Giants

Ruhan defeats the Warhammer Legions

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Noah is wrapping up Grade 10 and starting to prepare for exams. We squeezed in a game of Commander during a study break. Christian brought his precon Ruinous Powers to the table while Noah brought his slightly modified precon Necrons deck. I brought my Ruhan of the Fomori deck to stand up to the forces of Warhammer.

I immediately mulliganed after drawing a hand without lands. I kept my next one with five lands, one Basalt Ravager and a Farewell. I wasn’t feeling particularly confident with that hand but I liked having that board wipe.

With that hand, I was not a threat and the boys quickly started to establish their board presence. Christian quickly put down a Knight Rampager. The luck of the dice roll meant that I avoided the first few attacks. Noah did not like being targeted, even if it was random, and focused his attacks on his brother in response.

It did not take long for the Necrons to establish themselves and Christian was not able to mount much of a defense. He quickly fell. Noah turned to me and my two giants. It looked like a foregone conclusion. Until I played my Farewell. By then, my mana was in good shape and the big draws started to come my way. Ruhan landed on the board and an Angelfire Ignition helped deal more damage.

It was a quick game after that – Noah’s mana base was not as strong, especially after I removed all those pesky artifacts. His Commander, the fearsome Szarekh, the Fallen King, had already died twice and he could not bring him back out with his depleted mana base. The giants went to town (or should I say space) and clobbered the Necrons. It helped that Ruhan now had only one target and could stay focused on the task at hand.

And then it was back to studying for Noah…

How did he guess Ruhan?

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Hopefully the boys don’t read this entry before I finish my next Commander deck. With Giants close to rotating out of Standard as I write this, I’ve been building a Giant tribal Commander deck with Ruhan of the Fomori at the helm.

I’m not known as a fast deck builder (translation: I tend to procrastinate a lot) so I have yet to finish. On an afternoon outing today with Christian, I did let it out that I was building a new Commander deck (that was not Gor Muldrak, Amphinologist). He asked about the colours and I revealed that the deck was built around White, Blue and Red.

Christian turned to me and asked, “You’re building a Ruhan deck?” I was stunned: There are 17 Jeskai Commanders, according to Scryfall. How did Christian guess that I was building a Giants deck? And how did he know about Ruhan? I thought this was some obscure Commander. At times like this, I think that he has memorized all of Magic’s cards (upwards of 20,000 at this point, I believe).

Granted, it may have something to do with the fact that I have been vocal about enjoying my Giants deck in Standard. Clearly, the kid not only knows his Magic cards but does listen to his father as well, even if he does not let on that he does.

For what it’s worth, Ruhan is ranked #425 as I write this by EDHRec. Maybe not quite as obscure as I thought he might be but definitely not among the most popular either.

Not wanting to give anything away, I told him he would have to wait until the deck is finished. “Is it Elsha of the Infinite?” he probed.

“Not telling,” I responded.

“Is it Narset of the Ancient Way?”

How does he know all of these cards? I barely remember that Steel Leaf Champion is a a GGG card and it is a card that I love.

I’ll post the deck list when I finish the deck.

New Clerics and Giants in Streets of New Capenna

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Much as I did when the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty set was fully revealed, I eagerly took a look at what new clerics and giants might potentially make their way into my BO1 Orzhov Clerics and Izzet Giants decks.

First, the bad news. Sadly but not unexpected, there are no new giants. Hopefully we will see some when we land in Dominaria but the life expectancy of this deck is getting shorter by the day!

On a slightly more positive note, New Capenna offers up a single new cleric (one of the new Commander cards). Inspiring Overseer is a common Angel Cleric who comes with Flying and gains you 1 life and draws you a card when it enters the battlefield.

Will it fit into my Orzhov Clerics deck? Probably not but I’ll give it a whirl if and when I can figure out what card to but to make way for it. My first impression is that it’s an underwhelming card that will not offer enough to earn its way into the deck.

As far as other cards go, my first pass through them did not reveal anything that caught my attention immediately.

On the Izzet side, there might be a few interesting supporting options. Undercover Operative might be one of those. For example, another Calamity Bearer on the board might be enough to push enough damage through to wrap up the game. Unlike Giant’s Grasp, it does not require a Giant to be on the battlefield and does not see the creature return to my opponent should my enchanted giant die. And the shield counter is a nice little extra.

As far as lands go, there is nothing that will necessarily help these decks specifically although I will likely pick up some of the new Triomes for some of my physical card decks. I’ll also keep an eye out for Luxior, Giada’s Gift, the new equipment that can attach to planeswalkers.

In the end, it appears that my Selesnya enchantments deck might see more changes than these two. I’ll need to take a look!

Here be Giants

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

When Kaldheim came out, a couple of cards quickly caught my attention. The first was Quakebringer, a 5/4 giant with a couple of perks, Foretell and its abilities to prevent opponents from gaining life and deal an additional  2 damage to each opponent each turn under the right circumstances. The second was Calamity Bearer, a 3/4 giant that could quickly help finish games by doubling damage done by giants. And doubling it again if you had a second on the board.

The deck I ended up putting together for Standard is not a Tier 1 deck (as of Midnight Hunt) but it is a blast to play. It requires some patience in the early game and is vulnerable to removal but when it does come together, it is a potent threat.

Here is the deck:

  • 4 Glimpse the Cosmos (KHM) 60
  • 2 Volatile Fjord (KHM) 273
  • 2 Hall of Storm Giants (AFR) 257
  • 7 Snow-Covered Island (KHM) 279
  • 3 Shatterskull Charger (ZNR) 159
  • 4 Riverglide Pathway (ZNR) 264
  • 3 Invasion of the Giants (KHM) 215
  • 4 Calamity Bearer (KHM) 125
  • 8 Snow-Covered Mountain (KHM) 283
  • 4 Quakebringer (KHM) 145
  • 2 Giant’s Grasp (KHM) 384
  • 3 Frost Bite (KHM) 138
  • 4 Aegar, the Freezing Flame (KHM) 200
  • 1 Frostboil Snarl (STX) 265
  • 1 Zalto, Fire Giant Duke (AFR) 171
  • 2 Surtland Flinger (KHM) 377
  • 4 Roil Eruption (ZNR) 155
  • 2 Squash (KHM) 152

Sideboard:

  • 1 Test of Talents (STX) 59
  • 2 Bubble Snare (ZNR) 47
  • 2 Negate (ZNR) 71
  • 2 Fading Hope (MID) 51
  • 2 Burn Down the House (MID) 131
  • 3 Saw It Coming (KHM) 76
  • 2 Expressive Iteration (STX) 186
  • 1 Prismari Command (STX) 214

One popular card in similar decks is Battle of Frost and Fire. I found it slow and seem to have had better luck with Zalto and Surtland Flinger. Sadly, my beloved Bonecrusher Giant had to be replaced in the recent rotation. The return to Innistrad has not been generous in terms of giants unfortunately. Shatterskull Charger has done an adequate job in Bonecrusher’s stead but is an inferior option.

Needless to say, I hope that upcoming sets give us a few more giants and supporting cards to make it more potent. I’m also looking at options for a Pioneer version of the deck and eventually a Modern version. I don’t expect either to crack Tier 1 but hopefully they will at least be playable over at the LGS.

Let me know if you play a similar deck and what changes you would recommend to my version.