#adacd

[commandollar]

A Dollar, A CommanDollar -- Desecration Demon

Card: Desecration Demon 2BB -- Creature - Demon "At the beginning of each combat, any opponent may sacrifice a creature. If a player does, tap Desecration Demon and put a +1/+1 counter on it." [ 6 / 6 ]

AVG Price: $1.39

Why it's good: Anybody else remember Mono-Black Devotion? It's probably for the best that you don't.

Descration Demon is a 6/6 for 4 that only gets bigger. He triggers at the beginning of each combat meaning on your own turn and your opponents'. With vigilance and untap effects, Desecration Demon can get pretty insane. In our deck, however, this four-drop demon is a naughty little bastard.

Desecration Demon is mana efficient--potentially under-costed for what it does. It is evasive, bearing flying. He avoids most removal in his own colors. It has business up front and a booty in the back for power/toughness.

Whether or not this bad boy ever deals combat damage, he is always doing something. If he is always tapped, someone is sacrificing a creature to his triggered ability. If he is untapped, he's going to be tapped by the end of your turn and you're gonna deal six damage and feel great.

Desecration Demon demands an answer. That's definitely its best quality. It is a threat that can be played on-curve very easily. Someone at the table has to be able to deal with it, lest everyone at the table be punished. 

This ADACD is in memory of Theros Standard Mono-Black Devotion. Rest in Peace you shit deck.

(Commandollar apologizes to anyone who may have been offended to earlier versions of this post. No attacks or negative views on any peoples are intended to be had by any member of the group. We hope to continue to provide interesting yet thought provoking for you our followers.)

[commandollar]

A Dollar, A CommanDollar -- Flamerush Rider

Card: Flamerush Rider 4R -- Creature - Human Warrior "Whenever Flamerush Rider attacks, put a token onto the battlefield tapped and attacking that's a copy of another target attacking creature. Exile the token at end of combat. Dash 2RR (You may cast this spell for its dash cost. If you do, it gains haste, and it's returned from the battlefield to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.)"

[ 3 / 3 ]

AVG Price: $0.38

Why it's good: When Flamerush Rider attacks, you get to copy one of your other attacking creatures and create a token of it that will be exiled at the end of combat. This means that when you copy an appropriate creature, there will still be room to abuse "enter the battlefield" and "leave the battlefield" triggered abilities. 

The amount of value that could be potentially gained off of this bad boy is pretty steep, so long as you aren't silly enough to copy a legendary creature. Here are some creatures that come to mind:

Avalanche Riders. -- As long as you have the creature on the battlefield you can copy it and combat and destroy an extra land. Imagine copying it every turn.

Shivan Wumpus. -- Give your opponents the option to lose a land or lose six life! Sounds like a good plan to me!

Spawn of Thraxes. -- THE PUNISHING IS REAL.

[commandollar]

A Dollar, A CommanDollar -- Bear Umbra

Card: Bear Umbra "2GG -- Enchantment - Aura

Enchant creature

Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has 'Whenever this creature attacks, untap all lands you control.'

Totem armor (If enchanted creature would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and destroy this Aura.)" 

AVG Price: $3.30

Why it's good: Look at that! Combat-trigger untap abilities. Means you can cast spells first main phase efficiently for the first time ever, and still have space in your second main phase to cast more spells! Holy shit! The value!

If we're on the "devotion" plan in our deck it's double-green costed. You can attack and untap your Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx!

We can sink all of our open green mana to the abilities of Kamahl, Fist of Krosa, attach Bear Umbra to one of our lands, and WHEN THEY ATTACK THEY ALL UNTAP. IT'S LITERALLY VIGILANCE. Alternatively we can just have Ambush Commander out and play it that way. (Credit to my filthy kitchen table friend Val for this ingenious idea.)

[commandollar]

A Dollar, A CommanDollar -- Dueling Grounds

Card: Dueling Grounds 1GW -- Enchantment "No more than one creature may attack each turn.

No more than one creature may block each turn."

AVG Price: $1.84

Why it's good: Dueling Grounds - at three mana - is an incredibly powerful enchantment. While you wouldn't build a deck strictly around this card, we can clearly see that the right deck loves this. My friends, this card is a blowout in this week's deck. 

Being able to shut down an opponent's attacks when you're running a Voltron-style deck is invariably powerful. Usually you're so focused on maintaining the state of your Commander that you end up unable to create an overwhelming board presence. This eliminates the need for that. Stacking this with the fact you are aiming to enchant your Commander to hell-and-gone will create a powerful position for you, where the likelihood of your big baddie dying is incredibly slim.

One of our followers recently shared with me an incident in which he had 37 Pharika, God of Affliction Snake tokens on the battlefield but couldn't kill his opponent because there was no way he could remove this nifty little bastard. (cold-music, I'm looking at you!)

[commandollar]

A Dollar, A CommanDollar -- Umbra Mystic

Happy Monday! I was snowed in at work last night and it was pretty fudging miserable. I ended up having to sleep in one of our rooms. It gave me time to set up this week's ADACD. I hope it's better than last week's, because we're full of stupidity this time around.

Card: Umbra Mystic 2W -- Creature - Human Wizard "Auras attached to permanents you control have totem armor. (If an enchanted permanent you control would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and destroy an Aura attached to it.)"

[ 2 / 2 ]

AVG Price: $0.63

Why it's good: This gives away our deck on its own, doesn't it? 

This week we're looking at auras and enchantments, so we have to take a look at the totem armor mechanic. It's a fog. It's an extra barrier of protection for your creatures. The true power in totem armor is being able to gain extra value from each of your auras, which should already be positively affecting your board-state or the state of a given creature.

Totem armor is best abused in a deck with Bogles and similar creatures. When your dudes can't be killed and are being benefited by every aura attached to them, what could possibly go wrong?

[commandollar]

Commander of the Week -- Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient

We are now in week three. The only color missing to the party to now had been red, and this week I sure did give you a lot of red, right?

(It's funny because I showed a bunch of artifacts.)

Card: Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient 2RR -- Legendary Creature - Ogre Spirit "Whenever you activate an ability of an artifact, if it isn't a mana ability, you my pay R. If you do, copy that ability. You may choose new targets for the copy. [ 4 / 3 ]"

Hopefully you can imagine some cards that this guy would work well with like Illusionist's Bracers or Oblivion Stone. Not that I say those for a reason or anything...

Our buddy Kurkesh here has an "oops I win" flair to his flavor and I just had to imagine how I would abuse that. I would abuse his triggered ability with Strionic Resonator, then paying once to get to copy an activation of an artifact twice, which I'd most likely use with Planar Portal because tutoring out your deck is really strong. Or if you want to value-out the opponent, there's always the Hoard-Smelter Dragon beats plan or  Bosh, Iron Golem.

My ideal list for Kurkesh would include metric tons of artifacts, sacrifice outlets, and recursion. God do I wanna use this guy with literally every good artifact ever. 

[commandollar]

A Dollar, A CommanDollar -- Dualcaster Mage

Card: Dualcaster Mage 1RR -- Creature - Human Wizard "Flash When Dualcaster Mage enters the battlefield, copy target instant or sorcery spell. You may choose new targets for the copy. [ 2 / 2 ]"

AVG Price: $6.25

Why it's good: So there's an assumption that in every single red EDH deck you need Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Zealous Conscripts. I agree with this to the fullest extent, just because it's an alternate win condition. You know what you don't run in your deck? Tutors to get those guys. Because red has none. So when your green opponent drops Tooth and Nail you can flash in this bad boy to copy it. 

You can copy some big stupid instant or sorcery of your own like Dragonstorm. Yeah, I can feel your Timmy senses tingling, kids. You can cast Dragonstorm. Flash in Dualcaster Mage. Copy Dragonstorm. You'll have two storm count, so not only do you get the copy from Dualcaster Mage, you get to cast it more times for free. You tell me that doesn't sound cool as shit. 

Additionally you can copy board-wipes, copy effects, tutors, Banefires, basically anything you want. 

FuckyeahDualcasterMage

[commandollar]

A Dollar, A CommanDollar -- Illusionist's Bracers

Cara Note: Thanks for the feedback on ADACD, everybody! I appreciate the support and have taken everybody's comments to heart. You'll notice some suggestions start to show up this week. Again, I thank you for your comments, both constructive and complimentary. 

Card: Illusionist's Bracers 3 -- Artifact - Equipment "Whenever an ability of equipped creature is activated, if it isn't a mana ability, copy that ability. You may choose new targets for the copy. Equip 3"

AVG Price: $0.44

Why it's good: So you've got this creature with an activated ability. Aside from the mana cost to cast Illusionist's Bracers and equip it to the target creature, there is no cost to copy the activated ability. You know what this reads? "5: Copy every activated ability of equipped creature." That is bonkers.

I especially like the potential two-for-one usage that Illusionist's Bracers can offer Starke of Rath or Feldon of the Third Path. 

All aboard the value train. Choo choo!