The Queen's Egg

Commander / EDH Mortlocke

SCORE: 721 | 856 COMMENTS | 117328 VIEWS | IN 364 FOLDERS


Another Impulse buy. I'm so ashamed. —Nov. 2, 2017

Ebay feels like the bane of my existence right about now. I was merely browsing around and saw a listing for a Kaladesh Inventions Mana Cryptfoil for $159. That's a $20 drop from the usual $180-$200 asking price. So...I basically blacked out and woke up to a purchased screen. I'm not proud of what I have done, but at the very least I'm down to one last Kaladesh Invention to acquire: Sol Ringfoil.

Bezter says... #1

Amazing coding! I am trying to do some coding myself on my Zurgo EDH deck. Would you want to share any of your secrets with me? :) If not I understand, but I am quite intrigued, especially by the panels.

October 1, 2017 3:31 p.m.

Mortlocke says... #2

Lord.of.Innistrad, of course I'll share my secrets of CSS-fu with you. I'll just have to remember exactly how my code works again lol. Expect a post on your profile page in the near future :)

October 2, 2017 10:37 a.m.

Bezter says... #3

Awesome! If you could include how to publish the external CSS files to Dropbox or whatever that would be fantastic! Thanks :)

October 2, 2017 11:55 a.m.

Mortlocke says... #4

M4RK0G91, I realize I never actually responded to your other thought:

"Oh, i wanted to ask you one thing: i know this is a EDH build, but i wanted your opinion about the Tiny Leader format. If you would ever build a TL sliver deck, what colors you would choose?"

I uh...realize this is like...months late so sorry about that. So what's my opinion of the Tiny Leader format? Well, I don't have a TL deck, nor have I played the format BUT the idea I have of the format is alot constant quick and cheap plays that over time add up and create interesting combos and synergies. I can see why you would consider creating a Sliver deck for that format. The only problem is that you won't have any big "Haymakers" if you will. Being restricted to CMC 3 seems like a real big challenge.

So, what colors would I choose to build a TL deck? Hmm....well lets assume I want to build a TL Sliver deck. What would be the ideal commander for me? Animar, Soul of Elements is a strong contender in my book. His secondary ability at the very least helps you cast more Slivers. On top of that, his color identity gives you access to Gemhide Sliver + Heart Sliver, and Venom + Striking Sliver. Additionally, i'd drop in Muscle Sliver + Predatory Sliver. So if it wasn't evident from all the previous card choices and synergies I pointed out, i'd make an aggro deck. Maybe call it "Animar, Soul of the Hive" or something like that.

Yeah. Sorry about the super late response. Thanks again for commenting!

October 18, 2017 3:56 p.m. Edited.

Juppe says... #5

Hey LVL_666, I really love the art on your new Swords to Plowshares and you were asking for opinions on adding this one. Don't you think only exiling a creature is enough?

I don't know how many Planeswalkers are played in your meta/playgroup but I find myself swapping out cards all the time to find one with as much targets as possible.Therefore, cause you are running none of these cards, what do you think about Hero's Downfall or Dreadbore ? They both kill a creature, but an annoying Planeswalker as well.On the other hand Utter End is expensive with 4 cmc, but it hits everything, exiles and is instant. When you run Vindicate and Anguished Unmaking you should take the third of the cycle as well :)

and there are some nice arts for these ones, too: Utter End Heros Downfall

October 21, 2017 7:51 a.m.

Mortlocke says... #6

Juppe, I think the card choices you mentioned are awesome. They may have been mentioned to me in the past, but revisiting them I feel as though I want to include them in some way. I however, have no idea how to include them in this deck. As i'd have a hard time deciding on what to cut. I'm considering creating a sideboard, but I'm on the fence about it as the official rules state:

"Normally, sideboards are not allowed. Optionally, players may have a 10 card sideboard that they may use before the match after Generals are declared" -Source.

It's ether that, or I start cutting more Slivers from the deck and that's something I'm rather hesitant to do as their number continually dwindle to make room for more control cards. What're your thoughts? Should I actually include a sideboard?

October 22, 2017 8:47 p.m.

Juppe says... #7

LVL_666 first cut the Swords to Plowshares due to the other options beeing just better because of more targets..

I personally value a higher number of targets more than the mana cost. EDH/Commander is still a Multiplayer or at least slow format where cards such as Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares loose a lot of value they gain in the faster constructed formats (legacy, modern) in which they gain most of their power to being instant & only 1 mana :)

here are my suggestions and why to cut :)

  1. cut Swan Song for Utter End

reasons: swan song hits enchantments, instants, sorceries.. utter end hits everthing that's permanent..

  1. cut Swords to Plowshares for Hero's Downfall

reasons: Swords hits creatures, but downfall hits planeswalkers as well

All of what I said here and before is only a personal opinion and based on my personal meta-knowledge.. My groups play a lot of planeswalkers and few indestructible creatures or graveyard-return-effects, so exiling creatures is not necessary.

October 23, 2017 7 a.m.

Mortlocke says... #8

Juppe,

"EDH/Commander is still a Multiplayer or at least slow format where cards such as Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares loose a lot of value"

Not in the meta where this deck exists. The Queen's Egg only faces tier 1 and 2 decks. Prossh, Skyraider of Kher or Animar, Soul of Elements are its regular adversaries. Swords to Plowshares is very CMC efficient, so it can help delay the adversaries' progress and leave me with additional options. Games generally don't last too long, maybe 4 to 6 turns but rarely no more than that. So as you can see, i'm rather hesitant on cutting it.

"cut Swan Song for Utter End"

So in this deck, counterspells are used often. At times, I am at a bit of a loss with Swan Song because it doesn't target everything. When Stax or Superfriends decks show up, I have trouble. I have been thinking of a replacement for Swan Song, ideally i'd like to swap it out for a different counterspell but for the time being I am considering Hero's Downfall over Utter End. The CMC is much higher than what i'd like to pay, but it does seem much more useful. Plus the icing on the cake is that sweet sweet promo art. So my final decision is Hero's Downfall in for Swan Song. What do you think of that?

October 23, 2017 10:47 a.m. Edited.

Mortlocke says... #9

Juppe,

I'm having second thoughts on cutting Swan Song. I need counterspells in this deck. As opposed to cutting a counterspell, i'm going to share some thoughts on some alternative cards. I'd appreciate it if you could give me your thoughts on the following:

  • Undermine - It's a neat card, but not necessarily competitive enough. At least in EDH.
  • Plasm Capture - The supposedly "fixed" mana drain. I think it fits the theme of the deck, but I'm concerned that it's not competitive enough.
  • Arcane Denial - This was in the deck once upon a time, my only issue with this spells is the fact that it awards the opponent with two additional draws on their next turn.
  • Force of Will - Also used to be in this deck, but I upgraded to a Mana Drain because there's simply not enough in the deck to support this.
  • Forbid - This seems like it would be a good fit in here, as it can be reused on a semi-consistent basis. I think of the cards previously mentioned this is probably the best contender of the bunch. It seems perfect for EDH.
October 26, 2017 11:32 a.m.

_Delta_ says... #10

Forbid seems like the best of the bunch, but have you considered Disallow as well?

October 26, 2017 12:32 p.m.

Mortlocke says... #11

Delta-117, actually, no I haven't considered Disallow. That's an amazing spell. It's one use, but maui wowie it targets everything. Now I'm on the fence between Disallow and Forbid.

Disallow

  • Cons: One time Use.
  • Pros: Targets everything.

Forbid

  • Cons: Can only counter spells.
  • Pros: Potentially re-usable.

This is a tough set of choices. Disallow can stop a combo from going off. While Forbid can just keep getting reused. I feel so conflicted, and I don't know which one to go with.

October 26, 2017 3:50 p.m.

Mortlocke says... #12

Delta-117, after much deliberation I decided to go with Disallow. I'm in no rush to pick it up, so i'm going to play the long wait on ebay. I'm going to go ahead and update the decklist anyway, despite still running Swan Song in paper. I wish the card got the same treatment as Yahenni's Expertise or even Voidslime. But oh well, it's still a good card.

October 31, 2017 10:03 a.m.

Mortlocke says... #13

Delta-117, sorry to spam you but I'd like your thoughts, or rather anyone's thoughts on the following:

Should I swap Negate for Voidslime?

Negate:

  • Pros: Is very cheap CMC wise leaving me with more options with it in hand.
  • Cons: Doesn't target creatures, which can hurt when needing to counter a commander entering play.

Voidslime:

  • Pros: Can target virtually anything.
  • Cons: Is a much more expensive card CMC wise. Basically, is a strictly worse Disallow but it's still very good. Plus the alternate art for Voidslime looks amazing.

But yeah, I'm kind of having a tough time with this one. To add more context this deck is meant to be the most ideal set up for a Sliver Overlord commander. Therefore, I need to have the best and most efficient plays available to me at all times. Sometimes that means having spells that cost less CMC wise despite not quite being able to target and destroy everything. Mind-thoughts on this matter from outside the hive would be much appreciated.

October 31, 2017 11:09 a.m. Edited.