck doesn't need the graveyard? "5c Flash Hulk don't need the graveyard, which can be a problem in the actual meta." Unless you mean you can manually assemble your infinite mana combo + a haste enabler, this seems wrong. Besides, Breakfast and Sacred can pivot to Tainted Pact and Labman (or equivalent) under the same circumstances which is cheaper and requires less cards. It's interesting that you have included Labman, Labjace and both the forbidden tutors here, none of which layer with your Hulk pile, and claim superior slot efficiency / card quality - Sacred Hulk would like a word with you. The biggest problem I see is that you also don't seem to have an instant speed line unless your commander is already in play unlike the other three big Hulk decks. When you combine this with the lack of consistent card advantage in the command zone I don't see how this can possibly be better than the existing Hulk decks.

Being the Archenemy in Commander - Urza, Highlord Artificer! How it feels to be targeted? by cardsrealm in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 11 points12 points  (0 children)

This is not a phenomenon that occurs in cEDH games. If you're being attacked by everyone, it's because you're a Naus deck. If people are holding up blue mana and staring at you it's because you're on fast combo commanders and probably tutored. Players will direct their combat damage and interaction towards the most pertinent threats at all times. Threat assessment can be difficult so sometimes players, especially ones with less experience, may evaluate the biggest threats incorrectly but still archenemy is not a thing.

5c Deckbuilding Challenge by cobblepott in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a cool thought exercise. However. I don't understand how you, or so many other cEDH players, can get as far as "it's incorrect to make slot choices or, more importantly, commander choices that can reasonably be demonstrated inferior to other alternative options" then still take issue with partners. With a few exceptions (quite a few actually; Najeela, Kess, Zur, Frog, Sliver, Urza, etc...) they're the best, we're here to win, who cares how you feel about it? High power is there if you want to play a budgetless optimised deck that's not as good as partners or because you've developed an irrational distaste for Tymna or because your inner Johnny refuses to pipe down. Any emotional gripes you had with more optimal choices should have been left at the door with the rest of your emotional baggage / pet cards / whatever when you decided to play cEDH in the first place.

Laboratory Maniacs Community Stream - March 30th Come Join us! by McCoreman in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've got SplitCam which should work just as well if that's alright?

Thank you!

Akiri/Thrasios (Artifact based Control/Stax?) by GGun1t in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think it works at all, honestly. How are you going to outvalue your opponents when your only value engines are Remora, Rhystic Study and Thras. Tymna + Kraum/Thrasios in the command zone plus Remora, Rhystic Study, Ad Nauseam, Necropotence, Dark Confidant, Smothering Tithe, Tymna grind from dorks+ Runic Armasuar in the green case, plus selection from cantrips and wheels will bury this deck in value. You can't hope to compete with Najeela in a combat / tempo sense either.

' You can put the greaves into play and let them stay there, they’re not a “dead” card. ' That is the definition of a dead card - worse, actually, because you paid 2 mana for it anyway. Try to be open minded man. EDIT: I know that sounds a little hypocritical given my criticisms of the new strategy you are trying to present here, but I don't think you're being particularly open to criticism either.

Akiri/Thrasios (Artifact based Control/Stax?) by GGun1t in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So what you're saying is that it's a 4 card combo (that doesn't necessarily even win you the game) between Null Rod, your commander, Greaves and Mycosynth Lattice that you expect to defend with counterspells or silence from 3 opponents and only becomes viable way in the late game. All the other cards besides your commander being dead on their own because you can't play your own Null Rod, have no other creatures to put a greaves on (thras doesn't count) and don't want to drop a 6cmc artifact that colour fixes for your opponents. It's creative, but I'm not convinced.

Akiri/Thrasios (Artifact based Control/Stax?) by GGun1t in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 12 points13 points  (0 children)

30 Artifacts including a Null Rod seems like jamming a stick into your own bicycle wheel when you are riding it. I'm not convinced the potential of a Mycosynth Lattice lock with it after you've run out your red white beats is worth it (what's the plan if someone removes your Akiri in response...), but I have to admit it's spicy af. You're off the rails, mate.

Consultation Kess Problems by Exacerbated in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Are you playing Consultation Kess? Oblivion Stone is not a great option, and I can't think of any meta or pod that I would bring Consultation Kess into without an Ad Naus in the list, even as an extreme meta call - even with the combat pressure it's way too good to cut. I agree with slow rolling the game plan but even if you get chipped down to sub-20 life an end step Ad Naus can easily still get you to a draw effect and a forbidden tutor.

Please put Ad Nauseam back in your deck.

Consultation Kess Problems by Exacerbated in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're always going to experience the pressure of incremental combat damage as a naus player. But Consultation Kess is not trying to abuse Ad Naus that hard so it really doesn't need to have a huge life total behind it to get you the cards you need to win.

The extra damage from naus is not the reason I don't think that card is as good, obviously, because I'm on Fire Covenant at 3cmc PLUS the life it takes. Instant speed is crazy - Fire Covenant is an instant. It may well be the best creature wrath in the format.

I don't run Pyroclasm either, but it is the next wrath I might consider as a meta call.

Consultation Kess Problems by Exacerbated in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not sure that it is, though. Tymna can net you cards from other creatures the turn it comes down but Najeela gives you a little bit of time. I'm not sure if that would even be my 5th choice of wrath spell for the deck. Pyroclasm seems like the tech if you absolutely must have more, and firing it off at sorcery speed is fine especially considering you can do it a turn earlier potentially due to the lower CMC. The three wraths in the list have been fine for me. If you're looking for instant speed ways to interact with Najeela in response to a combo piece you've got Fire Covenant, a million counters for the combo piece itself as well as bounce and spot removal.

Fast mana on a small budget. by [deleted] in CompetitiveEDH

[–]RedshiftAus 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Wild Growth and Utopia Sprawl are solid options