Entry 8: Renovations ~ “The generals each surveyed their devastated forces. Then, slowly, they turned to each other and raised their swords” ~ (Slash the Ranks) Many battles have been fought. Many creatures have been tapped, then untapped, and turned into indestructible 4/4s, but I think the time has come. After three months, over twenty games, a lot of losses, and even a few wins I think it’s finally time to retire Taranika as the commander of my deck diary. Taranika has absolutely outperformed every expectation I had for her. The synergies I had in the deck routinely struck fear in my opponents, at times, forcing my opponents to eliminate me over someone else. Crawling Barrens, Siege Striker, and Gingerbrute were some of the innocuous looking cards that left my opponents shaking when played alongside Taranika. If she’s performed so well, why am I removing her from the command zone? It comes down to floors and ceilings. To continue improving the deck around Taranika would require me to go deeper and deeper into the narrow combat oriented strategy Taranika supports. The gameplans that work with Taranika, aggressive high synergy creatures, provide a natural cap on the power level of this project. The more of these creatures and synergies I add, the more linear the deck becomes. Fundamentally, this is against the spirit of the project which has me looking to create a powerful yet adaptable deck that can evolve with new printings. Secondly, Taranika is a payoff more than an enabler, and she is an extremely unique payoff. Finding redundant Taranika effects is difficult with the limited products I’m using and without Taranika the deck is filled with creatures that don’t really do anything. The floor of Taranika is low and the ceiling isn’t very high. Compare that to the commanders with which I’m replacing Taranika — Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel and Alharu, Solemn Ritualist. Both have been in the deck since January. Alharu was in the initial construction and Livio was one of the first additions to the list. The floor of both these commanders is quite a bit higher than Taranika. Partner bumps that floor up instantly because it’s essentially putting an extra card in my opening hand. It also means that I have synergy between the two cards at all times. Livio can flicker Alharu placing counters on more creatures and/or at instant speed. The deck already has a counters sub-theme meaning Alharu taking the lead gives me built in synergy from the command zone. Livio has less built in synergy with the current iteration of the deck, but enters the battlefield effects (etbs) are always at a premium and I’d expect improvements to this list would definitely include several creatures with etbs. The variety of creatures and strategies that can work with Livio helps to raise the ceiling of the deck along with the floor.
Last week I said the cuts were going to get tougher, and I wasn’t wrong. After three months, not only are the cards in this deck better, but that sentimental attachment many of us are familiar with has started to form. This week the card I’m cutting gave me a wild story during my last game with Taranika at the helm. Hopefully I can relay that story well.
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AuthorMonoWhiteBorder -- A man who loves MtG and his small dog. Archives
June 2021
Categories"MonoWhiteBorder" and corresponding content is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
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