The Future of EDH

So, by now I'm sure you've all heard the big news. I won't regurgitate here what you can read for yourself, but I thought I would share my two cents. Frankly, I am quite thrilled by the announcement WotC made Thursday. I am super excited to learn more about their MtG: Commander decks and especially the new "wedge" generals. I'm less excited about the name-change to "Commander" but we can all still call it EDH if we like, so it's not a big deal. Further, I can understand why WotC had to do it that way. Putting "Highlander" on their products might have gotten them in trouble with Adrian Paul and Christopher Lambert.


The best news, though, is Wizard's clear statement that they will be leaving the format in the hands of those who know it best: the fans. I'm very surprised that they took this stance, and very pleased. They clearly want to provide support without meddlesome interference, and that's awesome. I've been less than thrilled by a vast number of decisions to come out of WotC the last few years, but this time I think they really hit a home run.

I just don't know if I'll ever stop referring to EDH as EDH. It's way less generic and lame sounding, and it's just an old habit now anyway.

Okay, so my soapbox is now put way. Let's talk EDH. Specifically, decklists. More specifically, Sek'Kuar Deathkeeper. I recently built this deck as an attempt to rejuvenate my interest in the format, after realizing that all of my EDH decks were too similar and were getting kinda boring. I wanted to cut as many of the "pet cards" that I was seeing crop up in all of my decks over and over, and try out some new stuff.

There are some staples, of course, but I definitely went outside my comfort zone on this one. I really like the deck so far, but it's a work in progress. I expect it to evolve a bit, at least until the new Commander product is released, as by then I'll want to experiment with the new hotness. But enough chatter, here's the list.

General: Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper

Creatures:

Fleshbag Marauder
Bone Shredder
Dimir House Guard
Phyrexian Plaguelord
Grave Titan
Geth, Lord of the Vault


Dragonmaster Outcast
Flametongue Kavu
Anger
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
Conquering Manticore
Homura, Human Ascendant
Crater Hellion

Fauna Shaman
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Eternal Witness
Yavimaya Elder
Indrik Stomphowler
Mitotic Slime
Mycoloth
Ant Queen
Acidic Slime
Rampaging Baloths
Verdeloth the Ancient
Vigor
Avenger of Zendikar

Savra, Queen of the Golgari
Creekwood Liege
Nath of the Gilt-Leaf
Dragon Broodmother

Duplicant
Wurmcoil Engine

Spells:

Diabolic Intent
Attrition
Dread Return
Barter in Blood
Reprocess
Grave Pact
Decree of Pain
Hellion Eruption
Vicious Shadows
Kodama's Reach
Harrow
Beastmaster Ascension
Skyshroud Claim
Momentous Fall
Garruk Wildspeaker
Doubling Season

Terminate
Hull Breach
Putrefy
Fires of Yavimaya
Sarkhan Vol
Torrent of Souls
Sarkhan the Mad
Bituminous Blast


Sol Ring
Obelisk of Jund
Coalition Relic
Skullclamp
Lightning Greaves
Deathrender
Eldrazi Monument

Swamp x2
Mountain x2
Forest x2
Bojuka Bog
Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
Khalni Garden
Gaea's Cradle
Treetop Village
Llanowar Reborn
Temple of the False God
Yavimaya Hollow
Evolving Wilds
City of Brass
Reflecting Pool
Darigaaz's Caldera
Savage Lands
Bloodstained Mire
Verdant Catacombs
Rakdos Carnarium
Gruul Turf
Golgari Rot Farm
Blood Crypt
Stomping Ground
Overgrown Tomb
Sulfurous Springs
Karplusan Forest
Llanowar Wastes
Graven Cairns
 Fire-Lit Thicket
Twilight Mire
Dragonskull Summit
Rootbound Crag
Raging Ravine

That's the list as it stands now. It's a tad short on mana. I'd like to increase the land count by two or add in the three Signets.

It has a strong token theme, with sac effects as the main sub-theme. Those two work well together, as I often have tokens to sac to Barter in Blood, while my opponent has to sac actual creatures. Grave Pact is the MVP of the deck, but I think Vicious Shadows will steal a lot of games.

Anyway, I'm still tinkering with it, so I'll update if I make any major changes.