The Immortal King: The Fable of Oloro
Commander (1)
His Kingdom (36)
- 1x Academy Ruins
- 1x Arid Mesa
- 1x Bloodstained Mire
- 1x Bojuka Bog
- 1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
- 1x Command Tower
- 1x Drowned Catacomb
- 1x Flooded Strand
- 1x Glacial Fortress
- 1x Godless Shrine
- 1x Hallowed Fountain
- 1x Isolated Chapel
- 1x Marsh Flats
- 1x Misty Rainforest
- 1x Polluted Delta
- 1x Prairie Stream
- 1x Reflecting Pool
- 1x Reliquary Tower
- 1x Scalding Tarn
- 1x Scrubland
- 3x Snow-Covered Island
- 2x Snow-Covered Plains
- 2x Snow-Covered Swamp
- 1x Strip Mine
- 1x Sunken Hollow
- 1x Tundra
- 1x Underground Sea
- 1x Verdant Catacombs
- 1x Volrath's Stronghold
- 1x Wasteland
- 1x Watery Grave
- 1x Windswept Heath
His Wrath (5)
His Omnipotence (23)
- 1x Anguished Unmaking
- 1x Aven Mindcensor
- 1x Counterspell
- 1x Cyclonic Rift
- 1x Duplicant
- 1x Fatespinner
- 1x Force of Will
- 1x Forsake the Worldly
- 1x Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
- 1x Karlov of the Ghost Council
- 1x Karn Liberated
- 1x Mana Drain
- 1x Pact of Negation
- 1x Path to Exile
- 1x Reality Shift
- 1x Render Silent
- 1x Slaughter Pact
- 1x Stifle
- 1x Swan Song
- 1x Swords to Plowshares
- 1x Unmake
- 1x Venser, Shaper Savant
- 1x Vindicate
His Escalation (7)
- 1x Alhammarret's Archive
- 1x Consecrated Sphinx
- 1x Dovin Baan
- 1x Erebos, God of the Dead
- 1x Phyrexian Arena
- 1x Rhystic Study
- 1x Well of Lost Dreams
His Treasure (6)
- 1x Azorius Signet
- 1x Dimir Signet
- 1x Mana Crypt
- 1x Sol Ring
- 1x Talisman of Dominance
- 1x Talisman of Progress
His Grace (2)
His Equivocation (11)
- 1x Aminatou, the Fateshifter
- 1x Clever Impersonator
- 1x Cryptic Command
- 1x Dimir Doppelganger
- 1x Esper Charm
- 1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
- 1x Lim-Dul's Vault
- 1x Snapcaster Mage
- 1x Solemn Simulacrum
- 1x Sun Titan
- 1x Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign
His Chalice (6)
- 1x Authority of the Consuls
- 1x Divinity of Pride
- 1x Drogskol Reaver
- 1x Elixir of Immortality
- 1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
- 1x Sphinx's Revelation
His Clairvoyance (3)
Sideboard (10)
- 1x Ad Nauseam
- 1x Angel's Grace
- 1x Containment Priest
- 1x Flusterstorm
- 1x Grand Abolisher
- 1x Hurkyl's Recall
- 1x Laboratory Maniac
- 1x Maze of Ith
- 1x Mystical Tutor
- 1x Trickbind
Maybeboard
Other (16)
- 1x Arcane Denial
- 1x Azor, the Lawbringer
- 1x Beacon of Immortality
- 1x Crucible of Worlds
- 1x Erase
- 1x Hallowed Moonlight
- 1x Hour of Devastation
- 1x Invoke Prejudice
- 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
- 1x Memory Lapse
- 1x Mox Amber
- 1x Necropotence
- 1x Sensei's Divining Top
- 1x Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
- 1x The Immortal Sun
- 1x Unexpectedly Absent
Exordium
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Do you like to gain life? Do you find yourself playing decks that guide other players to beat each other to a pulp while you sit there? Do you like to bide your time and wait for your perfect moment as you watch the world burn around you, and then take the charred remains for yourself? If yes, then Oloro, Ageless Ascetic is the best possible commander for you. With his life gain ability, you can get a little safety cushion for yourself. Every turn the cushion gets bigger and bigger. Players are not going to like it at first but other problems arise. They forget about you and you wait bidding your time, land after land. When they finally decide to pay attention you have more than double everyone’s life, some powerful build up with control in your hand. They are done before they realize what has happened.
The Immortal's Codex
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Open Codex Show
I sit on my throne, day in and day out. I watch over my domain, from my palace of ice and gold. For years I sit, watch, protect. For years, the foolish have tried to overtake, overcome, and over throw my throne. For years I have overcome, collecting, waiting. Always watching, always protecting. The God king of Esper does what he wants, he desires, he urns for. Always on my throne; collecting, defending, and waiting. Ever strong, ever fierce, and ever cold; always on my throne. If you try and disobey me, loot me, or overtake me; I will show you the error in your ways. My omnipotence knows no bounds as I perch atop my throne, always sitting, always watching, always waiting. For I am the Immortal King....
Prologue: Synopsis
Reading this decklist Show
This decklist is organized into my custom categories. The categories where chosen to help spilt into function and given names that added flavor elements. Those categories are as follows:
- His Chalice: Life gain. All gain you life, or build off of the life gain Oloro provides
- His Clairvoyance: Tutors. Needed cards to get your answer to whatever situation
- His Grace: I win spells. These spells can either eliminate all of your opponents at once or just hand you the game.
- His Kingdom: Lands. The basis of any deck; each one being efficient to obtain any color necessary
- His Treasure: Mana accelerating artifacts. Helps the deck accelerate without the use of
- His Equivocation: Utility type cards. Cards with multiple effects or help with board state that improve the decks function
- His Omnipotence: Control Cards. Stops unfavorable cards from hitting the board or staying on board
- His Wrath: Board wipes. Helps with keep opponents strategies within limits
- His Escalation: Card draw. Increases your draw
The sideboard is a working list of extra cards that help support the deck, but aren't in the main list or couldn't make it into the main list.
The maybeboard is a working list of cards that are not in the deck, but are being considered for inclusion pending testing.
Note: this deck may change over time, with a different focus and new configuration.
Archetype: Control Show
This deck blends elements of life gain with elements of control to achieve a balance between powerful resilience and consistency.
As a control deck, this list facilitates a win by suppressing or disrupting opponents' activity to create advantage. It utilizes life gain not only to keep opponents from easily beating you but also as a source to draw and build off of. Counter magic, spot removal, and board wipes are prevailant to help disrupt opponents so that your creatures can attack or allow your other spells to be more impactful when used. Its main method of winning is by attacking with creatures, utilizing a high life total, or by casting mass life draining spells.
Why ? Show
I chose because it offers what I believe to be the best control set you can get: draw power, removal and counterspells (responsive power), tutoring power, and lifegain. Though it lacks in land ramping, it makes up for it in consistency, flexibility, and artifacts. These colors just excel at control. It is also my favorite color combo in magic so far, arguably the best...scratch that, it is the best ;)
Why Oloro? Show
At the time I built this deck I had quite a few choices at my disposal. Those choices where: Chromium, Dakkon Blackblade, Dromar, the Banisher, Ertai, the Corrupted, Halfdane, Lady Evangela, Merieke Ri Berit, Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, Sen Triplets, Sharuum the Hegemon, Sydri, Galvanic Genius, and Zur the Enchanter. There is bound to be more to come out in the future, and each one will be assessed for either a spot in the deck or to replace the current Commander.
Chromium can be good if the deck is built for it, but it has a high casting cost and an annoying upkeep cost. That is why I didn't consider it for my deck.
Dakkon Blackblade is a good General/Commander that can helm many builds. The only reason I did not chose him is because he is just a finisher to the deck and nothing more. I want a card that does more than becomes big, which is why I didn't chose him.
Dromar, the Banisher can be paired with a variety of decks, but is dependent on making contact against an unblocked opponent to do something. Then when it does, it doesn't do enough for its downside to be viable. So I didn't chose this card for that reason.
Ertai, the Corrupted has some flexibility in his build due to his ability, which is a very strong one. But there is pretty much two choices with this card: control using enchantments or control with creatures. Both ways can be durasically different in terms of builds, but will play almost the same. And I wanted something that I could make it play different if I wanted to.
Halfdane is definitely one of the weakest to chose from in this list. Either the deck is focused on creatures or it has nothing to do with the General/Commander at all. For this reason I did not chose this card.
Lady Evangela is a General/Commander that is very focused and doesn't do a lot. The goal of a deck like this is to either prevent damage and gain life or play with creatures to win. For this reason I did not chose this as the leader of my deck.
Merieke Ri Berit is a very fun card to use for a control deck, and Her abilities are perfect for this. She can steal other Generals/Commanders and bend their abilities for her gain. But the end build of the deck will be almost the same as every other version of her deck, which isn't really all that fun. So I went with something else.
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic has the best ability which triggers in the Command zone, plus more if he is in play. He also has one of the most flexible build types of the Esper Generals/Commanders. If you like control themes, artifact themes, enchantment themes, Life Gain themes, and more; then go nuts because he can cover them all. His build flexibility and command zone triggered ability is the reason he outshines over the others and why I chose him.
Sen Triplets is a fun chioce for a General/Commander. It has a strong abilities, but the creature has a major weakness. It is an artifact, easily remove from the board. Not only that but it is a pretty hated card and will be an instant target for everyone. Because of those two reason, I didn't go with it.
Sharuum the Hegemon was the first Commander/EDH deck I built. Tons of combos to chose from plus the ability to use counterspells and spot removal. The one downside to this type of deck is the artifact theme that tends to go with it, and mine fell short in that category due to it's reliance on artifacts. For that reason I needed to change the deck up, to help lessen its weaknesses. Hard choice to make, but well worth it.
Sydri, Galvanic Genius is good for artifact decks, but that is it. If you want flexibility in your builds, this just wasn't a good choice. A good build around me General/Commander, but I wanted to do something else.
Zur the Enchanter has really one build, and that is around him. Control the board, play Zur, protect Zur, and win with Enchantments. I wanted a little more fun and flexibility in my builds, so Zur was not for me.
Strengths Show
This deck excels at executing resilient and powerful control strategies that is maintained throughout the game. Because it relies on efficient, powerful cards in addition to a multitude of counters, wraths, and spot removal; the deck is capable of keeping your opponents offset with the most tenacious control possible while gaining and using life to accelerate your lead. At its best, it manipulates the game to however you see fit. At its worst, it causes your opponents to slow down their game, granting you time to set up for a big win.
Weaknesses Show
The deck's primary weaknesses are against hyper ramp-combo and other control decks. Decks like Arcum Dagsson, Damia, Sage of Stone, Riku of Two Reflections, and Hermit Druid are examples of decks that have the potential to outrace this list and combo out before I get stabilized. You tend to have to slow yourself down and use bait tactics to move around their spells or force them to play their hand. This deck can still win, they just make it more difficult.
Anti-control cards like Boseiju, Who Shelters All, Dosan the Falling Leaf, Grand Abolisher, Stranglehold, and Aven Mindcensor prove to be problematic; but there are answers to such cards in the deck. Getting around these effects is a matter of drawing the answer on your turn or searching for them if possible, which makes them harder to deal with. Draw power, countermagic, and removal are essential to stopping these cards once they hit (ideally before).
Ruination, Blood Moon, and Magus of the Moon are threats because of the way the deck's land base was designed. If these cards resolve, I tend to lose quite often. Stopping them from resolving is key to overcoming them.
Note: This deck is being optimized for multiplayer, so dedicated 1v1 decks tend to have a natural advantage against it in the 1v1 environment, but they can be overcome using sideboard tech.
I have lived for many, many unfathomable lifetimes. I fight, I win, and I live. Every day of every hour, I fight, I live, and I conquer. Many battles fought, many battles won; as I live always returning to this palace of ice and gold. When my journey grows boring-some, I return to my icy palace, and sit on my throne. My throne has grown cold in my absence. Once I return I to warm my throne, more come to conquer my realm. They try and overthrow, overtake, and overcome. Each time I fight, I destroy and obliterate. I continue to live, to watch, and to protect. I sit, I wait, and I live my long, everlasting life. The God king of Esper always fights, always protects, always lives; I smite my foes from my cold, frigid throne always fighting, always protecting, and always living. My omnipotence knows no bounds as I perch atop my throne, always watching, always protecting, and always living. For I am the Immortal King....
Section I: Gameplay
General Strategy Show
This deck is based off of heavy control and high consistency. Its play strategy can be broken up into four stages:
- Starting Hand
- Early game
- Mid game
- Late game
These stages are broken down with explanations and goals as followed below:
Stage I- Starting Hand Show
Goals:
- enough lands
- Stage I mana ramp
- Stage II setup
This deck is typically played in games that uses the "new" Vancouver Mulligan with a free first mulligan.
The first rule about your opening hand, with this deck, is that you must not be afraid to take aggressive mulligans. If a card is dead in the first few turns of the game, you may not want it in your opening hand. If you see to many spells with a higher CMC than 3, consider pitching it.
Generally speaking, you want to see about two to three lands in your opening hand. This gives you security for the first few turns. Ideally, you'll start with fetches or duals of some kind. If you find yourself in the rare situation where you have two or more colorless lands, consider pitching the hand to try for color-producing lands.
Additionally, you want to see at least one ramp artifact by turn two (turn three is acceptable, but not as good). A counterspell or tutor also wouldn't hurt.
Remember, the game starts in Stage II. Your main goal, out of the gate, is to build and stop your opponents from gaining a any kind of lead. Don't let late-game cards tempt you into bad openers.
Stage II- Early Game Show
Goals:
- build up
- control
- set up draw engines
The main point of this stage is to set up enough advantage to guarantee a steady lead for the coming turns. The extra resources you gather now will be what fuel your responsive magic (counter and control) and plays in Stage III. You will need to maintain tempo and board presence, while still having the ability to shut down threats.
The first two to five turns should be spent casting mana rocks like Sol Ring and the signets to accelerate your mana production. When you can afford to, cast draw engines like Rhystic Study, Phyrexian Arena, and Well of Lost Dreams. Setting these up early means you'll have longer to reap their rewards and aren't spending your mana on them in the midgame when you need to have counter magic and control up.
Stage III- Mid Game Show
Goals:
- Continue build up
- control
- Setting up utility engines
The main point of this stage is to suppress opponents. Try and force them to show their intent. This deck transitions to the mid game when its build up begins to wind down. Although control is an important element of both Stage II and Stage III, the emphasis in Stage III is to squash any attempt of advance and pick at their win conditions and resources.
This stage typically lasts from turn five to about turn eight or nine, depending on the board state and on draws. This is the beginning of your opponents resources starting to dwindle. It is important to keep them using there sources, and eliminating any advancement.
Stage IV- Late Game Show
Goals:
- Control
- Execute finish
The main point of this stage is to win the game.
This stage begins when you have a win condition in your hand and your opponents resources are almost depleted. You are rapidly approaching the turn during which you will be able to finish the game.
Don't relax and become complacent. Remember every turn you take means more opportunities for your opponents to break through your control setup and take the game; this deck's resources are vast but they are not unlimited. At your discretion, take down your opponents each individually or if you find the right opportunity to take them all out at once, take it. The perfect opportunity will not always arise and you will occasionally need to take a calculated risk to win, don't let your opponents advance ever.
I have grown bored. I am always watching, always protecting, and always pondering. My thoughts keep me sharp, keep me attentive, and keep me occupied. My palace is empty, frigid, and noiseless. I have been on my throne for too long, I have grown tired. Tired of my thoughts, my palace, and my peacefulness; I urn to take, to collect, and to conquer. The God king of Esper does what he wants, he desires, he urns for. Always on my throne; collecting, defending, and waiting. I rise from my throne, preparing myself for my long journey. My omnipotence knows no bounds as I step away from my throne, always fighting, always collecting, and never staying dull. For I am the Immortal King....
Section II: Card Choices
Inclusion Criteria Show
This deck is built on the strength of its cards, and how they interact. It doesn't want to waste space on offhand utilities or tricks that are irrelevant.
Here is a break down of the thought process behind my choices:
- Be individually strong
- If a card can't stand on its own and requires other cards in order to be useful, it generally isn't good enough for this deck. Now there are a few exceptions that can be made to some extent. Cards like Rhystic Study are exceptions because they cause your opponents to think about their plays, ultimately slowing their pace to suite your needs. However, utility spells or permanents that don't actually do anything on their own cannot be considered for this deck. They place too much of a strain on the deck's resources in order to be utilized to any of their potential.
- Offer something necessary to the deck
- This idea builds on the above. A card has to actually be good in order to make the cut. Because this deck is intended to be competitive or tournament viable, it must be optimized. Optimization requires that the deck only plays cards that are necessary and powerful. As an example, let's take Cancel. Though playable in casual and semicompetitive decks, it isn't strong enough for this deck. It's too expensive for what it does and isn't more powerful or more necessary than the other cards.
Lands Show
The land base in this deck combines optimized color fixing with strong utility effects. They are as follows:
- The 3-3-9 split
- The "3-3-9 split" is a term that refers to the set of three shock lands, three ABUR duals, and nine fetch lands playable in a tricolor deck. This setup helps guarantee that the deck will have access to the proper colors at the proper times the best that it can for this format. Furthermore, it allows the deck to play highly-saturated spells like Cryptic Command and Divinity of Pride without losing tempo to go find more sources of another color.
- Academy Ruins
- Helps recur mana and utility artifacts. With the amount of draw in the deck, the downside of cards returning to the top of the library is overcome. ***Credit to zyphermagefor this card's inclusion***
- Basics - Snow
- Although the snow basics aren't reall necessary, they help against monocolor decks that run snow lands and Extraplanar Lens to avoid accelerating their opponents and mass LD that hits a particular land type (i.e Wake of Destruction). Honestly, the snow lands don't make a functional difference to this deck. You could easily run non-snow basics instead, they just can be useful in a vacuum.
- Bojuka Bog
- This card helps stop graveyard centric decks. Even though its downside is that it comes into play tapped and can't be fetched, an almost uncounterable graveyard removal card is invaluable.
- Boseiju, Who Shelters All
- This card helps against other control decks. It helps ensure that the spot removal and utility spells resolve. The downside is that this land comes in tapped, and it can only produce colorless mana at the expense of life. It's definitely a Mid to late game choice most of the time. ***Credit to Kootaroo for this cards inclusion.***
- Command Tower
- An EDH classic since it was first introduced. It is now a staple in every multicolored EDH deck.
- Buddy Lands
- Refers to the lands that need other lands with basic land types to enter untapped. They may not have a basic land type or are fetchable, but they do help with color fixing.
- Tengo Lands
- Refers to the dual lands with basic land types that enter tapped unless you have two or more basics already in play. The benefit to these are the fact that they are fetchable and tap for two different colors, though they will more often enter tapped.
- Reflecting Pool
- This card functions as an additional Command Tower. Because this deck runs the 3-3-9 lineup, you're basically guaranteed to have the color fixing to assure that this is never anything less than a dual land. It'll almost always be a Command Tower by turn two or three.
- Reliquary Tower
- This card is extremely useful in conjunction with the deck's draw engines. Although it doesn't directly synergize with Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, it's still very useful in keeping cards in hand.
- Volrath's Stronghold
- This card is useful for recovering utility creatures like Karlov of the Ghost Counciland Snapcaster Mage, and it can also be used to recover from a board wipe. ***Credit to Ender666666 for this card's inclusion***
- Strip Mine and Wasteland
- These cards have the benefit of both producing mana and serving as low-investment solution to opponents' utility lands. They're very capable of dealing with an opponent's Boseiju, Who Shelters All or Cavern of Soulsand clearing the way for the deck's counterspells with very little that can stop them.
Creatures Show
The creatures in here help support and protect this deck. They help the deck operate by offering not only the protection it needs, but also with its synergy and its effectiveness. The creatures I have chosen for this deck are as follows:
- Aven Mindcensor
- This card stops ramp and tutor effects cold. It makes your opponents slow their ramp, and less likely to find removal or counter magic to stop the deck.
- Clever Impersonator
- This card is overall utility. It can become a copy of anything I need, or an extra of what I have.
- Consecrated Sphinx
- This card helps you draw more cards and makes your opponents think twice about their plays. It will typically not last long, but the removal used on this will not be used on something else.
- Dimir Doppelganger
- This card is good at becoming a bomb if needed or at stopping a graveyard centric deck by removing the target in the graveyard.
- Divinity of Pride
- This card is one source of life gain. It also helps with damage output and life protection.
- Drogskol Reaver
- This card is a star for Oloro decks. It helps with life gain and card draw while also acting as a damage output. It makes your opponents think twice about attacking you.
- Duplicant
- This card acts as utility by way of removal. It can permanently get rid of most pesky creatures your opponents may have.
- Erebos, God of the Dead
- This card will most often be an enchantment, but it hinders other life gain decks while also acting as a source of card draw.
- Fatespinner
- This card is unique as it is an embodiment of control. It allows you to act freely while forcing your opponents to slow there play down or not play spells in order to be aggressive. This allows you to respond in a more organized manner.
- Felidar Sovereign
- This card helps me end long games, I just have to play and protect it.
- Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
- This card helps decrease the cost of most of your spells while increasing the cost of your opponents, which not only helps you but also slows them down.
- Karlov of the Ghost Council
- This card builds off of Oloro to help protect you and remove threats. It's low casting cost and high utility helps make it a great asset.
- Kambal, Consul of Allocation
- This card allows me to extend my life total lead while also making my opponents lose life at the same time. It will also be a target of creature removal spells.
- Snapcaster Mage
- This card acts as a way to get a little extra out of your used spells. Quick recasting of spells can catch your opponents off guard and potentially thwart their plans.
- Solemn Simulacrum
- This card is simply utility. Ramps up your mana sources, acts as a blocker, draws you cards when it dies.
- Sun Titan
- This card not only acts as a damage output, but also returns quite a few cards back onto the battlefield that were lost. It helps in regaining lost ground. ***Credit to TheDevicer for this cards inclusion.***
- Venser, Shaper Savant
- This card can either remove a annoying permanent or delay the casting of a spell, allowing you a chance to properly respond later.
- Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign
- This card is utility. It is hard to block, allows you to play spells for free/draw a card, and can both attack and block within the same turn due to vigilance. Will be a test run to see if it stays for now
Enchantments Show
The enchantments in this deck combine utility, and control to increase its effectiveness and resiliency. They are effective tools to help solidify your lead throughout the match. Those enchantments are as follows:
- Authority of the Consuls
- This card simultaneously slows my opponents down and extend my life total lead.
- Phyrexian Arena
- This card is a continual draw effect, which the deck needs to keep pace with other decks. Oloro's ability nullifies the downside of this card, making it extremely advantageous to the deck.
- Rhystic Study
- This card acts as a unique way of card draw. It is entirely dependent upon your opponents, but it also causes them to play differently. It forces them to make additional considerations when playing spells, as well as potentially using up additional resources.
Artifacts Show
The artifacts in the deck aid in the production of mana or as utility with established concepts present in the deck. They help the deck keep pace with the match and facilitate its function consistently. The chosen artifacts of the deck are as follows:
- Alhammarret's Archive
- This card is perfect utility for Oloro. It accentuates both of his abilities together, which makes the deck more effective and consistent.
- Azorius Signet and Dimir Signet
- These cards help accelerate your mana, both with the decks main color . They are cheap and effective and can be played early on while being viable later in the game.
- Elixir of Immortality
- This card helps gain life and allows you to reused spent resources. This allows the deck to be more resilient and effective for longer.
- Mana Crypt
- This card enables explosive opening turns because it require no mana investment, produces multiple colorless mana, and it's still viable later in the game. The potential drawback can be negated with Oloro's ability plus the decks other life gain.
- Sol Ring
- This is the most efficient and effective way to accelerate your mana as quickly as possible. It is a staple in most Commander/EDH decks
- Talisman of Dominance and Talisman of Progress
- These cards are efficient mana ramp. They accelerate you to help keep pace with decks and they can produce colorless without life penalty later in the game when the colors aren't relevant.***Credit to TheDevicer for these cards inclusion.***
- Well of Lost Dreams
- This card helps increase your draw effectiveness by utilizing Oloro's ability and other forms of life gain already in the deck.
Planeswalkers Show
The Planeswalkers in the deck are tools to help increase effectiveness and consistency. The multiple modes of each make them viable options in a variety of situations. The cards in this deck are as follows:
- Aminatou, the Fateshifter
- This card is utility with low cost. It exchanges a card, which can be used to set up plays, allow you to retrigger ETB effects, and can disrupt opponents (possibly taking them out of the game). All while keeping resources available for other things.
- Dovin Baan
- This card is effective as utility. It draws you more cards, stops an opponents annoying creatures abilities, and can lock opponents out of the game. All while keeping resources available for other things.
- Jace, the Mind Sculptor
- This card is the best utility you can get. Its first ability helps control your opponents draw, allowing you to prepare for future turns. Its second ability can temporarily remove threats on board, delaying your opponents. The brainstorm ability helps minipulate your draw. Its ultimate can eliminate an opponent from the game, allowing you to use less resources on the remaining.
- Karn Liberated
- This card helps eliminate threats in to ways. It can stop them from being played or removed the from field, leaving resources available for other things. If things aren't going your way, its ultimate can rest the game, giving you a invaluable lead.
Instants Show
The instants in the deck are the core for the decks control. This deck utilizes them to remove threats, stop threats from entering, add draw power, and add utility. These are the basis from which the deck is built. The cards I have chosen are as follows:
- Anguished Unmaking
- This card is a great way of permanently getting rid of an annoying non-land permanent, and oloro's ability eliminates the downside.
- Counterspell
- This card is a low costed and efficient counter all spell. It allows you to play other spells while still being able to stop potential threats.
- Cryptic Command
- This cards four different modes make it a powerhouse for this deck. The ability to not only draw an extra card but add a level of control too is the reason for its inclusion.
- Cyclonic Rift
- This card can be used to clear a permanent causing you problems or as a one sided wrath, making it invaluable.
- Esper Charm
- This card is great utility. It can remove an enchantment causing you problems, draw you cards which accelerate your control, or it can remove potential threats by causing directly from your opponent's hand.***Credit to TheDevicer for this cards inclusion.***
- Force of Will
- This card is an amazing counterspell that can be cast without expending mana, allowing you to make plays you normally wouldn't make.
- Forsake the Worldy
- This card is a low cost, permanent answer to artifacts and enchantments, with the added bonus of being instant speed and the ability to be cycled if unneeded.
- Lim-Dul's Vault
- This card is instant speed draw setup. Play it and dig for what you need with the added bonus of being able to know your next few draws to. ***Credit to zyphermage for this cards inclusion.***
- Mana Drain
- This card is one of the best and efficient counterspells in the game. The low cost plus additional mana in the following turn make it an absolute inclusionp>
- Pact of Negation
- This card is a staple for control decks. A counterspell that cost you nothing upon casting, allowing you to tap mana for spells without forgoing your control.
- Path of Exile
- This card is another staple for control builds. Efficient creature removal at any time deemed viable.
- Reality Shift
- This card can quickly and efficiently remove a creature while potentially removing a answer from the opponent's library by turning it into a creature.***Credit to TheDevicer for this cards inclusion.***
- Render Silent
- This card is in here because it can shutdown storm builds by stopping the card your trying to stop and forcing them to be Silenced for the rest of the turn.
- Slaughter Pact
- This card is great spot removal. The fact that this one has a delayed cost allows you to make bigger plays on your turn while not forgoing your control. ***Credit to [User:Kootaroo] for this cards inclusion.***
- Sphinx's Revelation
- This card is great for not only allowing you to gain life but draw cards at the same time, which may trigger other card effects.
- Stifle
- This card is one of a few that stop trigger abilities. Though stopping the spell is more preferred, stopping an ability of a permanent can change the outcome of a game. ***Credit to Kootaroo for this cards inclusion.***
- Swan Song
- This card is a quick and efficient counterspell. The down side of the opponent gaining a creature is negligible in this format.
- Swords to Plowshares
- This card is another staple for control builds. It is efficient and makes it so you will more then likely not see that creature for the rest of the game.
- Unmake
- This card is color intense, but can be a permanent solution to a pesky creature.
- Vampiric Tutor
- This card is a cheap and effect tutor that can be used at instant speed, allowing you to quickly find that answer you need for your next turn or at that moment.
Sorceries Show
The sorceries in this deck act similarly to the instants. They are utilized for the purpose of control and its benefits. They are more impactful due to their slower play than the instants. The cards I have chosen are as follows:
- Austere Command
- This card is great at eliminating the board. It can remove almost any card on the board and because it is modular, you can pick them to aid in your benefit.
- Damnation
- This card is an efficient and effective wrath.
- Debt to the Deathless
- This card is an effective finisher. It can take out all opponents in one go if played late in the game.
- Demonic Tutor
- This card is a staple tutor. It is cost efficient and the card picked remains unknown to your opponents.
- Grim Tutor
- This card is a typical tutor. It low costed and doesn't allow your opponents to know what it is while putting it directly into your hand. The downside is almost negated due to Oloro and other life gain cards.
- Merciless Eviction
- This card is a staple wrath as it completely removes the affected cards from the game. It also is module, allowing you to chose what is best for the given situation.
- Supreme Verdict
- This card is another wrath. It is somewhat color intensive, but the uncounterablity is why this card is good.
- Terminus
- This card is good for getting annoying hexproof and indestructible creatures off the board with the potential bonus of only costing one.
- Vindicate
- This card is a classic removal spell. It can get rid of any permanent, making it very regarded for control decks.
I have taken My stand. I attack, I annihilate, and I conquer. My army always at the ready. I have spent many, many hours, plotting, waiting, and calculating. My patience always pays off. I am always fighting, my army never stopping, ever growing. I have lived many, many, immeasurable lives and have taken many, many, unfathomable more. With each step, I take. With each breathe, I annihilate. Many realms have tried to stop me, many realms have failed, and this one is no different. The God king of Esper never stops, never fail, and never ends. My amusement keeps me going, keeps me sharp, keeps me strong. My omnipotence knows no bounds as I stand, always fighting, always conquering, never failing. For I am the Immortal King....
Section III: Wanna Build This?
Comprehending The Deck Show
Aside from monetary investment, the largest challenge you'll face when building this deck is understanding all of its minor subtleties and the timing to utilize those subtleties. There are hidden synergies and interactions, some of which can only really be learned through experience with the decklist. I highly recommend playtesting the deck many times before deciding to build it.
Also, keep in mind that this deck is being optimized for a competitive multiplayer environment. If you're playing in a different environment, the deck may need to change. A player taking this list into a semi-competitive meta may find different cards useful due to its less competitive nature. For example, this deck runs Force of Will as an effective counter, but a cheaper alternative could be Cancel.
Lastly, make sure that you play this deck in a sporting way. Don't take a optimized control deck to a casual pod where players are still learning the format or looking for a different kind of experience. You'll win, but it won't be enjoyable for anyone else. It may turn players away from the format, and you don't want to be known as "that guy".
On a Budget? Show
This deck isn't the easiest to build on a budget based on the mana base alone. You'll run into issues preserving the consistency and power of the list if you have to make too many changes. In general, try to make replacements that maintain the deck's consistency.
I run an optimized land base, and the three ABUR/Original duals and nine fetch lands cost quite a bit. You could cut them to make the deck easier on the wallet, but doing so will reduce the deck's ability to color fix. For replacements, consider cards like the check lands, pain lands, and filter lands. They aren't as powerful as the ABUR/Original duals and fetches, but they at least provide fast color fixing.
Thankfully, the rest of this decklist is relatively inexpensive aside from a few cards. You can make swaps for inexpensive choices without hindering the decks overall functionality, even if it is less shiney ;)
Like Oloro, but want a different style? Try these: Show
The God King of Esper has won yet again. I have fought, I have conquered, and I have collected. My boredom now subdued, my army victorious, and my treasures gathered; I make my way home. Long have I been away; long my throne has grown cold. I returns to this kingdom, this palace, this home. I enter my palace of Ice and gold, and add my plunder to my collection. Victorious, I enter my throne room. Victorious, I sits on my ever cold, frigid throne. I sit, I grin, and I watch. My omnipotence knows no bounds as I perch atop my throne. For I am the Immortal King....
Section IV: Miscellaneous
Possible Cuts Show
The following cards are being considered for removal from the deck:
- Karn Liberated
- Over costed for its effects, easily dealt with.
Possible Additions Show
The following cards are being considered for inclusion into the deck:
- Linvala, Keeper of Silence
- Stops a lot of creature based strategies
- Karn, Scion of Urza
- Semi-low cost, adds extra cards to my hand. Is colorless
- Mox Amber
- 0 cost mana producer that acts as a free land drop that adds any color I want
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Thank you for checking out my deck
If you have any input or suggestions please feel free to express them! I'm always interested in making the deck more efficient and powerful. I will also try to respond in a timely fashion. As always, +1's are greatly appreciated.
If you liked this deck, check out my other Show
Disclaimer: Something to keep in mind when giving input for the deck. I like an interactive and challenging game. So because of that, I do not like or want any infinite combos in this deck. It makes beating my opponents that much sweeter ;)