Wouldn't erebos intervention be a better death wind? Because you gain the life for however much you minus? If there is a reason you didn't play it I understand just curious. and thasas intervention would that be good to? Sorry just trying to learn i love your videos btw ty in advance for any clarification
Yes, it is decidedly better and I thought I had all the Interventions of the allotted colors in the decklist but apparently that was missed. Thanks for the call-out.
I borrowed your decklist and have had great success, and even greater fun, running it. Awesome deck, and great points, thank you! I've tried switching a few different cards in and out, to varying degrees of success. I havent played quite enough to get a perfect read, but there's one switch in particular I'd like to discuss. I think it's particularly good for anyone on a budget: Doubling Season -> Metallurgic Summonings Cut $50 down to $5. They're the same CMC. The only drawback mana-wise is two blue pips instead of one green pip. While playing an X spell with your commander out, Doubling Season would produce 2 tokens that are 2X, whereas Metallurgic Summonings would only give you 2 tokens ~ the value of 1X (one that's always 1X and one that's usually 1X+1 or 1X+2; your artifact token will probably be bigger than your hydra token since its based off CMC and not the value of X). In that situation, Doubling Season is certainly better. Win more.. Until you go infinite, at which point doubling the P/T of the token wouldn't matter. Having two tokens is the important part. My main concern is that while playing an X spell without your commander out, Doubling Season does nothing. Metallurgic Summonings still grants you your artifact token, with or without the commander. In short, Doubling Season has a more upside and Metallurgic Summonings has less downside. Zaxara will be a pretty big target considering how she can produce infinite mana. Cleverly, you've included a couple of backup cards (Ley Weaver and Argothian Elder) that produce just as well. I think it wise to consider that sort of redundancy for Zaxara's token-producing ability as well, which is what my suggestion would provide. As well as an opportunity for instant/sorcery recursion. ** If your feeling frisky, maybe even consider Unbound Fluorishing -> Shark Typhoon. I've kept Unbound Fluorishing since it costs less mana than both Shark Typhoon and Doubling Season, can copy your instant X spells even without your commander out, and is just a flavor win for any X deck. There are a handful of X instants that don't do much whenever they're copied without your commander though (mainly the counterspells), which is why I've considered replacing it. But if your commander is out, copying the spell will still allow you to produce twice the tokens.
Should be running leyline of anticipation/vedalkans orrery and wilderness reclamation/seedborn muse. That way, you can dump X into any spell equal to all or most of your lands each turn other than your own. You can also run all the good sorceries and still cast them at instant speed
I know you said to stay away from actual hydra cards, but Mistcutter Hydra is so freaking good against someone running blue. With the infinite mana, the haste means it could likely kill someone in one shot the turn it comes out.
Welp I've been doing some looking around and Zaxara is awesomeee Take pretty much every transmute card with 1-3 CMC, + go-to tutors Every single x mill (even "each player" ones), life drain, etc Nexus of fate to avoid self milling to death, and to allow a few more win cons that would otherwise lose/tie to be playable Lots of cheap cantrips to get to a tutor/untap-aura ASAP everything else is literally lands, interaction/protection and t1-2 ramp
I may be wrong, but I don't think Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner works with zaxara. From the oracle text: "The Hydra token enters the battlefield as a 0/0 creature. Any abilities that modify or trigger on this event apply. After the token is on the battlefield but before any player can take actions, +1/+1 counters are put onto the token."
What matters is the card rulings. Go look at the card rulings section next to kiora and it states that her ability will take into account any static effects and +1 counters that the creature enters with.
I love using the big body hydras to keep my opponents occupied while I grab out my pemmins aura or freed from the real and my exsanguinate to end the game
@@FecalPirate same this will be my first edh deck which is any good but i made a budget version without the crazy expensive tutors and stuff. tappedout.net/mtg-decks/zaxara-stuff-working-on-deck-copy/
Use Dominate to steal your opponents' creatures at instant speed and because it reads "X or less" you can sink an infinite amount of mana into it for Zaxara's hydras Dominate (X)(1)(B)(B) - Instant - Gain control of target creature with converted mana cost X or less
Might be a slightly different approach, but I can also recommend Gelatinous Genesis, Wurmcalling or Full Flowering to create a large amount of tokens. Also I love Triumph of the Hordes in there because since you create very large tokens, you can just ram through with infect. Certainly not as powerful as your strategies, but we have an agreement that we don't use infinite combos in our playgroup, so I had to adjust to "only" a giant amount of creatures. I really like that you focussed on instants and sorceries though. My first thought when I saw Zaxara was "Why play creatures when I get them anyway for any instant or sorcery, on top of the actual value of the card"
If you have, Kruphix, god of Horizons... with maze of ith. he maintains all mana in the pool through subsequent phases. It turns it into colorless... but in an X value deck. It would allow some infinite combo for main phase 2 with all your lands untap and infinite colorless.
@@khurgar8120 true I forgot about that. Gemstone and kruphix give 2 options for saving that infinite combat mana for any point later on. You could even save gemstone array for someone else turn. To either wait for the one with counter spells to hopefully use all their mana. Incase you happen to not have one
Awesome deck tech. Thanks for all the ideas. There are only 2 hydras I really want to add. Hydroid and voracious. I like hydroid because of the bonus card draw and I like voracious well for both his entering abilities.
But if you're already looking to make infinitely large hydras, voracious hydra doesn't matter for how big it can be and if you want it for removal, it's better to use something you can do at instant speed. Definitely play it if you want, but I personally would not take out any cards in the deck list for it.
I like your theme with instants, seems pretty powerful...But if you are making infinite mana you can use sorcery speed win cons like exanguinate or (the card zaxara was made for) villanous wealth, i would also run a few hydras...some are very useful and a hasty infinite mistcutter hydra might just do the trick...that beeing said these are just my personal taste and i think your list is great
1) Exsanguinate and Villainous Wealth can't be used with the Argothian Elder + Maze of Ith combo 2) We're already running Torment of Hailfire (can be tutored for many ways), which is objectively a better finisher than Exsanguinate as many players are starting to run Angel's Grace. We already have Blue Sun's Zenith and Stroke of Genius to mill out a player - Villainous Wealth is redundant. 3) We want to respond to what our opponents do, not allow for them to respond to us
@@giovannibss10 I would certainly not disagree with personal preference. An yes, sometimes it's fun to be silly - I'm looking forward to making a fun deck with Obosh as a companion.
Pretty awesome how aristocards built his deck. Conceptually I'm just a commoner too and went the "ramp + hydras big Boi + this x spell card seems good" route. But he made a control archetype that gets those wincons ftw. My play group doesn't allow infinite (which is fine, just our playstyle) so I would find it hard to build control XD
An excellent, small package that can be huge with the amount of protection with all of the countermagic and infinite mana is a Thassa's oracle and Thrasios to draw/play your entire deck. As well, cast Oracle, cast a blue sun's zenith (or the like) for x=your library, or in reverse (with Zaxara and Pemmin's aura this works). These are not x-spells, but instead of nuking a single opponent with a draw spell, we get all of them at once. Made better with an alchemist's refuge or emergence zone in play.
Definitely going to build a Zaxara deck and focussing on instants rather than sorcerys and creatures. I'm not going to build towards infinite mana because it's kind of mean for casual edh.
Like the deck, was planning to make one myself, and i might just make a budget version of this. Where i remove some of the more expensive cards with Transmute to look for the infinity mana combo.
i have gone hydra counters and its great fun but i do have simic ascendancy and jarad in my deck as well but will take add the infinite win condition now as well
As soon as you assign a creature to be an attacker, it is now an attacking creature for the remainder of the combat phase. As soon as argothian elder is attacking, now maze of it can untap it, you tap the elder to untap the maze, and the combo continues.
Okay, so here's a thought I had while play testing this. As much as i like Torment of Hellfire, I'd rather have something like a Braingeyser most of the time. If I have infinite mana, I can just draw my deck and get the card I need to win or deck out my opponent. If I don't have infinite mana, I can just draw and help get into the cards I need. Also, why no fetch lands or even a Fabled Passage. Last thing, I'm not sure if the effect of Elemental Bond or the Plainswalker work with the tokens since they enter as 0/0's.
Just checked the rules, Elemental bond doesn't work. "you can’t have a creature with power 2 or less enter the battlefield and try to raise its power with a spell, an activated ability, or a triggered ability."
@@JeanLucCanas it actually does work because the creature enters with the counters already on it, otherwise it would immediately die for being a 0/0. It's kind of like the same thing as most clones, they enter the battlefield as the copy.
And yes, I'm not a huge fan of torment of hail fire but if I didn't include it in here, the comments would be full of people asking why it's not in there.
I'm going to be building this deck gladly. I was going to include hydras but I see how this path is so much better. :) Where have you gone? Seems like you haven't posted in ages!
Been pretty busy, unfortunately. Not being able to attend in-person events like Pre-releases and MagicFests has somewhat dulled my enthusiasm. I want to get back into regular posting in the near future.
@@Aristocards Oh my! It's so great hearing back from you! I completely understand. Your content is super unique and I missed seeing it. I can't wait to have you back and I'll gladly hit that bell icon in anticipation. :) Good day and cheers!
I do agree about the hydras but i will probably still include hydroid krasis. Also I didn't look at the deck list but primal vigor is another doubling season. Im second guessing the necessity of corpse jack menace though.
I made this deck. I run a total of just 3 X spells and both blue enchantments that enable infinite mana with Zaxara and many, many ways to tutor for them. Rampant growth > Instill energy so don't bother.
I would love to see a deck for zaxara by this guy but no infinite (my play group has a rule against going infinite so I can’t do this so what I end up doing it trying to get a big board state to win or get a big board state to drag out removal so that my mana doublers stay on the field then I use life drain or something to kill them)
Try Gelatinous Genesis, Full Flowering and Triumph of the Hordes. Also, really get Jarad, Golgari Lich-Lord. It's enough to fling two 20/20 Hydras at your enemy, it doesn't have to be infinite. Or Torment of Hailfire, still a great card without infinite. Exsanguinate is also a nice way to turn life count around. I'll just leave my decklist with you, maybe you'll find some useful cards for your deck since we also have a "no combo" rule. archidekt.com/decks/486402#Zaxara
@ARISTOCARDS I am begging you, please make a video like this for Otrimi, the Ever Playful. Subbed. If possible, can you also do the new Werewolf Commander as well?
Hmm.. how about the ultimatum? It is a sorcery speed tutor and quite expensive too, but if it connects, should get you all your combo pieces to win a game (say you can pick Pemmin's Aura, Freed from the Reel, and some other tutor spell or something)
Add Kiora's Follower to untap Zaxala or untap a land/permanent before Zaxala has entered for ramp. Also Vorel of the Hull Clade would not be a bad addition.
He's not necessary, as we're looking to make infinite mana, not merely triple mana. Any slot he would take should go to something that makes infinite mana instead.
I love this take on a very fun looking commander! I would be very interested to see your thoughts on a version of this Zaxara deck but with the limitation of avoiding infinite mana(which my playgroup doesn't allow). I'm hoping they will agree to just cap the mana pool at 100 rather than eliminate the ability to go infinite, but until they do, I would love to crush them with a non-infinite version of your Zaxara deck. What would be your biggest changes in strategy with that limitation?
This deck tech was completely built around the infinite mana concept. So, you'd have to re-tool a lot. I built a no-infinite combo version already and a good portion of my cards are focused on ramp. Things like Selvala, tempt, kodama's reach, etc. It's super fun. You'll be leaning towards green in your deck for the ramp. I built hydra tribal lol because it's flavorful and fun XD Is it competitive? NO!
I used to run a Jarad X spell deck, but a few days before c20 spoilers I rebuilt it to Gyrus, Waker of Corpses to make use of things like Comet Storm, Chandra's Ignition and Mana Geyser... Then Zaxara appeared... I have looked for ways to make a LOT of mana without going infinite, but with Zaxara you almost have to include the obvious combo pieces. I'm really torn on this one. Zaxara is super cool, but Gyrus does what I want really well too. I do like this take on the deck though, I had trouble finding the right balance of X creatures in the Jarad version, since casting a hydra for X=2 in the early/mid game is kind of meh... but with the counterspells you can often get people even without a masive X. Something to think about for sure
@@AbyssArray oh yeah, that's kinda great ^^ I also had a thought last night... Chord/GSG/Finale for Jarad and immediately sac the token to kill the table :P With Finale of Devastation your X only needs to be half of your opponents highest lifetotal too
@@Aristocards you mean unlike countering everything your opponents fields or bouncing all their permanents? Tymna/thrasios has several ways of winning, this one is just get inf mana. I realize thats the point of the video but thats hardly a reciep for dynamic games.
@@khurgar8120 perhaps "boring" was not the optimal word. I shall change it to "stale" as there are already so many commander players that use those Partners that it gets tiresome to see the same commanders over and over again.
The problem with this approach is if you don’t have your commander out you’re helpless. At least if you’re playing hydras you have blockers without needing your commander
Well, you're not totally helpless as this is a control deck with other ways to protect yourself, especially counter-magic. But I do agree that there's generally a limit on how much you should lean on your Commanders.
Yup. It's a control deck so you'll be looking to protect your commander once ZAX is out. Imagine if your opponent gains control of your commander haha! GG.
I would personally put in jace so if I have a x draw spell I win w alot of mana I would also include mana storage ways just in case I don't have my combo and a way to get back cards like conqueror's galleon goes well with unlimited untapping
Definitely one of the more fun and interesting commanders from the new C20. All in all I am pretty happy with the new toys we get to play with. Good video, good suggestions, sir! On a side note, who is the artist who created this lively version of yourself you use as a background for your videos?
O my!! I have failed! I wanted to build a Hydra tribal commander but how should I think not using Hydras to have Hydras...mind blown! Thanks my good sir and well met.
But you also need two other cards to make it work like Patron of the Moon and a Ravnica bounce land. I prefer two-card combos, like Deadeye Navigator + Peregrin Drake. Suggestions are always appreciated!
Another fun card with infinite mana, Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief. Give al enemy creatures -x/-x. And make and infinitely large Drana to kill of enemies one by one.
I don’t think you can say it’s a bad idea to run hydras for every build. Your deck is more control than aggro. I hate playing counter magic and so does my play group, but that doesn’t mean your decision to play counter magic is wrong 🙂
isn't death wind better than sickening shoal since there aren't much of high mana cost black spell's in the deck, and it cost's 1 black less and overall is 0.5 cent's as sickening shoal is 2 $ so overall cheaper card and better in the deck. -------------- Made the deck more budget than expensive don't pay attention to the lands you just need maze of ith which is only 8$ more or less (u need for infinite mana with argothian elder and ley weaver), you can always cut some cards like selvala, heart of the wilds and replace it with a cheaper card. deck link: tappedout.net/mtg-decks/zaxara-stuff-working-on-deck/ new link
Kiora doesn’t fit in this deck, even though it untaps a permanent, there are other cards much more suitable to speed up the deck, also her static ability doesn’t trigger when hydras enter the battlefield.
ughhhh yesss I like hydra's BUT I've been looking for a control sultai commander deck, not a value-ish one Gonna 100% go through that decklist Also I like Wilderness Reclamation, Leyline of Anticipation and Seedborn Muse to give space for sorcery speed X spells in the deck, but I can see why many would just take as much instant speed only as they can. If I have enough X instants I might just run Mystical Teachings
Wont unbound flourishing fuck up x counters that wants to counter uneven spells tho? Since you double x you will never be able to counter uneven spells o.O EDIT: nvm it said permanent spell :D
The more expensive cards make the deck better but are not absolutely essential to make this deck work. Focus on the infinite mana and the X spells and it will work for you.
@@Aristocards I know, unfortunately I am a budget commander player, I just wish I had some of those more expensive staples. Also thanks for the encouragement. 👍
take a drink every time he says "infinite mana", haha just kidding. Is comboing out really that common? At my LGS there is a point system and you lose points for making infinite mana, taking extra turns, blowing up multiple lands in a turn etc. And it is just generally frowned upon(like you are tryharding/netdecking the strongest thing possible), this is how my play group has almost always played as well. It just isn't that satisfying to me to say "ok i have inf mana, I just win". With that said, I always enjoy your point of view and enjoy hearing different viewpoints on cards.
It's a rather indirect route to victory here over a Commander like Thrasios where you outright get to draw and play your entire deck. Here, infinite mana with your commander still means that you have to draw into a win condition and then cast it. And playing control means that we're passing up additional win conditions to be able to interact with our opponents. This deck isn't just a game of solitaire, like many cedh decks, where you actually want as little interaction with your opponents as possible.
@@Aristocards I suppose you are right there, however that kind of play would never fly at my lgs. I have seen a combo meren player asked to not come back to the store because no one else was having a good time. Just wanted to point out different metas do things differently, and I got a little triggered when you said going infinite was strictly better than a hydra build which sounded cool to me and is the most likely variation of the deck I would be able to play locally. Could be a good idea to show a "battlecruiser" build for deck techs like this (alongside high-powered version). Different strokes for different folks! Thanks and enjoy the videos
I could not disagree more about the hydra plan. It's very strong to be able to make 2 X/X bodies in one go, plus you can pretty much win in one round if you have simic ascendancy on the board if you pay 10 for the X. Also, I like being able to go aggro when I want to, it makes the deck just so versatile and fun all around. P.S.: I hate infinite combos and would never run such cheap 2 card combos like Pemmin's Aura and Freed from the Real, but well... I respect those that do.
![Zaxara, the Exemplary | EDH Three Ways [Commander Strategies for Every Player]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MaqsJtJG3sQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![Zaxara, the Exemplary | EDH Three Ways [Commander Strategies for Every Player]](/img/tr.png)
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
Wouldn't erebos intervention be a better death wind? Because you gain the life for however much you minus? If there is a reason you didn't play it I understand just curious. and thasas intervention would that be good to? Sorry just trying to learn i love your videos btw ty in advance for any clarification
Yes, it is decidedly better and I thought I had all the Interventions of the allotted colors in the decklist but apparently that was missed. Thanks for the call-out.
Aristocards: No, you can’t just make a Zaxara tribal hydras deck!
Me: ha ha, hydra go rrrrrrrroooooaaaaarrrr!
Play what you wish, I'm not telling you how to have fun. I'm making points for playing optimally.
Aristocards Don’t worry, I’m just making a joke.
A few for flavor;)
I literally laughed out loud at this comment. Thank you 😂😂
Lol my thoughts exact
Mana Bloom and Elementslists Pallette are great ramp for the deck too
I win almost every game with this deck and have to hold back to let the board catch up for fun.
Mana Bloom works great with this decc, its a reusable X spell as well as a continuous mana ramp. Exsanguinate works really well too
I borrowed your decklist and have had great success, and even greater fun, running it. Awesome deck, and great points, thank you!
I've tried switching a few different cards in and out, to varying degrees of success. I havent played quite enough to get a perfect read, but there's one switch in particular I'd like to discuss. I think it's particularly good for anyone on a budget:
Doubling Season -> Metallurgic Summonings
Cut $50 down to $5. They're the same CMC. The only drawback mana-wise is two blue pips instead of one green pip.
While playing an X spell with your commander out, Doubling Season would produce 2 tokens that are 2X, whereas Metallurgic Summonings would only give you 2 tokens ~ the value of 1X (one that's always 1X and one that's usually 1X+1 or 1X+2; your artifact token will probably be bigger than your hydra token since its based off CMC and not the value of X). In that situation, Doubling Season is certainly better. Win more.. Until you go infinite, at which point doubling the P/T of the token wouldn't matter. Having two tokens is the important part.
My main concern is that while playing an X spell without your commander out, Doubling Season does nothing. Metallurgic Summonings still grants you your artifact token, with or without the commander. In short, Doubling Season has a more upside and Metallurgic Summonings has less downside.
Zaxara will be a pretty big target considering how she can produce infinite mana. Cleverly, you've included a couple of backup cards (Ley Weaver and Argothian Elder) that produce just as well. I think it wise to consider that sort of redundancy for Zaxara's token-producing ability as well, which is what my suggestion would provide. As well as an opportunity for instant/sorcery recursion.
** If your feeling frisky, maybe even consider Unbound Fluorishing -> Shark Typhoon.
I've kept Unbound Fluorishing since it costs less mana than both Shark Typhoon and Doubling Season, can copy your instant X spells even without your commander out, and is just a flavor win for any X deck. There are a handful of X instants that don't do much whenever they're copied without your commander though (mainly the counterspells), which is why I've considered replacing it. But if your commander is out, copying the spell will still allow you to produce twice the tokens.
I just loved the way you focused this commander. Not as hydra tribal. Just X cost spells. Just lovely, mister.
Should be running leyline of anticipation/vedalkans orrery and wilderness reclamation/seedborn muse. That way, you can dump X into any spell equal to all or most of your lands each turn other than your own. You can also run all the good sorceries and still cast them at instant speed
honestly convinced youre a genius. please make more of these
I know you said to stay away from actual hydra cards, but Mistcutter Hydra is so freaking good against someone running blue. With the infinite mana, the haste means it could likely kill someone in one shot the turn it comes out.
YA, I really love instants in this deck, even oldies like Howl from Beyond when my opponents are fighting each other.
Welp I've been doing some looking around and Zaxara is awesomeee
Take pretty much every transmute card with 1-3 CMC, + go-to tutors
Every single x mill (even "each player" ones), life drain, etc
Nexus of fate to avoid self milling to death, and to allow a few more win cons that would otherwise lose/tie to be playable
Lots of cheap cantrips to get to a tutor/untap-aura ASAP
everything else is literally lands, interaction/protection and t1-2 ramp
I may be wrong, but I don't think Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner works with zaxara. From the oracle text: "The Hydra token enters the battlefield as a 0/0 creature. Any abilities that modify or trigger on this event apply. After the token is on the battlefield but before any player can take actions, +1/+1 counters are put onto the token."
What matters is the card rulings. Go look at the card rulings section next to kiora and it states that her ability will take into account any static effects and +1 counters that the creature enters with.
I see, thanks
I have found that Zaxara makes tribal hydras even meaner and faster than it was before.
I love using the big body hydras to keep my opponents occupied while I grab out my pemmins aura or freed from the real and my exsanguinate to end the game
@@FecalPirate same this will be my first edh deck which is any good but i made a budget version without the crazy expensive tutors and stuff.
tappedout.net/mtg-decks/zaxara-stuff-working-on-deck-copy/
Use Dominate to steal your opponents' creatures at instant speed and because it reads "X or less" you can sink an infinite amount of mana into it for Zaxara's hydras
Dominate (X)(1)(B)(B) - Instant - Gain control of target creature with converted mana cost X or less
Can't find your video about Sygg? Pls halp?
Might be a slightly different approach, but I can also recommend Gelatinous Genesis, Wurmcalling or Full Flowering to create a large amount of tokens. Also I love Triumph of the Hordes in there because since you create very large tokens, you can just ram through with infect. Certainly not as powerful as your strategies, but we have an agreement that we don't use infinite combos in our playgroup, so I had to adjust to "only" a giant amount of creatures.
I really like that you focussed on instants and sorceries though. My first thought when I saw Zaxara was "Why play creatures when I get them anyway for any instant or sorcery, on top of the actual value of the card"
If you have, Kruphix, god of Horizons... with maze of ith. he maintains all mana in the pool through subsequent phases. It turns it into colorless... but in an X value deck. It would allow some infinite combo for main phase 2 with all your lands untap and infinite colorless.
you can also run gemstone array for the very same reason.
@@khurgar8120 true I forgot about that. Gemstone and kruphix give 2 options for saving that infinite combat mana for any point later on. You could even save gemstone array for someone else turn. To either wait for the one with counter spells to hopefully use all their mana. Incase you happen to not have one
Ehm. Friend.
Speaks of konsitenz :
Runadi, Behemoth Caller
Love from germany
Awesome deck tech. Thanks for all the ideas. There are only 2 hydras I really want to add. Hydroid and voracious. I like hydroid because of the bonus card draw and I like voracious well for both his entering abilities.
But if you're already looking to make infinitely large hydras, voracious hydra doesn't matter for how big it can be and if you want it for removal, it's better to use something you can do at instant speed. Definitely play it if you want, but I personally would not take out any cards in the deck list for it.
playing with sorceries could still be as effective as instants if you have a vedalken orrery out
I like your theme with instants, seems pretty powerful...But if you are making infinite mana you can use sorcery speed win cons like exanguinate or (the card zaxara was made for) villanous wealth, i would also run a few hydras...some are very useful and a hasty infinite mistcutter hydra might just do the trick...that beeing said these are just my personal taste and i think your list is great
1) Exsanguinate and Villainous Wealth can't be used with the Argothian Elder + Maze of Ith combo
2) We're already running Torment of Hailfire (can be tutored for many ways), which is objectively a better finisher than Exsanguinate as many players are starting to run Angel's Grace. We already have Blue Sun's Zenith and Stroke of Genius to mill out a player - Villainous Wealth is redundant.
3) We want to respond to what our opponents do, not allow for them to respond to us
@@Aristocards you make a very convincing point kind sir thank you for responding
Ps: this commoner just like big dumb hydras and silly stuff lol
@@giovannibss10 I would certainly not disagree with personal preference. An yes, sometimes it's fun to be silly - I'm looking forward to making a fun deck with Obosh as a companion.
Pretty awesome how aristocards built his deck. Conceptually I'm just a commoner too and went the "ramp + hydras big Boi + this x spell card seems good" route. But he made a control archetype that gets those wincons ftw. My play group doesn't allow infinite (which is fine, just our playstyle) so I would find it hard to build control XD
The commander that excites me most is Xyris, the writhing storm
Snekkusar!!
An excellent, small package that can be huge with the amount of protection with all of the countermagic and infinite mana is a Thassa's oracle and Thrasios to draw/play your entire deck. As well, cast Oracle, cast a blue sun's zenith (or the like) for x=your library, or in reverse (with Zaxara and Pemmin's aura this works). These are not x-spells, but instead of nuking a single opponent with a draw spell, we get all of them at once. Made better with an alchemist's refuge or emergence zone in play.
Definitely going to build a Zaxara deck and focussing on instants rather than sorcerys and creatures. I'm not going to build towards infinite mana because it's kind of mean for casual edh.
Definitely feel free to change it up to fit your playstyle.
Just take the two other green auras that let you use untap only once in a turn
Like the deck, was planning to make one myself, and i might just make a budget version of this. Where i remove some of the more expensive cards with Transmute to look for the infinity mana combo.
This deck can certainly be made on a budget. Cards like Selvala and Vampiric Tutor are nice-to-have's but not essential to make it run.
@@Aristocards Im just glad I pulled a selvala in the mystery booster box I opened about a month ago lol. And a carpet of flowers.
i have gone hydra counters and its great fun but i do have simic ascendancy and jarad in my deck as well but will take add the infinite win condition now as well
I don't follow with the maze and the 2 green creatures.. how can you untap a creature multiple times with Maze? Doesn't it have to be attacking?
As soon as you assign a creature to be an attacker, it is now an attacking creature for the remainder of the combat phase. As soon as argothian elder is attacking, now maze of it can untap it, you tap the elder to untap the maze, and the combo continues.
I didn't realize creatures that were re-tapped during combat were still considered attacking. Very good man.
When we're going to get more Aristocards videos? The Baron's missed!!!
I am actually working on a very big video project right now. Hopefully it will be out next week.
@@Aristocards Yes!!! Can't wait!
Okay, so here's a thought I had while play testing this. As much as i like Torment of Hellfire, I'd rather have something like a Braingeyser most of the time. If I have infinite mana, I can just draw my deck and get the card I need to win or deck out my opponent. If I don't have infinite mana, I can just draw and help get into the cards I need. Also, why no fetch lands or even a Fabled Passage. Last thing, I'm not sure if the effect of Elemental Bond or the Plainswalker work with the tokens since they enter as 0/0's.
Just checked the rules, Elemental bond doesn't work.
"you can’t have a creature with power 2 or less enter the battlefield and try to raise its power with a spell, an activated ability, or a triggered ability."
@@JeanLucCanas it actually does work because the creature enters with the counters already on it, otherwise it would immediately die for being a 0/0. It's kind of like the same thing as most clones, they enter the battlefield as the copy.
And yes, I'm not a huge fan of torment of hail fire but if I didn't include it in here, the comments would be full of people asking why it's not in there.
I'm going to be building this deck gladly. I was going to include hydras but I see how this path is so much better. :) Where have you gone? Seems like you haven't posted in ages!
Been pretty busy, unfortunately. Not being able to attend in-person events like Pre-releases and MagicFests has somewhat dulled my enthusiasm. I want to get back into regular posting in the near future.
@@Aristocards Oh my! It's so great hearing back from you! I completely understand. Your content is super unique and I missed seeing it. I can't wait to have you back and I'll gladly hit that bell icon in anticipation. :) Good day and cheers!
I do agree about the hydras but i will probably still include hydroid krasis. Also I didn't look at the deck list but primal vigor is another doubling season. Im second guessing the necessity of corpse jack menace though.
Some Hydras that have utility are good.
Enchanments can be destroyed or countered so put in land ramp cards like tempt with discovery followed up with boundless realms.
Love Ertai's Meddling, it's such an under-utilized card
Ahhhh a fellow man of culture!
Does the new shark tornado card fit in to this deck?
The X in Cycling doesn't trigger making a hydra token as Cycling is an activated ability, you're not casting it with that cost.
I made this deck. I run a total of just 3 X spells and both blue enchantments that enable infinite mana with Zaxara and many, many ways to tutor for them.
Rampant growth > Instill energy so don't bother.
I was just wondering if maybe for a more cheaper card could you switch out doubling season for Primal Vigor instead?
certainly, it's more important to create double tokens than to double the amount of counters seen as you're looking to create an infinite amount.
I would love to see a deck for zaxara by this guy but no infinite (my play group has a rule against going infinite so I can’t do this so what I end up doing it trying to get a big board state to win or get a big board state to drag out removal so that my mana doublers stay on the field then I use life drain or something to kill them)
Try Gelatinous Genesis, Full Flowering and Triumph of the Hordes. Also, really get Jarad, Golgari Lich-Lord. It's enough to fling two 20/20 Hydras at your enemy, it doesn't have to be infinite. Or Torment of Hailfire, still a great card without infinite. Exsanguinate is also a nice way to turn life count around.
I'll just leave my decklist with you, maybe you'll find some useful cards for your deck since we also have a "no combo" rule.
archidekt.com/decks/486402#Zaxara
@ARISTOCARDS
I am begging you, please make a video like this for Otrimi, the Ever Playful. Subbed.
If possible, can you also do the new Werewolf Commander as well?
Hmm.. how about the ultimatum? It is a sorcery speed tutor and quite expensive too, but if it connects, should get you all your combo pieces to win a game (say you can pick Pemmin's Aura, Freed from the Reel, and some other tutor spell or something)
Add Kiora's Follower to untap Zaxala or untap a land/permanent before Zaxala has entered for ramp. Also Vorel of the Hull Clade would not be a bad addition.
I don't think you need Vorel if you are already trying to make infinitely large hydras. Thanks for the suggestions.
What do you think about a Nyxbloom Ancient in this deck?
He's not necessary, as we're looking to make infinite mana, not merely triple mana. Any slot he would take should go to something that makes infinite mana instead.
I love this take on a very fun looking commander! I would be very interested to see your thoughts on a version of this Zaxara deck but with the limitation of avoiding infinite mana(which my playgroup doesn't allow). I'm hoping they will agree to just cap the mana pool at 100 rather than eliminate the ability to go infinite, but until they do, I would love to crush them with a non-infinite version of your Zaxara deck. What would be your biggest changes in strategy with that limitation?
just absolutely pack it with 2-cmc ramp cards dude.
This deck tech was completely built around the infinite mana concept. So, you'd have to re-tool a lot.
I built a no-infinite combo version already and a good portion of my cards are focused on ramp. Things like Selvala, tempt, kodama's reach, etc.
It's super fun. You'll be leaning towards green in your deck for the ramp. I built hydra tribal lol because it's flavorful and fun XD Is it competitive? NO!
I used to run a Jarad X spell deck, but a few days before c20 spoilers I rebuilt it to Gyrus, Waker of Corpses to make use of things like Comet Storm, Chandra's Ignition and Mana Geyser... Then Zaxara appeared... I have looked for ways to make a LOT of mana without going infinite, but with Zaxara you almost have to include the obvious combo pieces.
I'm really torn on this one. Zaxara is super cool, but Gyrus does what I want really well too.
I do like this take on the deck though, I had trouble finding the right balance of X creatures in the Jarad version, since casting a hydra for X=2 in the early/mid game is kind of meh... but with the counterspells you can often get people even without a masive X. Something to think about for sure
A nice thing is even if someone counters one of your spells, you still get the creature unless they counter the trigger
@@AbyssArray oh yeah, that's kinda great ^^ I also had a thought last night... Chord/GSG/Finale for Jarad and immediately sac the token to kill the table :P With Finale of Devastation your X only needs to be half of your opponents highest lifetotal too
I'm about to buy this $600 deck, I swear to god if the internet is right and you're wrong i'm going to cry.
Enjoy winning, my friend.
if you just wanna win why not go for a tymna/thrasios deck? xd
@@khurgar8120 because that gets boring real quick.
@@Aristocards you mean unlike countering everything your opponents fields or bouncing all their permanents? Tymna/thrasios has several ways of winning, this one is just get inf mana. I realize thats the point of the video but thats hardly a reciep for dynamic games.
@@khurgar8120 perhaps "boring" was not the optimal word. I shall change it to "stale" as there are already so many commander players that use those Partners that it gets tiresome to see the same commanders over and over again.
The problem with this approach is if you don’t have your commander out you’re helpless. At least if you’re playing hydras you have blockers without needing your commander
Well, you're not totally helpless as this is a control deck with other ways to protect yourself, especially counter-magic. But I do agree that there's generally a limit on how much you should lean on your Commanders.
Yup. It's a control deck so you'll be looking to protect your commander once ZAX is out. Imagine if your opponent gains control of your commander haha! GG.
@@JosephC9 Could always run Homeward Path if you're wary of that.
"Run Spellseeker" yea maybe when it gets reprinted >_>
Retribution of the ancients to artillarize your tokens!
Not a bad idea at all, thanks for the suggestion!
Great video as always . Could you do one on otrimi?
I will certainly look into it, cheers!
Elixir of Immortality?
I would personally put in jace so if I have a x draw spell I win w alot of mana I would also include mana storage ways just in case I don't have my combo and a way to get back cards like conqueror's galleon goes well with unlimited untapping
I'm converting my Kruphix deck into this so I still want to run Kruphix, just in the 99.
Really cool deck! Are you also hyped about Xyris?
That's the one I'm most interested in personally
Personally, no, I'm not hyped about Xyris. I don't like creatures that depend on dealing combat damage - it's too conditional to execute.
It's true! But wheel effects are making it crazy!
@@patrickpoirier7177 It's definitely nice to have more choices in Commanders for a wheel deck - Nekusar is fun but a bit passe.
I agree dear sir! Thanks for the vid!:)
Definitely one of the more fun and interesting commanders from the new C20. All in all I am pretty happy with the new toys we get to play with. Good video, good suggestions, sir!
On a side note, who is the artist who created this lively version of yourself you use as a background for your videos?
It was illustrated by a fantastic artist by the name of Bobby Babcock: www.artstation.com/bobbybabcock
O my!! I have failed! I wanted to build a Hydra tribal commander but how should I think not using Hydras to have Hydras...mind blown! Thanks my good sir and well met.
I'd like to mention Stone-Seeder Hierophant, while it doesn't go infinite with the maze its still a very overlooked infinite mana combo piece
But you also need two other cards to make it work like Patron of the Moon and a Ravnica bounce land. I prefer two-card combos, like Deadeye Navigator + Peregrin Drake. Suggestions are always appreciated!
@@Aristocards I actually get the most value out of stone-seeder hierophant in my Yarok deck especially with Fertilid and Evolution Sage
Another fun card with infinite mana, Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief. Give al enemy creatures -x/-x. And make and infinitely large Drana to kill of enemies one by one.
But what if everyone is wrong and it’s supposed to be zaxara mill👀
Use emergence zone to give your x sorcerys flash.
Or just straight up alchemist refuge
I don’t think you can say it’s a bad idea to run hydras for every build. Your deck is more control than aggro. I hate playing counter magic and so does my play group, but that doesn’t mean your decision to play counter magic is wrong 🙂
How the hell have I not found you before this?
Erebos' Intervention?? Dual use instant.
Yep, check the pinned comment. Thanks for the suggestion.
@@Aristocards Aye, aye
isn't death wind better than sickening shoal since there aren't much of high mana cost black spell's in the deck, and it cost's 1 black less and overall is 0.5 cent's as sickening shoal is 2 $ so overall cheaper card and better in the deck.
--------------
Made the deck more budget than expensive don't pay attention to the lands you just need maze of ith which is only 8$ more or less (u need for infinite mana with argothian elder and ley weaver), you can always cut some cards like selvala, heart of the wilds and replace it with a cheaper card.
deck link:
tappedout.net/mtg-decks/zaxara-stuff-working-on-deck/
new link
Kiora doesn’t fit in this deck, even though it untaps a permanent, there are other cards much more suitable to speed up the deck, also her static ability doesn’t trigger when hydras enter the battlefield.
Yes, she draws cards on the Hydras ETB, check the card rulings.
ughhhh yesss I like hydra's BUT I've been looking for a control sultai commander deck, not a value-ish one
Gonna 100% go through that decklist
Also I like Wilderness Reclamation, Leyline of Anticipation and Seedborn Muse to give space for sorcery speed X spells in the deck, but I can see why many would just take as much instant speed only as they can. If I have enough X instants I might just run Mystical Teachings
No Lore Weaver? Tutorable with Ley Weaver and is an instant speed win condition with infinite mana.
I feel that there are better options but please feel free to give it a try and let me know if it works for you.
the bias against sorcery spells to the point of excluding the most powerful finishers in the game is so dumb.
Agree with most spells ect but still needs hydras lol
Why is that?
Wont unbound flourishing fuck up x counters that wants to counter uneven spells tho? Since you double x you will never be able to counter uneven spells o.O
EDIT: nvm it said permanent spell :D
Cast a spell** not just creature
Too strong for my playgroup for sure. I would build it but i want to play my nice blue staples like my force of will and not swap it for x cards.
Wish I could afford some of these cards lol
The more expensive cards make the deck better but are not absolutely essential to make this deck work. Focus on the infinite mana and the X spells and it will work for you.
@@Aristocards I know, unfortunately I am a budget commander player, I just wish I had some of those more expensive staples. Also thanks for the encouragement. 👍
Gorgos is nice for zaxara. His 4colorless discount on hydras applys to ur commander too.
Mind twist if you don't mind losing any friends.
I hope that's your real voice
Who else would it be? 😄
I just did Eldrazi Zaxara. It's fucking outrageous.
Do tell! Do you have a decklist?
@@Aristocards deckstats.net/decks/152649/1616158-zaxara-vomits-eldrazi
Working with cards I physically own so my Duals situation isn't the best.
@@Aristocards It's my dream deck. I can combo off like a Spike or stomp around like a Timmy. Everything in the deck is something Zaxara vomits up.
God-Vomit :D
@@bobbiechristine Ooo, playing Jin-Gitaxias, you are going for the throat. Looks like fun to play!
take a drink every time he says "infinite mana", haha just kidding. Is comboing out really that common? At my LGS there is a point system and you lose points for making infinite mana, taking extra turns, blowing up multiple lands in a turn etc. And it is just generally frowned upon(like you are tryharding/netdecking the strongest thing possible), this is how my play group has almost always played as well. It just isn't that satisfying to me to say "ok i have inf mana, I just win". With that said, I always enjoy your point of view and enjoy hearing different viewpoints on cards.
It's a rather indirect route to victory here over a Commander like Thrasios where you outright get to draw and play your entire deck. Here, infinite mana with your commander still means that you have to draw into a win condition and then cast it. And playing control means that we're passing up additional win conditions to be able to interact with our opponents. This deck isn't just a game of solitaire, like many cedh decks, where you actually want as little interaction with your opponents as possible.
@@Aristocards I suppose you are right there, however that kind of play would never fly at my lgs. I have seen a combo meren player asked to not come back to the store because no one else was having a good time. Just wanted to point out different metas do things differently, and I got a little triggered when you said going infinite was strictly better than a hydra build which sounded cool to me and is the most likely variation of the deck I would be able to play locally. Could be a good idea to show a "battlecruiser" build for deck techs like this (alongside high-powered version). Different strokes for different folks! Thanks and enjoy the videos
@@lordgriselbrand4600 Appreciate the additional context, and yes, our fellow players should be considered in the equation.
Lets say it together: Just because a deck has blue in it, does not mean you need to load it full of counterspells.
When we could see your glorious face again, dear sir?
Chauncey is practicing "social distancing" so that's been a hindrance for live recording. Hopefully soon...
Villainous wealth and play their whole deck Lol
I could not disagree more about the hydra plan. It's very strong to be able to make 2 X/X bodies in one go, plus you can pretty much win in one round if you have simic ascendancy on the board if you pay 10 for the X.
Also, I like being able to go aggro when I want to, it makes the deck just so versatile and fun all around.
P.S.: I hate infinite combos and would never run such cheap 2 card combos like Pemmin's Aura and Freed from the Real, but well... I respect those that do.
Good job reading the card wrong
Death... Cloud...
That definitely is a fun card, you just have to make sure it doesn't backfire on you
But fat tastes great
That it does, but it's not necessary for sustenance. There are certainly fun cards to include here but they are not optimal.
Ceo of no fun