Seriously, the dynamic between Josh and DJ is SO GOOD. DJ is an awesome additionto the Command Zone podcast. Such a genuine, nice, funny dude. And incredibly enthusiastic. Been watching a lot of Jumbo Commander deck techs - and I don't even play Magic! It's just awesome to hear DJ be excited about new tribal decks.
55:45 Dudes, the card says "as she enters the battlefield". Blinking makes her enter the battlefield again, so, she just goes back to him and he wastes a blink.
lol haha Yeah i caught that too as well as they made it sound like Xantchas controller cant activate the ability, along with Sire of Insanity actually states at each end step not just yours.
After much debate in the comments section I looked for the official ruling and as it turns out, Xanctha does return under your control when the opponent in control of her leaves the game. WOTC staff themselves answered this question. Also, she never enters under your control on to the battlefield. This is to avoid infinite Mana combos killing you as soon as you play Xantcha and before her etb ability triggers. Crazy stuff.
Sheriff K Opponent 1 gets ko'd with Xantcha under their control Once they leave the game Xantcha goes to your side of the board under your control. Opponents can then use her ability on you
You're 100% right, and I've thought about this a lot. My best answer is to run a Harmless Offering (to give away when she comes back to me), Assault Suit (to put her back in rotation when she comes back to me), and Diabolic Intent so I can send her back to the command zone and get a Demonic Tutor out of it.
That’s perfectly normal. MtG is boils down to preparation, execution and luck. Plus deck building is fun, scheming and outsmarting your opponent always is, no matter what the game.
In the case of Roon flickering Xantcha. She enters then you get to choose to give it to someone again. It doesn't stick to you until the player controlling jet loses the game when she reverts back to owner's control
No she don't she is exiled when her controller dies Rulings: 8/23/2019 In a multiplayer game, if Xantcha’s owner leaves the game, Xantcha leaves the game with them. If Xantcha’s controller leaves the game, Xantcha is exiled. This is a change from previous rulings due to Xantcha’s updated wording.
Rules clarification: “In a multiplayer game, if a player leaves the game, all cards that player owns leave as well. If the player under whose control Xantcha entered the battlefield leaves the game, the effect changing control of Xantcha ends. (2018-07-13)” Make sure you have sac outlets before you kill the guy who has it.
You can zone her because it is a replacement effect. The player that is defeated by which ever means. Removes from play all cards they control and own from the table. Because the Commander is being "removed" you can put it back into your command zone.
This is correct. Once her ETB control effect ends, her owner immediately gains control of her. No zone change happens (she never leaves the battlefield) so you don't get a chance to move her to the command zone. You need an instant-speed sac outlet on board when she reverts control or your remaining opponents can just activate her a bunch of times and kill you. This is honestly an enormous mistake by Josh and DJ. A lot of playgroups are going to get into arguments over this, and a lot of Xantcha players are going to feel like they made a huge mistake bringing her to the table as they die to their own commander.
I used this as a base to build from, tweaked a few things to play better in my group (5-8 players every week) My Xantcha sits in a solid 2nd place, as far as overall strength, in our group. Thanks for the help getting started with her
I put her in my Mathas Curses Pillow-fort Deck since she is like a curse..... also use debt of loyalty, and Nettlevine Blight..... really fun deck, high skill ceiling. Wish I saw more of it.
It's important to note that she doesn't ETB then go to another player's field, she is cast into another player's field. This is an important distinction because of if someone has topor orb or other similar effects
Wizards made a A special ruling for Xantcha, "In a multiplayer game, if a player leaves the game, all cards that player owns leave as well. If the player under whose control Xantcha entered the battlefield leaves the game, the effect changing control of Xantcha ends."
Oh wow! I forgot to check the rullings for her now that she's up on Gatherer! Thank you for pointing that out Joseph! That makes a huge difference! So you can't take everyone out with infinite mana since you'll gain control of Xantcha when the player with her leaves the game.
Yeah that does make her a lot worse. I really wish that they didn't make this special rule for Xantcha so that someone with infinite mana can't kill you using your own commander! Even without infinite mana, you need a way to get rid of Xantcha once the other player is taken out so you're not the one taking the damage from Xantcha.
Dauthi Embrace (really messes with combat also gives Xantcha unblockable), Inner Demon (cast on Xantcha to make her a 7/7 flyer while giving mini boardwipe), Unnatural Hunger, War's Toll, Brand of Ill Omen, Blessing of Leeches just a few ideas.
Thank you for this :-D I really appreciate this xantcha show! hahaha! was playing commander with friends a week ago; one of them play the windgrace's deck right off the box. he played xantcha to a friend, and this friend eventually died because of the pay 3 to draw cards effect from xantcha. afraid that the "fun" will be died soon, I summon stunt double, copying xantcha before it dies. but my other friend reanimate the original xantcha on his next turn. this card is extremely fun for casual laughter!
The Xantcha deck I just finished brewing definitely relies heavily on the infinite mana strategy, but also utilizes an arsenal of finisher spells (Exsanguinate, Torment of Hailfire, Comet Storm, Fanning the Flames, and Jaya's Immolating Inferno) into which I can dump infinite mana as a wincon in the event that Xantcha is offline. Pretty stoked to run this deck!
47:00 -- Xantcha causes loss of life, not damage. It won't trigger Sower of Discord. This has been a point in every video I've seen anyone make. Sower would just go infinite with itself otherwise. 50:44 -- Xantcha's controller can still activate her ability. It will just cost them 2 life each time as a disincentive.
Love the feel and flavor of this card, and just learned when watching this that Xantcha was already a character! Adds so much to the flavor! Odd she's Rakdos all things considered, yet not odd. I'd like to build a deck around her. :)
I would have pestilence and Pyrohemia as an auto include. Giving Xantcha shadow with Dauthi Embrace and Dauthi Trapper will be hilarious. Doubling the damage with Avatar of Slaughter and Dictate of Twin Gods will end games quickly. I love it.
Oracle on Nettling Imp: Tap: Choose target non-Wall creature the active player has controlled continuously since the beginning of the turn. That creature attacks this turn if able. Destroy it at the beginning of the next end step if it didn't attack this turn. Activate this ability only during an opponent's turn, before attackers are declared.
also flicker actually helps because xantcha says "enters the battlefield" so if they flicker and give it back to you, can just give it right back or to someone else.
Balduvian warlord is in our pauper cube. The worst combat headache we ran into was. When warlord and wall of frost were on one side of the board. And a vigilant prized unicorn and some other creatures on one side. It was a nightmare. Lol
Xantcha works quite well in the face of Blink, actually. You giving her to an opponent is a replacement effect of her entering the battlefield, so you can just give her back to the Roon player.
That bit about the submarine, from what I understand it was actually a huge part of Navy guys pushback against the X-Box One being always online, or requiring daily logins. Sometimes you're in a submarine and can't get good Internet connections. :D
I love the contrast that DJ brings. It's good to have someone who has a varying opinion on things. For both the host don't have the same opinion on a lot of things. I get to see other perspectives
Wait, if Xantcha were flickered, wouldn't she still go to someone else? Isn't her effect an ETB? So she'd flicker and re-enter the battlefield and she would trigger and go to someone again.
Yes, she would go to a different player. Also, she returns to you when her controller dies. She never changes zones so you don't get a chance to move her to the command zone. They're being really sloppy with their rules interpretations this episode.
it's not an ETB. it's even better than that, it is a replacement. She isn't even under your control for one second, she immediately enters and switches sides before anybody can react.
The biggest problem with getting Xantcha to work is a mix of about 3 things when I've tried using her. For one: SAC EFFECTS. Any opponent with a Viscera Seer, Ashnod's Altar, etc or other sac effects, you simply can't donate Xantcha to because they will immediately remove it. Even if they're the political threat, there's no way you can hand Xantcha over to them unless you have the infinite mana to kill off someone else first, gain control of your commander again, equip to it that one equipment that prevents it being sacrificed, then donating it on board with a bazaar trader -- and that all along the way has the risks of people drawing cards and making YOU lose life in response. Two: Xantcha is still your commander, which means she's dealing 5 commander damage whenever she hits someone. It will only take 5 hits to make someone lose the game. This means they're attempting to block it at all costs, and they don't find the pay 3 draw a card enough of a reason to let it stick around. Instead, more than half the time I use it, everybody else politics to say " I'll get rid of Xantcha for you and you don't hit me and we can kill that other guy together". 5 damage, even without the commander damage aspect, is also 1/8 a player's starting life total anyway, and the fact that you're getting it out cheaply makes opponents want to kill you first, even if you have incentives and disincentives around to manipulate combat. They'll find it worth it. Three: You can never choose to have her enter under your own control for even temporary use as a blocker. If you don't draw creatures and/or someone keeps using creature removal, you're totally screwed. Sure there's ways to disincentivize, like marchesa's decree, hissing miasma, circle of flame, caltrops... But none of those are exactly the same thing as a ghostly prison or propaganda. Xantcha is red and black -- there's not very many things you can do to stop people swinging at you, and Xantcha won't block for you till you kill somebody first. You CAN run solutions for all these problems together, but drawing these solutions to every problem at once, even if you've got the mana... People will see you drawing a ton of cards and want to focus you first anyway.
Also another kinda hilarious thing with xantcha is giving her to a player with conjurer's closet or deadeye. Which can give her back to the owner. After the blink of course
I have been building a Xantcha deck that is a reverse voltron build that also uses cards like hijack to "borrow" your commander for a turn to get extra damage in a round.
Don't rememeber if it was mentioned, Mystifying Maze exiles Xantcha and brings her back, allowing you to donate her to another player. Useful when a player is getting low and you want to hand her to another opponent
Paradox Engine + several mana rocks: tap mana rocks for mana, activate Xantcha draw a button of cards, cast ritual, paradox engine untaps mana rocks, rinse and repeat So deadly... especially in the late game if its 1 v 1 and they have the advantage over you but you 're holding a few rituals in hand, could give you the millage to close out the game
I feel like you want cards that take advantage of her a little more. So a card like War’s Toll will force everyone to tap their mana, and Xantcha is a good place to sink that extra mana, and it forces the player with Xantcha to attack with everything, leaving them open to other players to attack. I also think Rakdos Lord of Riots is a great creature here that becomes so easy to cast with a Xantcha activation.
Sower of Discord doesn't work with Xantcha's activated ability. Sower of Discord links damage between the 2 targets, not loss of life. They are different. It also doesn't work with Wound Reflection or Polluted Bonds.
Arhen Dante no but it works with Xantcha's must attack if able damage, and that is 5 damage, which you then control the blockers of with the rakdos control elements. So it works just not with the activated ablity
I think it could be great fun to build Xantcha as a weird voltron deck. I guess it will be challenging to make it work without equipments and having small control over the attacks. My first idea were Key to the city and auras that give evasion like Madcap Skills. Hatred and other combat tricks could be interesting. Horror of Horrors could be useful to save Xantcha multiple times.
More ways to control combat: Fumiko the Lowblood, Goblin Diplomats, Grenzo Havoc Raiser. You'll also want some permanent removal like Chaos Warp to deal with sac outlets, as well as targeted land destruction.
Weird thing that happened to me the other day is that I sat down with the new Saheeli to do exactly this and brew my own version of a deck for her from scratch. What I came up with has, not counting lands or Saheeli herself, 27 cards in common with the precon which I found really strange as I had little to no memory of what cards were in the deck off the top of my head other than staples. But, on the other hand, it makes picking up that precon worth it so I will not complain. And, in any case, I can definitely guarantee my deck will play NOTHING like the precon.
How I would put Xantcha in a deck: Use Mathas as the commander, then I have access to Tragic Arrogance (destroy every nonland except Xantcha) Old Odric(combat control) Path to exile (exile flicker creatures before they exile your stuff) Mystic Barrier (more combat control) Queen Marchesa (yaaas Queen) and Suture Priest. Xantcha is a 99 for me, not a general. The design is simple, Give people creatures so they can hit one another with them. If they turn on you hit them with a Crackling Doom, lessen the impact. you also have pillow fort in white which helps in the regard as well. Mathas is there to put counters on the problem cards or the tokens you have given them.
Marchesa is a better commander. Mathas doesn't work to well against other commander's as if they do get destroyed they go back to commander zone instead of a dying to trigger the bounty. I tried Mathas and found Marchesa to be better as she has haste, death touch, better card draw, and token generation
So, I want about building her as a goblin deck, using pretty standard Goblin tribal themes, but the payoff is the ability to use Mana echoes to generate obsene Mana. The trick is once you have the two and play with a fair number of goblins playing Goblin recruiter will allow you to play every single Goblin in your deck in one turn, sometimes generating enough incidental Mana to kill an entire table
I'd love to see a dark voltron style deck for Xantcha, using enchantments and the like to buff her, and a lot of combat tricks to give double strike and stuff like that, so she's less likely to be removed, and playing off the commander damage death, rather than pissing off the whole table with the slow burn effects. if you've got the creatures out to buff "target creature gets +1/+1 and first strike" type effects, I could see this deck doing really well, particularly if you're otherwise drawing the ire of the table by having "whenever x happens, you lose y life" type effects out, and it means you've got an answer for the zerg rush decks, and if Xantcha gets destroyed too many times, you have an alternate option, of doing a horde of your own.
The most natural way for the opponents to deal with xantcha is to cut a deal with someone and attack to be blocked by a bigger creature. Besides toxic deluge I would add bedlam to avoid blocking and kaervek, the merciless to deal with big blockers
53:30 on, Turns out, Xantcha's bad against everything. But she still seems fun :) Also, it would be hilarious having a Xantcha deck with Zedruu at the table.
I love the deck, but the last bit about the problems are a big problem. Looks super fun in the right pod though. To get around some of the problems, and getting Xantcha returned to your control, have an Assault Suit ready. No more sacing her and everyone gets a chance to have her. Maybe play a few more threaten effects to take advantage of this too. Would love to see this deck played on Game Knights. Invite DJ to play it.
My xantcha deck is built around commander damage. It's all huge pump enchantments, gain control until end of turn (so she swings twice each rotation), and target creature is unblockable.
I like the idea of using sleeper agent to turn the free for all into a 2vs by giving the person you gave xantcha to buff and those auras that buff creatures and they can't attack you. Make them your own sleep agent
Xantcha could make a "pin the enemy" kind of deck where you MAKE a target player the most "threatening" with Akroan Horse, Curse of Opulence, and Sleeper Agent.
Oh man this episode! So many cards that see little to no play, great humor as always, and overall great! I couldn't help but grin for almost the entire episode! Great ideas Josh and DJ! Oh man! Jimmy's going to be away for a few more months? I'm so happy that Heartstone works so well with Xantcha because of the flavor this card has with Xantcha! I've never seen or heard of Balduvian Warlord or Nettling Imp! What a ridiculous ability and a confusing ability! The wording on the very old cards from back when Mtg was new always cracks me up! The wording is so bad! Oh wow! I didn't think of Wildfire! I've been thinking of putting in damage board wipes that don't kill Xantcha to help clear the board so she can get through while staying alive, and it synergizies with cards that card about damage like Repercussion, Treacherous Link, Sower of Discord, Neheb the Eternal, and Archfiend of Despair. What do you think of those cards in a Xantcha deck? Also what about Mana Flare, Victory Chimes, Bitter Feud, War's Toll, and enchantments that protect Xantcha like Blessing of Leeches, Molting Snakeskin, and Soul Channeling? I completely forgot about Psychosis Crawler! Yeah that's so good with Xantcha!
Call me crazy but I really like Xantcha in my Saskia build. She doesn't completely synergize with her but makes combat a priority and can finish off another player if you politic enough.
Cmon, it was in the release notes. You can’t put Xantcha into the command zone after you generate infinite mana and kill the person who has her, it was basic reading, it comes back to your side of the table.
I love Xantcha and those are interesting strategies, I plan to use her in my Mathas deck to create more political mayhem around the table rather than having her as the commander and main strategy, however.
I'd definitely play Spiteful Visions in this list. Not only does it punish everyone for activating Xantcha even more, it also speeds up the game immensely. I've had a B/R commander deck based around punishing entchantments and general disruption effects for quite a while. It's basically like a Zo-Zu the Punisher deck plus black for things like Underworld Dreams, Sudden Spoiling, Pestilence and Sire of Insanity. I had been looking for a good commander for that deck for quite a while, but I hadn't found one quite as fitting as Xantcha yet. I'll make sure everyone in my playgroup hates this :D
Not mentioning Havoc Festival in the punishing part is criminal. Especially after mentioning Wound Reflection which comboes with it for (near) instant kill.
You could also play Varchild Betrayer of Kjeldor with this deck too, right? She's got a "make creatures for your opponents that can't be used against you" ability too.
That stupid Crown of Doom card came out of the first Planeswalker commander decks. We were playing out of box and I got stomped after Daretti's Goblin welder swapped my sol ring for it. I was salty. It was an excellent play.
Good stuff. I'm planning on a similar build, some cards I'm excited to try out are Thunderstaff, Thorn of the Black Rose, and Curse of the Nightly Hunt.
Wouldn’t be mystifying maze even better than maze of ith in this deck? I know it costs 4 to activate, but the effect is way better imo. First xantcha etb again, so you can possibly donate her to another opponent if you need to. And second she is tapped meaning she is safe from being declared as a blocker. What do you think?
13:15 what card is DJ referring to? "Pay 2 life and one mana -phyrexian mana" what's that? Can't find that card, or even anything else that looks like Treasonous Ogre in the sense of "pay life: add (r)" without the "tap" function, super powerful.
Sower of Discord won't work with Xantcha's activated ability as it specifically says damage, but Wound Reflection will as it only cares about the loss of life
Another interesting thing is usually 3 players are looking for removal for your commander, but you're the only one looking for counter-removal. With Xantcha, only one player wants removal, but 3 players can have counter-removal....
Rules mistakes in the comments are consistently misleading. 1)When exiled by a Roon effect you may choose to put your commander in the command zone. Roons delayed triggered ability WILL pull it back out of the command zone. 2) Xantcha does not have an ETB effect. The ability that results in her changing control is a condition of the spell resolving and is considered a replacement effect and does not place an ability on the stack. Just like a clone effect. 3) The replacement effect is considered a continuous effect and ends if Xantchas controller dies. Reverting control back to its original caster. This is the first instance of this interaction that I've encountered.
I want to see a Game Knights with Xantcha - but consider things that make her unblockable like Key To The City. Cover of Darkness choosing Minion. Rime Transfusion. Go nuts xD
For those who didn't hear. We know what Jimmy is up to. "Jimmy is getting down to business, to defeat everyone. Did you bring your counters? when he storms off on turn one. You'll be the saddest group he ever meet, but you can bet before the he's through. Jimmy will be the last one standing dude!!"
I randomly played Xantcha in my last play session and we were all like “what does she do...? Wait what? Huh”. My deck wasn’t optimal for her but just wanted to see what she would do/how people react to it.
Remider: Xantcha controller still can activate her last ability to draw cards. He/She just takes damage for it. Redeploying it wont stop someone who has advantage from drawing more, if they have life to spare.
I'm trying to make it into a curse deck! I mean, she basically acts like a curse, with added bonus of dealing damage to all others! I just need some more cards to add in, (I haven't made any other commander decks, so I don't know what I need to prepare for...). Maybe more punishing cards, or just something to manipulate combat, or mana rocks...
the player with xantcha can draw cards, xantcha's ability says any player can use it, not just players other than xantcha's controller, so they can draw cards, they just have to take 2 each time
i'd consider running a small curse package with some of the best curses plus curse of misfortunes to let you put some focus and pressure on decks like meren, there are actually quite a few curses in red and black that have effects that don't rely on the player being attacked to do anything, like curse of oblivion that forces them to exile cards from the graveyard at their upkeep.
Seriously, the dynamic between Josh and DJ is SO GOOD. DJ is an awesome additionto the Command Zone podcast. Such a genuine, nice, funny dude. And incredibly enthusiastic. Been watching a lot of Jumbo Commander deck techs - and I don't even play Magic! It's just awesome to hear DJ be excited about new tribal decks.
I want to see DJ in Game Knights. Dew it.
Gabriel Young it's definitely the Jedi way
Yes! Thank you for making that reference!
PLEASE!
Should of been done last week with the new commander decks ....
scott wicker would be way better to see some of DJs homebrew decks in action
55:45 Dudes, the card says "as she enters the battlefield". Blinking makes her enter the battlefield again, so, she just goes back to him and he wastes a blink.
How often do you slam your head on the table because of a rules misunderstanding like this?
lol haha Yeah i caught that too as well as they made it sound like Xantchas controller cant activate the ability, along with Sire of Insanity actually states at each end step not just yours.
Depends.. how often does a new CZ episode come out?
ya, just made a xantcha deck and this got me freaking out a bit until i went, wait a minute wtf are they talking about?
After much debate in the comments section I looked for the official ruling and as it turns out, Xanctha does return under your control when the opponent in control of her leaves the game. WOTC staff themselves answered this question. Also, she never enters under your control on to the battlefield. This is to avoid infinite Mana combos killing you as soon as you play Xantcha and before her etb ability triggers.
Crazy stuff.
So.. if she gets moved to your control by an opponent dying, it ISNT under your control?? I’m confused..
Sheriff K Opponent 1 gets ko'd with Xantcha under their control
Once they leave the game Xantcha goes to your side of the board under your control. Opponents can then use her ability on you
Harmless Offering and Bazaar Trader can then give her to the next victim yes?
Jon Flores Yes, unless your opponents kill you with her ability first. You're going to need an instant-speed sac outlet on board, to be safe.
You're 100% right, and I've thought about this a lot. My best answer is to run a Harmless Offering (to give away when she comes back to me), Assault Suit (to put her back in rotation when she comes back to me), and Diabolic Intent so I can send her back to the command zone and get a Demonic Tutor out of it.
I play Magic once, maybe twice, a week but I brew every day. Absolutely love these videos!
Mike Justice same here I enjoy brewing bad combos or interesting synergies. Many cards can be broken in the right circumstances.
That’s perfectly normal. MtG is boils down to preparation, execution and luck. Plus deck building is fun, scheming and outsmarting your opponent always is, no matter what the game.
3:50
Sander De Bruyn thank you!
Thx
You’re doing god’s work, son
Gracias
You. Rock.
In the case of Roon flickering Xantcha. She enters then you get to choose to give it to someone again. It doesn't stick to you until the player controlling jet loses the game when she reverts back to owner's control
Also when it is Exiled, you can could to return it to your command zone. If that were more advantageous.
No she don't she is exiled when her controller dies Rulings: 8/23/2019 In a multiplayer game, if Xantcha’s owner leaves the game, Xantcha leaves the game with them. If Xantcha’s controller leaves the game, Xantcha is exiled. This is a change from previous rulings due to Xantcha’s updated wording.
My built with Xantcha is discard themed. So everyone tempted to use xantcha ability and kill someone.
Rules clarification:
“In a multiplayer game, if a player leaves the game, all cards that player owns leave as well. If the player under whose control Xantcha entered the battlefield leaves the game, the effect changing control of Xantcha ends.
(2018-07-13)”
Make sure you have sac outlets before you kill the guy who has it.
Man That Games wait so if someone dies from xantcha you can't zone her
You can zone her because it is a replacement effect. The player that is defeated by which ever means. Removes from play all cards they control and own from the table. Because the Commander is being "removed" you can put it back into your command zone.
This is where assault suit comes in play. If you regain control of Xantcha, equip her and give it back on their turn.
Joseph Finnemore wrong
This is correct. Once her ETB control effect ends, her owner immediately gains control of her. No zone change happens (she never leaves the battlefield) so you don't get a chance to move her to the command zone. You need an instant-speed sac outlet on board when she reverts control or your remaining opponents can just activate her a bunch of times and kill you.
This is honestly an enormous mistake by Josh and DJ. A lot of playgroups are going to get into arguments over this, and a lot of Xantcha players are going to feel like they made a huge mistake bringing her to the table as they die to their own commander.
I used this as a base to build from, tweaked a few things to play better in my group (5-8 players every week) My Xantcha sits in a solid 2nd place, as far as overall strength, in our group. Thanks for the help getting started with her
I put her in my Mathas Curses Pillow-fort Deck since she is like a curse..... also use debt of loyalty, and Nettlevine Blight..... really fun deck, high skill ceiling. Wish I saw more of it.
Trent Vickers May I ask you if you got a list of your Marthas deck online?
deckstats.net/deck-16755620-9e789e17282b47b24023e2c5cd426c29.html
Do you have a deck list I could look at?
ok I just posted it
It's important to note that she doesn't ETB then go to another player's field, she is cast into another player's field. This is an important distinction because of if someone has topor orb or other similar effects
True! "As Xantcha ETB, give her to somebody else" is a replacement effect, not a trigger. 614.1c
Wizards made a A special ruling for Xantcha,
"In a multiplayer game, if a player leaves the game, all cards that player owns leave as well. If the player under whose control Xantcha entered the battlefield leaves the game, the effect changing control of Xantcha ends."
Oh wow! I forgot to check the rullings for her now that she's up on Gatherer! Thank you for pointing that out Joseph! That makes a huge difference! So you can't take everyone out with infinite mana since you'll gain control of Xantcha when the player with her leaves the game.
this is not a special rule for xantcha. this is just an explanation of how current rules work.
Well that's half true. The first part is how it normally works. The second part is how it works specifically with Xantcha.
Also really makes her a lot worse... if someone else has an infinite mana combo they kill whoever has Xantcha then kills you...
Yeah that does make her a lot worse. I really wish that they didn't make this special rule for Xantcha so that someone with infinite mana can't kill you using your own commander! Even without infinite mana, you need a way to get rid of Xantcha once the other player is taken out so you're not the one taking the damage from Xantcha.
im waiting for the part josh goes" you play mana you use that mana to draw cards... what does every 2 decks need? mana ramp and card draw"
Dauthi Embrace (really messes with combat also gives Xantcha unblockable), Inner Demon (cast on Xantcha to make her a 7/7 flyer while giving mini boardwipe), Unnatural Hunger, War's Toll, Brand of Ill Omen, Blessing of Leeches just a few ideas.
I feel like bloodchiefs ascension + mindcrank combo works extremely well in this deck
Thank you for this :-D
I really appreciate this xantcha show! hahaha!
was playing commander with friends a week ago; one of them play the windgrace's deck right off the box.
he played xantcha to a friend, and this friend eventually died because of the pay 3 to draw cards effect from xantcha. afraid that the "fun" will be died soon, I summon stunt double, copying xantcha before it dies. but my other friend reanimate the original xantcha on his next turn. this card is extremely fun for casual laughter!
The Xantcha deck I just finished brewing definitely relies heavily on the infinite mana strategy, but also utilizes an arsenal of finisher spells (Exsanguinate, Torment of Hailfire, Comet Storm, Fanning the Flames, and Jaya's Immolating Inferno) into which I can dump infinite mana as a wincon in the event that Xantcha is offline. Pretty stoked to run this deck!
47:00 -- Xantcha causes loss of life, not damage. It won't trigger Sower of Discord. This has been a point in every video I've seen anyone make. Sower would just go infinite with itself otherwise.
50:44 -- Xantcha's controller can still activate her ability. It will just cost them 2 life each time as a disincentive.
Man it's a huge let-down that so many popular, solid archetypes hose Xantcha. I guess I'll build Mathas/Marchesa as the commander instead, after all.
Xantcha still has to attack for 5 every turn! Sower of Discord works with that aspect of her.
Love the feel and flavor of this card, and just learned when watching this that Xantcha was already a character! Adds so much to the flavor! Odd she's Rakdos all things considered, yet not odd. I'd like to build a deck around her. :)
Thanks guys!!! I'll have you know I've been really looking forward to this ever since Xantcha got spoiled! Been deck teching for weeks now XD
Make sure you put in an elixir of immortality. It allows you to go infinite without worrying about the number of cards in deck. Also paradox engine.
I would have pestilence and Pyrohemia as an auto include. Giving Xantcha shadow with Dauthi Embrace
and Dauthi Trapper will be hilarious. Doubling the damage with Avatar of Slaughter and Dictate of Twin Gods will end games quickly. I love it.
Kindred dominance. Name minion
Oracle on Nettling Imp:
Tap: Choose target non-Wall creature the active player has controlled continuously since the beginning of the turn. That creature attacks this turn if able. Destroy it at the beginning of the next end step if it didn't attack this turn. Activate this ability only during an opponent's turn, before attackers are declared.
also flicker actually helps because xantcha says "enters the battlefield" so if they flicker and give it back to you, can just give it right back or to someone else.
Balduvian warlord is in our pauper cube. The worst combat headache we ran into was. When warlord and wall of frost were on one side of the board. And a vigilant prized unicorn and some other creatures on one side. It was a nightmare. Lol
Xantcha works quite well in the face of Blink, actually.
You giving her to an opponent is a replacement effect of her entering the battlefield, so you can just give her back to the Roon player.
you can activate xantcha if u control it to pay 2 life and draw a card for 3
Not just if you control it bud 😏
That bit about the submarine, from what I understand it was actually a huge part of Navy guys pushback against the X-Box One being always online, or requiring daily logins. Sometimes you're in a submarine and can't get good Internet connections. :D
I love the contrast that DJ brings. It's good to have someone who has a varying opinion on things. For both the host don't have the same opinion on a lot of things. I get to see other perspectives
This guy is the best host/guest this show has had. You should honestly just hire him and find room for him more.
Wait, if Xantcha were flickered, wouldn't she still go to someone else? Isn't her effect an ETB? So she'd flicker and re-enter the battlefield and she would trigger and go to someone again.
Yes, she would go to a different player. Also, she returns to you when her controller dies. She never changes zones so you don't get a chance to move her to the command zone. They're being really sloppy with their rules interpretations this episode.
it's not an ETB. it's even better than that, it is a replacement. She isn't even under your control for one second, she immediately enters and switches sides before anybody can react.
I love that crown of doom! Totally underrated - and seeing my playgroup's faces when I play it is priceless.
The biggest problem with getting Xantcha to work is a mix of about 3 things when I've tried using her. For one: SAC EFFECTS. Any opponent with a Viscera Seer, Ashnod's Altar, etc or other sac effects, you simply can't donate Xantcha to because they will immediately remove it. Even if they're the political threat, there's no way you can hand Xantcha over to them unless you have the infinite mana to kill off someone else first, gain control of your commander again, equip to it that one equipment that prevents it being sacrificed, then donating it on board with a bazaar trader -- and that all along the way has the risks of people drawing cards and making YOU lose life in response.
Two: Xantcha is still your commander, which means she's dealing 5 commander damage whenever she hits someone. It will only take 5 hits to make someone lose the game. This means they're attempting to block it at all costs, and they don't find the pay 3 draw a card enough of a reason to let it stick around. Instead, more than half the time I use it, everybody else politics to say " I'll get rid of Xantcha for you and you don't hit me and we can kill that other guy together". 5 damage, even without the commander damage aspect, is also 1/8 a player's starting life total anyway, and the fact that you're getting it out cheaply makes opponents want to kill you first, even if you have incentives and disincentives around to manipulate combat. They'll find it worth it.
Three: You can never choose to have her enter under your own control for even temporary use as a blocker. If you don't draw creatures and/or someone keeps using creature removal, you're totally screwed. Sure there's ways to disincentivize, like marchesa's decree, hissing miasma, circle of flame, caltrops... But none of those are exactly the same thing as a ghostly prison or propaganda. Xantcha is red and black -- there's not very many things you can do to stop people swinging at you, and Xantcha won't block for you till you kill somebody first.
You CAN run solutions for all these problems together, but drawing these solutions to every problem at once, even if you've got the mana... People will see you drawing a ton of cards and want to focus you first anyway.
Only Problem I have is the amount of Sacrifice in Commander
Me: "Here have a Xantcha"
BOB: "Thanks...Sacrificed"
Me: "Great...."
Also another kinda hilarious thing with xantcha is giving her to a player with conjurer's closet or deadeye. Which can give her back to the owner. After the blink of course
I have been building a Xantcha deck that is a reverse voltron build that also uses cards like hijack to "borrow" your commander for a turn to get extra damage in a round.
Don't rememeber if it was mentioned, Mystifying Maze exiles Xantcha and brings her back, allowing you to donate her to another player. Useful when a player is getting low and you want to hand her to another opponent
Paradox Engine + several mana rocks: tap mana rocks for mana, activate Xantcha draw a button of cards, cast ritual, paradox engine untaps mana rocks, rinse and repeat
So deadly... especially in the late game if its 1 v 1 and they have the advantage over you but you 're holding a few rituals in hand, could give you the millage to close out the game
Assault Suit and Rite of the Raging Storm are nicely on theme with the general and don't care as much about sac outlets.
Monarch is the best mechanic in a long time. Forcing the game to move along and creating an advantage for attacking is a huge boon.
I feel like you want cards that take advantage of her a little more. So a card like War’s Toll will force everyone to tap their mana, and Xantcha is a good place to sink that extra mana, and it forces the player with Xantcha to attack with everything, leaving them open to other players to attack. I also think Rakdos Lord of Riots is a great creature here that becomes so easy to cast with a Xantcha activation.
Sower of Discord doesn't work with Xantcha's activated ability. Sower of Discord links damage between the 2 targets, not loss of life. They are different. It also doesn't work with Wound Reflection or Polluted Bonds.
Arhen Dante no but it works with Xantcha's must attack if able damage, and that is 5 damage, which you then control the blockers of with the rakdos control elements. So it works just not with the activated ablity
I like using Undying Evil effects to get around people sac'ing her or boardwiping. She comes back, then goes to a new opponent
I think it could be great fun to build Xantcha as a weird voltron deck.
I guess it will be challenging to make it work without equipments and having small control over the attacks.
My first idea were Key to the city and auras that give evasion like Madcap Skills. Hatred and other combat tricks could be interesting.
Horror of Horrors could be useful to save Xantcha multiple times.
Giving and controlling regenerate on Xancha gives much more leeway! "Blessing of Leeches" is a MUST PLAY!
Also Dark Privilege!
More ways to control combat: Fumiko the Lowblood, Goblin Diplomats, Grenzo Havoc Raiser. You'll also want some permanent removal like Chaos Warp to deal with sac outlets, as well as targeted land destruction.
Weird thing that happened to me the other day is that I sat down with the new Saheeli to do exactly this and brew my own version of a deck for her from scratch. What I came up with has, not counting lands or Saheeli herself, 27 cards in common with the precon which I found really strange as I had little to no memory of what cards were in the deck off the top of my head other than staples. But, on the other hand, it makes picking up that precon worth it so I will not complain. And, in any case, I can definitely guarantee my deck will play NOTHING like the precon.
How I would put Xantcha in a deck: Use Mathas as the commander, then I have access to Tragic Arrogance (destroy every nonland except Xantcha) Old Odric(combat control) Path to exile (exile flicker creatures before they exile your stuff) Mystic Barrier (more combat control) Queen Marchesa (yaaas Queen) and Suture Priest. Xantcha is a 99 for me, not a general.
The design is simple, Give people creatures so they can hit one another with them. If they turn on you hit them with a Crackling Doom, lessen the impact. you also have pillow fort in white which helps in the regard as well.
Mathas is there to put counters on the problem cards or the tokens you have given them.
Marchesa is a better commander. Mathas doesn't work to well against other commander's as if they do get destroyed they go back to commander zone instead of a dying to trigger the bounty. I tried Mathas and found Marchesa to be better as she has haste, death touch, better card draw, and token generation
I can always switch them around
So, I want about building her as a goblin deck, using pretty standard Goblin tribal themes, but the payoff is the ability to use Mana echoes to generate obsene Mana. The trick is once you have the two and play with a fair number of goblins playing Goblin recruiter will allow you to play every single Goblin in your deck in one turn, sometimes generating enough incidental Mana to kill an entire table
I'd love to see a dark voltron style deck for Xantcha, using enchantments and the like to buff her, and a lot of combat tricks to give double strike and stuff like that, so she's less likely to be removed, and playing off the commander damage death, rather than pissing off the whole table with the slow burn effects.
if you've got the creatures out to buff "target creature gets +1/+1 and first strike" type effects, I could see this deck doing really well, particularly if you're otherwise drawing the ire of the table by having "whenever x happens, you lose y life" type effects out, and it means you've got an answer for the zerg rush decks, and if Xantcha gets destroyed too many times, you have an alternate option, of doing a horde of your own.
The most natural way for the opponents to deal with xantcha is to cut a deal with someone and attack to be blocked by a bigger creature. Besides toxic deluge I would add bedlam to avoid blocking and kaervek, the merciless to deal with big blockers
A note about flicker. Xhancha says “as she enters the battlefield” meaning you just get to give it away again
I also suggest him deathmantle. Returns your xantcha attached to deathmantle giving it +2/+2, does everything you want it to
Xantcha can absolutely draw cards for the person you give it to. The ability literally says "ANY player may activate this ability"
It really sucks not to have Jimmy there, but really, congrats to him! Huge opportunity landing that role he got!
Can’t wait for the arixmethes deck tech
yeah me too
Do they do this for every new legendary?
NECROLORDZ
No, only a few, 3 tend to be the usual...
53:30 on, Turns out, Xantcha's bad against everything. But she still seems fun :) Also, it would be hilarious having a Xantcha deck with Zedruu at the table.
Reminder that the Heartstone depicted on the card does, in fact, belong to Xantcha. No wonder they work so well together.
I love the deck, but the last bit about the problems are a big problem. Looks super fun in the right pod though. To get around some of the problems, and getting Xantcha returned to your control, have an Assault Suit ready. No more sacing her and everyone gets a chance to have her. Maybe play a few more threaten effects to take advantage of this too. Would love to see this deck played on Game Knights. Invite DJ to play it.
My xantcha deck is built around commander damage. It's all huge pump enchantments, gain control until end of turn (so she swings twice each rotation), and target creature is unblockable.
Xantcha is going straight into my O-Kagachi assault suit deck. A lot of the cards mentioned are already in that deck. It’s group tHUG deck
I like the idea of using sleeper agent to turn the free for all into a 2vs by giving the person you gave xantcha to buff and those auras that buff creatures and they can't attack you. Make them your own sleep agent
Xantcha could make a "pin the enemy" kind of deck where you MAKE a target player the most "threatening" with Akroan Horse, Curse of Opulence, and Sleeper Agent.
Oh man this episode! So many cards that see little to no play, great humor as always, and overall great! I couldn't help but grin for almost the entire episode! Great ideas Josh and DJ!
Oh man! Jimmy's going to be away for a few more months?
I'm so happy that Heartstone works so well with Xantcha because of the flavor this card has with Xantcha!
I've never seen or heard of Balduvian Warlord or Nettling Imp! What a ridiculous ability and a confusing ability! The wording on the very old cards from back when Mtg was new always cracks me up! The wording is so bad!
Oh wow! I didn't think of Wildfire! I've been thinking of putting in damage board wipes that don't kill Xantcha to help clear the board so she can get through while staying alive, and it synergizies with cards that card about damage like Repercussion, Treacherous Link, Sower of Discord, Neheb the Eternal, and Archfiend of Despair. What do you think of those cards in a Xantcha deck? Also what about Mana Flare, Victory Chimes, Bitter Feud, War's Toll, and enchantments that protect Xantcha like Blessing of Leeches, Molting Snakeskin, and Soul Channeling?
I completely forgot about Psychosis Crawler! Yeah that's so good with Xantcha!
Another great card for Xantcha is "Dauthi Embrace" it gives Xantcha (shadow).
Call me crazy but I really like Xantcha in my Saskia build. She doesn't completely synergize with her but makes combat a priority and can finish off another player if you politic enough.
No Mercy also has flavor text from a sleeper agent lol 44:35
Good old polluted bonds and wound reflection. My buddy uses those in a drain deck with Sanguine bond, and the damage stacks quickly.
If you love play politics at Commander I recomend Xantcha Curse decks and as Rakdos color you may choose any finisher you want.
Cmon, it was in the release notes.
You can’t put Xantcha into the command zone after you generate infinite mana and kill the person who has her, it was basic reading, it comes back to your side of the table.
they made the video before the card was released so the notes didn't exist at that time
They could still see the rules made for what happens when someone leaves a multiplayer game. Control effects end.
OMG Congratulations Jimmy!!!! You will be the PERFECT Ling. I might actually have to give the live-action Mulan a chance, just to support!
I love Xantcha and those are interesting strategies, I plan to use her in my Mathas deck to create more political mayhem around the table rather than having her as the commander and main strategy, however.
I'd definitely play Spiteful Visions in this list. Not only does it punish everyone for activating Xantcha even more, it also speeds up the game immensely.
I've had a B/R commander deck based around punishing entchantments and general disruption effects for quite a while. It's basically like a Zo-Zu the Punisher deck plus black for things like Underworld Dreams, Sudden Spoiling, Pestilence and Sire of Insanity. I had been looking for a good commander for that deck for quite a while, but I hadn't found one quite as fitting as Xantcha yet. I'll make sure everyone in my playgroup hates this :D
Not mentioning Havoc Festival in the punishing part is criminal.
Especially after mentioning Wound Reflection which comboes with it for (near) instant kill.
Cats out of the bag, Jimmy has been away cuz he landed a role in the live action Mulan movie. Congrats to him!
Endbringer is a great target for Brudiclad token shenanigans if you want more decks it could possibly fit in.
Two suggestions: thran turbine & braids of fire. These two are underwhelming in most builds but if you know that you will have a mana sink... 😈
You could also play Varchild Betrayer of Kjeldor with this deck too, right? She's got a "make creatures for your opponents that can't be used against you" ability too.
That stupid Crown of Doom card came out of the first Planeswalker commander decks. We were playing out of box and I got stomped after Daretti's Goblin welder swapped my sol ring for it. I was salty. It was an excellent play.
Good stuff. I'm planning on a similar build, some cards I'm excited to try out are Thunderstaff, Thorn of the Black Rose, and Curse of the Nightly Hunt.
Wouldn’t be mystifying maze even better than maze of ith in this deck? I know it costs 4 to activate, but the effect is way better imo.
First xantcha etb again, so you can possibly donate her to another opponent if you need to. And second she is tapped meaning she is safe from being declared as a blocker.
What do you think?
13:15 what card is DJ referring to? "Pay 2 life and one mana -phyrexian mana" what's that? Can't find that card, or even anything else that looks like Treasonous Ogre in the sense of "pay life: add (r)" without the "tap" function, super powerful.
Sower of Discord won't work with Xantcha's activated ability as it specifically says damage, but Wound Reflection will as it only cares about the loss of life
Another interesting thing is usually 3 players are looking for removal for your commander, but you're the only one looking for counter-removal.
With Xantcha, only one player wants removal, but 3 players can have counter-removal....
Command zone. You know what I'm gonna build. A thantis the warweaver defender deck.
Rules mistakes in the comments are consistently misleading.
1)When exiled by a Roon effect you may choose to put your commander in the command zone. Roons delayed triggered ability WILL pull it back out of the command zone.
2) Xantcha does not have an ETB effect. The ability that results in her changing control is a condition of the spell resolving and is considered a replacement effect and does not place an ability on the stack. Just like a clone effect.
3) The replacement effect is considered a continuous effect and ends if Xantchas controller dies. Reverting control back to its original caster. This is the first instance of this interaction that I've encountered.
I want to see a Game Knights with Xantcha - but consider things that make her unblockable like Key To The City. Cover of Darkness choosing Minion. Rime Transfusion. Go nuts xD
For those who didn't hear. We know what Jimmy is up to.
"Jimmy is getting down to business, to defeat everyone.
Did you bring your counters? when he storms off on turn one.
You'll be the saddest group he ever meet, but you can bet before the he's through.
Jimmy will be the last one standing dude!!"
I randomly played Xantcha in my last play session and we were all like “what does she do...? Wait what? Huh”. My deck wasn’t optimal for her but just wanted to see what she would do/how people react to it.
xantcha against room really isn't a bad match up because the giving effect is etb so you just give it back to them as any times they blink it
Remider: Xantcha controller still can activate her last ability to draw cards. He/She just takes damage for it. Redeploying it wont stop someone who has advantage from drawing more, if they have life to spare.
I'm trying to make it into a curse deck! I mean, she basically acts like a curse, with added bonus of dealing damage to all others! I just need some more cards to add in, (I haven't made any other commander decks, so I don't know what I need to prepare for...). Maybe more punishing cards, or just something to manipulate combat, or mana rocks...
Y'all joked in the intro, but I downloaded and listened to a lot of episodes of the command zone on a submarine.
the player with xantcha can draw cards, xantcha's ability says any player can use it, not just players other than xantcha's controller, so they can draw cards, they just have to take 2 each time
also if someone flickers xantcha her first effect goes off again and you just get to choose someone else to give xantcha to
i'd consider running a small curse package with some of the best curses plus curse of misfortunes to let you put some focus and pressure on decks like meren, there are actually quite a few curses in red and black that have effects that don't rely on the player being attacked to do anything, like curse of oblivion that forces them to exile cards from the graveyard at their upkeep.
Thank you I noticed this immediately like uhh the controller is not excluded they just take damage
Keep them coming lads. PLEASE keep DJ on!
May want Invasion Plans and Nihil Spellbomb. Pestillence and Pyrohemia are decent for board control and bringing down life totals too.
I do believe that the play that controls xantcha can pay 2 life and 3 mana and draw a card them self
The End step, where we talk about something cool, OUTSIDE the world of magic