July 09, 2014, 09:13:38 PM
Roon of the Hidden RealmRoon is one of the most fun commanders to play with. This deck is designed to work off many different plans and loops. From
Survival of the Fittest.
Melira and persist creatures, a
Birthing Pod curve and general blinky value cards. With so many options it's hard not to have fun piloting it. It can be played as an aggressive combo strategy, or sit back and play control. The choices can be complex at time, and there are far too many to list for each scenario. I've taken the time to set the Deck Tech into groups based on what they do generally, and what you should look out for in order to "go off". The plans are as follows:
Tutors > Infinite Combos > Table Flip
Tutors > Powerful creatures > Beat faces.
Blink Engines > Value > Win.
Blink Engines > Destroy all of your opponents lands > Butt hurt
Infinite Loops > Win
Prophet of Kruphix > Something crazy > Win
Deadeye Navigator > Card X > Win
Cataclysm > Blink your creatures > Win
Tutors•
Chord of CallingInstant speed tutor. The flexibility and power of this is great. Bring something in on an endstep, find a blocker, take advantage of the situation with an EtB ability.
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Eladamri's CallWhile it may not be easily repeatable (Could set-up an
Archaeomancer loop), it's basically just a better
Worldly Tutor for one more mana. This deck relies on having really strong tutors, and this qualifies.
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Green Sun's ZenithGreen Sun's Zenith is married to cards like
Birthing Pod because it relaunches your ladder, also it shuffles back into your library so you can use it some time down the line. Yes, it is probably weaker then
Chord of Calling, it is not instant, only fetches green creatures. But it is cheaper and overall is an extremely strong card.
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Tooth and NailProbably the greatest tutor of all time (
Defense of the Heart gives it a run for it's money). 9 mana = win the game. If you can't win with it, you've got a lot of learning to do.
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Worldly TutorSuper cheap, instant creature tutor. It gets you there most of the time. Depending on the game plan and boardstate you simply get the best creature you can.
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Birthing PodThe deck is built with the purpose of having answers for most anything at each CMC level. Birthing Pod allow you to climb up that ladder until our late-game finishers come down, while still keeping control of the board. Repeatable tutors are the bread and butter of this deck. It also enables dies/leaves play triggers, which is occasionally relevant with persist creatures and
Reveillark.
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Survival of the FittestFauna Shaman is a tribute to this card. Same rules apply. Helps you win, repeatable tutor.
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Ajani, Mentor of HeroesBoth of Ajani's first abilities are relevant. The first +1 ability powers up all of my creatures. Many of them are 2/2's and would benefit from the increased power. Also, my persist creatures have their -1/-1 cancelled out by it. The second +1 gives me card selection. While it may be 1 card, given the sheer number of tutors in the deck, and the fact the cards go back into my library, I can routinely gain access to them again. The ultimate will likely never be used.
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Garruk, Caller of BeastsThis is the most recent addition to my deck, and I cut the almighty
Jace, the Mind Sculptor for him. His high CMC masks one of the most powerful abilities in all of the deck. So good it's almost broken. His first ability could potentially be BETTER then
Ancestral Recall. He has proven himself time and time again to be a nasty draw machine, pulling one or two creatures with consistency. His emblem breaks the game open, giving you a free
Tooth and Nail ever time you cast a creature. The -3 is bananas too, but you already knew that.
Blinking Engines•
Roon of the Hidden RealmRoon is fairly costly at 5 mana, but he has one of the better repeatable blink effects in the game. He's also really not a bad creature. 4/4 with Trample and Vigilance is nice, and his awesome ability only costs


. Bant has a wonderful selection of Enter the Battlefield (ETB) creatures. So if you're into fun blinky things Roon is just about the only option.
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Mistmeadow WitchThe little engine that could. The blinking effect won't be the cheapest, but Mistmeadow can be value town.
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Restoration AngelFlickers all non-angel creatures. It's a great accessory to the deck. Super versatile as a flash blocker, something to get in the way, or just an exploitable target for blinking.
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Deadeye NavigatorBest blink engine in the deck, without a doubt. Combos with everything in the deck, avoids almost any type of control. insane. If you can stick it with lands open you pretty much win. There are cards in this deck just to find him (
Fierce Empath).
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Conjurer's ClosetAn extremely strong blinking engine that can get things rolling. Very efficient way reuse EtB abilities without having to pay casting costs, what we call "value". The return to the battlefield ability is instant.
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Venser, the SojournerThe second engine (primary) that gets the deck hooked up. Venser plays very nicely with the things we already are playing. Since our deck is loaded with guys like
Mulldrifter and
Karmic Guide, the Sojourner's Flicker ability already works quite well. Beyond enters-the-battlefield abuse, you can use it to reload the counters on a Planeswalker, untap an attacker post-combat to use as a blocker, reload the +1/+1 counters on a
Spike Weaver, trigger
Aura Shards, pull unfortunate Auras off your stuff, and so forth. And all of that synergy is packed in just his first ability. Doubles as a win-con. If you get a Venser emblem, you basically win. You can work that emblem all while getting crazy value out of your creatures. His second ability should not be overlooked also, it can be another win condition.
Enters the Battlefield Package•
Coiling OracleDrawing Cards is good. Playing Lands is good. Coiling Oracle is valuable early game. Coiling Oracle is valuable mid-game. Coiling Oracle is valuable late game. Coiling Oracle is value.
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Gilded DrakeFor my money, Gilded Drake is probably the best "clone" type creature for this deck. The theory is simple, exchange it for their best creature, then blink it back under your control. Works great with
Venser, the Sojourner. You get their creature straight up, it has an advantage over clones.
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Qasali PridemageDestroying
Torpor Orb is a meta everyone has to make. It's an absolutely horrid way to slow your deck down. It has to go at all costs, and Exalted isn't bad at all.
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Eternal WitnessShe is undoubtedly one of the strongest card ever printed for Green. Being able to get ANY card out of your graveyard for 3 mana is ridiculous. She can also be used in many loops that just make using it a blast. In a format where recursion is king she is the queen. Like I said before, graveyards are like second hands almost.
Eternal Witness/
Archaeomancer +
Venser, Shaper Savant +
Ghostly Flicker = Every


can return a card to an opponents hand or knock out their permanents.
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Reclamation SageIn the end, despite all the crazy loops to look out for and shenanigans you can do, the only way to win is to beat your opponents. This deck is very good at getting rid of your opponents stuff over and over again - especially non-creatures. Resource denial is the most common way this deck can win. It should be used to hit stuff early game - even if it's just as simple as a mana rock, don't be afraid to cast it.
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ArchaeomancerThis card is actually better then
Snapcaster Mage if you've got a way to flicker it. Snapcaster exiles the spell if you use the Flashback ability, and adds


to recasting it. Archaeomancer on the other hand gives you the card back , so you can recast it at no extra cost, and repeat the cycle if you so choose
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Clever ImpersonatorThe most flexible
Clone ever printed. This card is the gold standard for clone effects. If you're running a clone type card, change it over to this. Enemy planeswalkers, enchantments, artifacts, anything but land. It even sneakily put Auras like
Pascifism on Hexproof creatures (
Sun Titan and
Copy Enchantment have already been doing this, but...)
303.4f:"If an Aura is entering the battlefield under a player's control by any means other than by resolving as an Aura spell, and the effect putting it onto the battlefield doesn't specify the object or player the Aura will enchant, that player
chooses what it will enchant as the Aura enters the battlefield."
Choosing is not targeting. I cannot wait to rip all of the combinations possible with this now in my deck.
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NevermakerFits into the
Birthing Pod curve rather nicely. It can get rid of a pesky planeswalker / enchantment / artifact / indestructible thing and tuck a commander. Pretty profitable blocker too and cheaper then
Brutalizer Exarch.
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Spike WeaverSpike Weaver seems like an odd choice, but it does find it's way on many Roon lists because the value is a bit more subtle then you might first realize. Spike Weaver is basically a
Fog on a stick. Ordinarily
Fog cards aren't generally useful, but in a multiplayer game it might just dissuade people from attacking. It helps against fast, aggressive Voltron decks and others that might ordinarily steamroll you. The other bonus is that his +1/+1 counter cancels out a -1/-1 counter, so the Persist guys can keep rolling. Blink him for a fresh set of counters.
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Venser, Shaper SavantA
Boomerang or
Remand? Does it really matter? Didn't think so.
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Acidic SlimeResource denial is a powerful tool. The goal of the deck is to keep pressing my opponents by making them answer my threats.
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Body DoubleRecusion and a clone effect. Part of making that Graveyard act as second hand, and also all of the synergies. Too many to list, but Body Double combos with a lot of things.
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MulldrifterDraw all of the cards!
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Perplexing ChimeraSame principal as
Gilded Drake but for works for spells too! It can steal just about anything, including any spell that wishes to destroy it. I love this card, it frequently holds the board down for me.
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Prophet of KruphixThis is how you turn things up to the next level. All your creatures become disruption or card advantage. Easily one of the three best cards in the deck, and almost always the first thing you tutor for any time after early game. It is just doesn't have any weaknesses for this type of deck, AND combos with
Reveillark (but what doesn't?)
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Seedborn MuseSeedborn is arguably more powerful then Prophet, but arguably less powerful. It untaps artifacts, which tend to be more powerful in some decks. I have
Gilded Lotus and
Sol Ring, which is nice to have untap. Also, what could be wrong with another Prophet? Also, you won't believe this but...its combos with
Reveillark.
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Bane of ProgressThis is like hitting the big ol' reset button. I think this is a meta call, and I sort of included it in the deck to combat my
Oloro Stax deck..
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DuplicantI like this card because it exiles their biggest threat. With all the ETB enablers that are in the deck, it can become a seriously deadly weapon.
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Prime Speaker ZeganaDraw all of the cards 2.0! Fun to abuse.
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Sun TitanA big body that recurs a good amount of utility cards and fetch lands. Plays well with plenty of cards in the deck and combos with
Saffi Ericksdotter.
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Hornet QueenThe newest finisher in the deck, the Queen of Hornets is built 100% around finishing the game for me. The tokens can work as blockers, she can be blinked to rapidly produce an army of super deadly bees. She can produce a complete
Stasis with a reliable blink engine.
Mana Accelerators•
Noble Hierarch,
Bloom Tender,
Farhaven Elf,
Wood Elves,
Chromatic Lantern and
Sol RingLoopsBirthing pod: 3-Drop + Venser, Shaper Savant + Roon of the Hidden Realm/Bounce SpellActive
Birthing Pod into
Venser, Shaper Savant. Bounce an opponents land or whichever threat.
Next turn, pod Venser into
Karmic Guide which you use to bring back Venser.
Next turn,
Do not pay the Echo cost on
Karmic Guide let it die. Pod Venser and grab
Body Double. Have Body Double clone Karmic Guide which you use to get
Karmic Guide. Repeat previous step.
Next turn,
Do not pay the Echo cost on
Karmic Guide or
Body Double. Pod Venser into
Reveillark. Use Roon/Bounce on Reveillark to get back Venser and Body Double as whatever you're into.
Phyrexian Atlar: Reveillark + Karmic Guide + Saffi EriksdotterSacrifice Saffi, targetting Reveillark. Sacrifice Karmic Guide to your Phyrexian Altar. Sacrifice Reveilark to Phyrexian Altar. Reveilark brings back Saffi and Guide, Guide brings back whatever you would like. Everyone's graveyard is at your disposal.
Phyrexian Altar: Melira, Sylvok Outcast + Persist CreaturesThe synergy here is pretty obvious. Persist creatures leave the battlefield and come back with a -1/-1 counter on them. If they die with that counter on them, they go to graveyard. But what if they never got that -1/-1 counter? They could be reanimated indefinitely. Melira keeps that counter from staying on them. So all you'd need is a
Phyrexian Altar/
Blasting Station/
Ashnod's Altar type card to get the infinite chain going! I picked
Phyrexian Altar because I want my infinite combo to give me infinite mana too, why not?

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Kitchen FinksFinks fits right into the
Birthing Pod curve, gets you some life (not all that meaningful in EDH). I like the versatility, good body with a fair mana cost. Combos with Melira for infinite life.
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Glen Elendra ArchmageNegate on a stick here. It's even great with
Deadeye Navigator and other blinky things. It's a wonderful tool to have at your disposal.
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Woodfall PrimusThe big question is: "Why not
Terastodon?". There are several reasons, but one of the most compelling ones is the Persist on
Woodfall Primus. He's got a better body, interacts with Melira, and doesn't give any sort of advantage away. Also, I have
Angel of Serenity which sort of acts like
Terastodon.
⚠️
Use with caution: There is no "MAY" clause. If you put his ability on the stack too much you'll have to target your own permanents.⚠️
Top 55.
Birthing Pod4.
Venser, the Sojourner3.
Prophet of Kruphix2.
Phyrexian Altar1.
Survival of the Fittest
Last Edit: November 13, 2014, 08:03:39 PM by Dudecore