#jalira

[dailymtgflavortext]

"You can become anything if I just put my mind to it." 

-Jalira, Master Polymorphist

[strixhaven-star]

As on other planes, Shandalar has a number of Legendary Creatures, unique beings who have reached a high level of power or prominence within the culture of the plane. Talrand, Sky Summoner has mastered the seas and has set his sights on the skies. Jalira, Master Polymorphist funds her research by adventuring across Shandalar. Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient is an Ogre Spirit who once led the Onakke Ogres and now waits for the day they are all returned to life. Yisan, the Wandering Bard uses his music magic to both tame wild beasts and fill his pockets. Riku of Two Reflections sought to study both spellcraft and life and created a reflection of himself to be able to do so. The Sliver Hivelord is the leader of the Slivers on Shandalar, ever evolving creatures possessing a hivemind in order to share skills and traits among the hive.  

[thecommandertax]

Wheel of Creatures -- Jalira, Master Polymorphist

Jalira, Master Polymorphist (full list)

I love gimmicky commanders and Jalira is a prime example. The only thing better than winning the game is winning the game by accident! The strategy here is pretty simple: make small guys, spin them into big guys and win off that. For a deck built on randomness, it is surprisingly consistent. If you want to spend most of the game revealing your library and windmill slam a Kraken that used to be a squid then this is the deck for you!

Wheel of Creature Grand Prizes

These are what you want to spin into!

Artisan of Kozilek: An Eldrazi is a pretty good prize who gets better when he comes with a bonus.

Colossal Whale: Removal on evasion, score.

Diluvian Primordial: Evasion and the possibility of winning off opponents spells.

Endbringer: I have won off ping alone. Also can play defense and draw cards so good value.

Guile: Big, super menace, and lets you steal spells.

Inkwell Leviathan: Evasive beater. Standard but effective.

Ixidron: Honestly, I'm never happy when I spin into this, but it's so worth the look on everyone's face when their commander is a 2/2 that is difficult to remove.

Pearl Lake Ancient: Big and can get bigger with prowess.

Scourge of Fleets: Cyclonic Rift on a stick. This is a game ender and in combination with Ghostly Flicker and Archaeomancer soft locks the board.

Sphinx of Magosi: A growing, flying, card engine mana sink.

Stormtide Leviathan: My choice for best blue EDH creature.

Ulamog's Crusher: Big beat stick. Nothing special but annihilator is wonderful.

Fodder

Here are the things we throw at the wheel to make is spin!

Akroan Horse: One free spin per turn.

Thopter Spy Network: Put out 2 artifacts and it gives you one free spin per turn.

Chasm Skulker: Let it build for a little while then throw it at the wheel and be rewarded with MORE FODDER.

Reef Worm: The fodder that keeps on giving. Until it's a 9/9. Then it's a beater.

Trading Post: Besides being my all-time favorite magic card, this is another reusable fodder producer.

Springjack Pasture: Expensive fodder, but fodder and a side effect of producing mana.

Wonder: Begging to be fodder.

Upgrading the Wheel

These are cards that help make each wheel spin easier or more impactful.

Heartstone, Training Grounds: Cheaper wheel spins.

Illusionist's Bracers: Each spin nets me a bonus creature, 2 for the price of one.

Seer's Lantern, Crystal Ball, Thassa, God of the Sea: Scry can help set up the next wheel spin to be how I want it.

Proteus Staff: An extra wheel to spin if you so choose and can double as removal if need be.

Control Shell

Protecting my prizes, protecting my wheels.

I am running 12 counterspells/redirect of different varieties. Since I need Jalira alive for this deck to do anything, It's pretty useful to be able to stop harm thrown her way. That being said, I try to only use them if I really have to. I hate stopping people from playing as much as the next guy but I also hate being told my deck isn't allowed to play either.

Dissipation Field: My favorite blue control spell. I'm not stopping you from attacking me, just discouraging.

Rhystic Study: "Did you pay an extra for that?"

Refocus: Surprise blocker or extra wheel spin and replaces itself.

Spirit Away: Well if I can't kill your threat, I'll just take it

Ghostly Flicker+Archaeomancer: An excellent reusable protection/ETB effect. Works nice with Scourge of Fleets and Diluvian Primordial.

Petals of Insight: This card is criminally underrated. Repeatable draw 3 is pretty awesome, especially because I can cycle wheel targets with it so they're not dead in my hand.

Man-o'-War: Bounce a creature then becomes wheel fodder is a nice 2 for 1.

Polymorphist's Jest: This can be used to set up Scourge or just swing in and make the combat much more favorable.

Misc.

Cards that don't fit the other categories.

Hour of Need: Either removal or a finisher.

Cackling Counterpart: Make emergency fodder or set up extra ETB effects or blockers.

Slip Through Space: Let's me hit and replaces itself.

Everything else is fixing or draw.

Updated 11/29/16

[magicjudge]

I activate Jalira, Master Polymorphist's ability, paying the cost by sac'ing a creature with Modular. Does the Modular trigger go on the stack before the Polymorph ability, which would then allow me to put +1/+1 counters on the creature that enters the battlefield (if it is an artifact creature)?

Because sacrificing the creature is a cost to activate the ability, then the triggered ability will have come and gone by the time the activated ability resolves. You won’t be able to put the counters on the new creature because it’s not on the battlefield yet.

[reddurcs]

I was wondering if you could make your Jalira list available? She looks very interesting (and similar to Stitcher Geralf, who I run) and I'd love to see what you've done with her!

Oh man, I love this deck. Here’s the list:

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/jalira-master-polymorphist-edh-4/

It’s pretty much hard mono-U control. You draw cards, you counter stuff, all on your opponents’ turns, put creature tokens onto the field, then polymorph them. The deck only has 8 non-legendary creatures, so you’re pretty confident that whatever you hit is going to be big. There are also ways to get them from your hand back into the deck, so don’t stress too much about drawing one of them.

It needs a few tweaks; Time Warp is good, but I’d love to switch it out for a Rite of Replication or something. There are only so many things you can do with an extra turn when your normal turn is “Draw, go.” I’d also love to throw in a Venser’s Journal, Lightning Greaves, and basically any Jace works well in the deck too if you have one.

But all in all, it’s incredibly fun to play in a 4-player game. Most people don’t know how the deck works, so they don’t think you’re a threat until you’ve thrown an Eldrazi or two onto the field, and then it’s too late for them to do anything. It’s also really fun to be the politician, a la “I’ll counter that if you kill this other thing over there.” Fun Fact: any time an opponent plays something even mildly intimidating, you can scare them by pausing the game, making them wait a second, and then saying, “Yeah, it resolves,” regardless of whether or not you have any actual counters in hand. It’s the best.

I once had a goblin token army swing at me for lethal, but I polymorphed a token last-second and hit Platinum Emperion. Took 0 damage. Good times.

[reddurcs]

I can't play my Jalira edh deck for a while. The past 2 weeks at fnm I've gotten so salty at counterspell control decks; I forgot how terrible they make you feel. I need to find a way to lower the amount of control in the deck without negatively impacting its effectiveness before I'll be comfortable using it again.

[disheveledwisdom]

because Jalira is probably my favorite legendary creature in Magic

[magicalgirlmindcrank]

Commander of the week: Jalira, Master Fisher

  Lookit this lady! Turning bunnies into crocodiddles. Looks like its time for some Mono-Blue Beatdown!

Commander Assessment:

We want two things in this deck: Non-legendary Beaters and non-creature token makers, the more tokens and the cheaper they are, the better. Also things right off the bat: Thousand year and Illusionist's bracers.

First things First: 

Stuff that makes stuff to sacrifice and or is to be sac'd:

  Reef Worm

A torture doll we can use three times to make into a ridiculous beater

Thopter assembly

Pentavus

Chasm Skulker

Acorn Catapult

Sarpadian Empires, Vol VII

Nuisance Engine

Genesis chamber: All star, get a creature off Jalira and something to sac next turn. Something you want to grab with frabicate or tezzeret.

Myr Turbine

Master of Waves: gonna be one of two not that threatening creatures we run, the other being Solemn Simulacrum, though he can flood the board.

Solemn Simulacrum

  Now it's time to see what big boys we got in here, this is what we win with.

Sphinx of Uthuun

Stormsurge Kraken

Tidespout Tyrant

THis bad boy helps us do generate things like bounce our opponents lands.

Stormtide leviathan

Consecrated sphinx

All the draw on a decent body

Blightsteel colossus

one shot robot.

Duplicant

more control but can be a beater

Phyrexian Ingester

Tidal Kraken

Darksteel colossus

Wurmcoil engine

Archetype of Imagination

Aetherling

Personally fond of this guy

Platinum emperion

Quicksilver gargantuan

Sealock Monster

Benthic behemoth

Frost titan

Goliath Sphinx

Colossal Whale

Inkwell leviathan

Shipbreaker Kraken

Kraken of the straits

Scourge of fleets

Stormsurge Kraken

Deadeye Navigator

I'm not even a little sorry

Palinchron

At all.

Great whale

AT ALL

Artisan of Kozilek

Hand of emrakul

It that Betrays

My favorite non legendary Eldrazi

Pathrazer of ulamog

Spawnsire of ulamog

Ulamog's Crusher

  As I mentioned previously, we want tutors, preferably for our artifact token makers.

  Reshape

Tezzeret the seeker

can also untap our token makers and ramp stuffs

Fabricate

Long term plans

Also sets up a fatty.

  Now for some draw, ramp and utility

  Cyclonic rift

Thran dynamo

Sol ring

Worn powerstone

Extraplanar Lens

Run with snow covered islands or don't if ya wanna be nice

Proteus staff

It does what our commander does, but can also tuck our opponent's threats

Lightning Greaves

Swiftfoot boots

Illusionist’s bracers

Teferi, Temporal Archmage

card advantage and ramp bruh

Recurring Insight

Brainstorm

Rhystic Study

Mind's Eye

Rite of Replication

  Manabase:

Myriad Landscape

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

Arcane Lighthouse

Terrain Generator

Temple of the false god

Halimar Depths

Minamo, School at Water’s Edge

27 Snow-Covered Islands

Alright, that’s a sweet list but whats the game plan?

Land a token generator, preferably Genesis Chamber, and just go to town with Jalira and the fatties in this deck. There's also a good deal of ramp if you end up having to hard cast something. Just activate Jalira as much as possible and use your cheap beaters to win. You can also long-term plan blightsteel at the end of your opponents turn for and easy win.