Here we are, end of the C15 series. Our final conversion is the convert himself, Ezuri, Claw of Progress. He used to fight against the Phyrexians, but he saw the error of his ways, and was converted to their cause. Now he roams the plane, seeking to convert others to the path of completion. From M19, he has found a new convert: Skyrider Patrol.
Much, like Ezuri, Skyrider’s ability is apparent in the combat step. A +1/+1 counter, and flying, for only two mana is a very nice feature. We can use this ability to power up our small utility creatures into sizeable threats, or give one of our real powerhouses evasion to end the game. The evasion and buff is very potent in the Phyrexian mechanic, infect, which I feel we should run a small package of. The main theme of the deck is going to be tribal, as elves are just so dang good.
I’m looking for a smattering of “deals combat damage to an opponent” cards, evasive creatures we want to pump, and threats we want to evade. Let’s dive in!
On Hit
Obviously infect creatures go into this category. Infect almost feels like cheating sometimes, as we only need 10 damage instead of the full 30. Here’s the toxic gang, blessed and chosen of Ezuri.
The Skyrider’s Patrol combat step ability allows us to pump up our infectors, and give them evasion to boot. I love the idea of 6/6 flying Chained Throatseeker! Other on hit effects are nice to have, such as card draw, ramp, and even bounce! Once again, the evasion and buff from our commander makes these abilities even more effective.
Elfball
Elves are the classic tribe of Magic, and were the first deck featured in the Duel Deck series. As such, there are multitudes of the green forest folk, so my choices are not necessarily the only ones available. Here’s the ones I think you should run though, since they synergize with other choices, and the commander.
Our commander’s ability does cost mana, so we’re running a decent amount of mana dorks, especially ones that make both colors. Even better, many mana dorks are also elves!
The remaining elvish category I think should be brought up are the utility ones: elves that ramp lands, draw cards, or tutor. Of course, I can’t name every elf you could run, but here’s my top picks. Personally, I like the Wayfinder as I enjoy a bit of politicking in my commander games.
Beatdown Boys
We’ve got the elves to ramp, the infect to terrify, but sometimes we need just a little more to finish a game. Infect creatures, and players, are prime removal targets, so sometimes you need to just go after life totals. Here’s the last set of creatures to include here.
The sandwurm is great, not being able to be blocked by chumps, and cycling early game is needed. The snapper’s hexproof means our beater is nearly impossible to get rid of, since there’s so few boardwipes. And the shambler gives himself, or others, trample to get through clogged boards. But what deck is complete without the colorless beaters, Eldrazi?
Back-up Plan
We’re dropping bombs, buffing up, swinging out. With infect, we’re enemy number one, so we some defensive tricks up our sleeves. For defense, I’m opting more for instants, rather than walls. Of course, this means fogs and counters.
Moment’s Peace’s flashback makes it an obvious inclusion, and Lull’s cycling gives us utility should we be up against combo decks. Surprisingly for a blue deck, I’m not running that many counterspells. Some metas call for more control, but I’m lucky enough to not need that many.
The last card I want to make special mention of is Clockspinning. A buyback instant, this acts as a repeatable proliferate. We’ve got plenty of mana dorks to be able to do this at least once a turn. With the Priest of Titania, I can see this thing being cast three times a turn easily!
Well, that seems to wrap up the 2015 Commander series. Sadly, I don’t think I’ll be able to do a series on 2018 Commanders, since they’re planeswalkers. If you have any requests for a deck tech conversion, leave a comment here or at our discord. Thanks for joining me on this conversion excursion! Get the deck list here! https://deckstats.net/decks/63605/1051042-ezuri-s-congregation-pdh
-Nate
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