<p style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oloro, Ageless Ascetic" href="#" target="_blank">Oloro, Ageless Ascetic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by: <a href="https://www.ericdeschamps.com/">Eric Deschamps</a></p> <p>Hello everyone. I’m Levi from the <em>Thought Vessel</em>, and this is <em>Hidden Gems</em>, the series on EDHREC that looks at commanders all across the format to find those special cards that are flying under the radar.</p> <p>For a card to be eligible as a hidden gem, it must be in fifteen percent of decks or less for a particular commander.</p> <p>As we are in Precon Month here on <em>EDHREC</em>, it seemed appropriate to choose a commander from a precon all the way back from <em>Commander 2013</em>.</p> <p>This legendary creature used to be an absolute boogeyman in every pod that it showed up in and was a pioneer for one of the most polarizing mechanics to date.</p> <p>The commander I am referring to is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oloro, Ageless Ascetic" href="#" target="_blank">Oloro, Ageless Ascetic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Before we get into our list, let's first take a look at Oloro to see what this creature and deck does so we know what kind of cards we are looking for.</p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Oloro, Ageless Ascetic"></div></div> <h2>The Commander</h2> <p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oloro, Ageless Ascetic" href="#" target="_blank">Oloro, Ageless Ascetic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a 4/5 Giant Soldier for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. At the beginning of our upkeep, we gain two life. If Oloro is in the command zone, we still gain two life.</p> <p>Regardless of whether we decide to cast it or not, we are getting value from the very start of the game like an emblem.</p> <p>This concept would eventually become the mechanic <em>eminence</em>, which allows for an effect or ability to be used both from the battlefield as well as the command zone.</p> <p>We actually see eminence on the top two commanders in the entire format, <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/yshtola-nights-blessed">for now</a>, in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Ur-Dragon" href="#" target="_blank">The Ur-Dragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Edgar Markov" href="#" target="_blank">Edgar Markov</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Having an ability that we have access to immediately that really can’t be interacted with by our opponents is incredibly strong.</p> <p>If we decide to actually make Oloro get out of his chair, he can also serve as an excellent card advantage engine. Every time we gain life, we can pay one mana to draw a card and have each opponent lose one life.</p> <p>Pairing this effect with a card like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Queza, Augur of Agonies" href="#" target="_blank">Queza, Augur of Agonies</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can be a nice 1-2 punch to refill our hand and take a chunk of life from the board.</p> <p>Generally speaking Oloro is either built as a Combo deck, a lifegain deck, or a hybrid of the two. The Combo decks are typically using the extra lifegain and colors as a buffer to absorb hits while they look to get one of the several combos available in the Esper color combination going.</p> <p>The Lifegain deck typically leans into more synergies since we have loaded up the deck with lifegain payoffs since we’re guaranteed to have at least one triggering event per turn.</p> <p>When we look at the amount of decks for each tag, Lifegain is far and away the most popular archetype to build Oloro around, so that is what this list will focus on today. Before we get into our list, we do have an honorable mention.</p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Celestine, the Living Saint"></div></div> <h3>Honorable Mention. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Celestine, the Living Saint" href="#" target="_blank">Celestine, the Living Saint</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (11%)</h3> <p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Celestine, the Living Saint" href="#" target="_blank">Celestine, the Living Saint</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a 3/4 Human Warrior with flying and lifelink. At the beginning of our end step, we can return a creature from our graveyard to the battlefield that has a mana value equal to or less than the life we gained this turn.</p> <p>With Oloro’s trigger alone, we can get a two mana creature every turn. With Oloro and a Celestine attack, we can get up to a five mana creature.</p> <p>While Oloro isn’t an explicit creature deck, there are a lot of creatures with fantastic lifegain payoffs that we tend to include. Being able to get some of them back as they get removed to keep the engines running really helps our long game as we keep building.</p> <p>The reason this is an honorable mention instead of on the list is that it comes from the <em>Warhammer</em> Commander decks, which are hard to find and can fetch a high price.</p> <p>As of writing this article, Celestine is nearly a $40 card, so I felt it was better suited as an honorable mention here. Now, onto the actual list!</p> <h2>Ten Hidden Gems for Oloro, Ageless Ascetic</h2> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sorin of House Markov"></div></div> <h3>10. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sorin of House Markov" href="#" target="_blank">Sorin of House Markov</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (9.3%)</h3> <p>Starting us off is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sorin of House Markov" href="#" target="_blank">Sorin of House Markov</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. On the early turns, we can get Sorin into play to use its extort keyword to pay one mana to steal one life from each opponent.</p> <p>Since Oloro is already gaining us two life, we only need to gain one life to flip over onto the planeswalker side.</p> <p>Once it is flipped, we can still use extort, but we can also make Food tokens, throw out damage equal to our life gained for the turn, which can be a very large number, and if we can protect Sorin, we might even be able to use the -6 ability to steal a creature from an opponent.</p> <p>With a deck that can be focused on the long game, it’s nice to mix in a few cards that can have an early game impact to set us up well for the rest of the game.</p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Revival // Revenge"></div></div> <h3>9. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Revival // Revenge" href="#" target="_blank">Revival // Revenge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (8.9%)</h3> <p>If there is one thing I like in cards for my Commander decks above everything else, it's <em>versatility</em>. Early in the game, we can cast Revival to get a creature mana value three or less from our grave back into play.</p> <p>On a later turn, we can cast Revenge to double our life total and cut an opponent’s life total in half. I’m not as big of a fan of a card like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beacon of Immortality" href="#" target="_blank">Beacon of Immortality</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, as it isn’t particularly helpful in the early game and it doesn’t have any other effects. Revival // Revenge can help us in a multitude of ways.</p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Paradox Haze"></div></div> <h3>8. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Paradox Haze" href="#" target="_blank">Paradox Haze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (8.5%)</h3> <p>At its baseline, this is a card that gives us an extra upkeep, so Oloro will gain us four life per turn. It definitely has a higher ceiling depending on what else is included in the ninety-nine of our list.</p> <p>Cards like <em>Archangel of Thune</em> and <em>Venser’s Journal</em> getting an extra trigger can really take off over multiple turns.</p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Excalibur II"></div></div> <h3>7. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Excalibur II" href="#" target="_blank">Excalibur II</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (7.7%)</h3> <p>Between lifelinking creatures and evasive ones with flying, there are ways to really take advantage of raw power that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Excalibur II" href="#" target="_blank">Excalibur II</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can provide.</p> <p>Every time we gain life, which will probably be several times per turn with Oloro, Excalibur II gets a charge counter, and the equipped creature gets +1/+1 for each of them. This can easily be +10-20 power on an attacker.</p> <p>If we give this Equipment to a creature with lifeline, we can really push our life total towards triple digits. We could even explore the option of casting Oloro and trying for a commander damage knockout if we need to. For a one mana Equipment card, it is definitely worth a spot in our deck. </p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Decorum Dissertation"></div></div> <h3>6. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Decorum Dissertation" href="#" target="_blank">Decorum Dissertation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (7.6%)</h3> <p>As the saying goes, sometimes you have to spend money to make money. For five mana, we can draw two cards and lose two life.</p> <p>If that was all the card did, then it wouldn't be playable, as that is a terrible rate. Luckily, this card has a new keyword, paradigm.</p> <p>Paradigm is a keyword that states that after we first resolve this spell, we may cast a copy of this spell from exile for free on our first main phase every turn for the rest of the game. Since we are already gaining two life per turn, the loss of life isn’t a huge setback.</p> <p>The main benefit is having a draw engine drawing an extra two cards per turn that is far more difficult to interact with than a permanent on the field like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhystic Study" href="#" target="_blank">Rhystic Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. With all the extra card advantage, we can make that life loss back and then come.</p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Revenge of Ravens"></div></div> <h3>5. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Revenge of Ravens" href="#" target="_blank">Revenge of Ravens</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (7.1%)</h3> <p>A big issue with Oloro is that a lot of players tend to attack whichever player has the most life without looking at the full board state.</p> <p>Since this is a lifegain deck, that player is probably going to be you a lot of the time. We need to add a few cards to our deck to either recoup the life loss or hurt the attacker. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Revenge of Ravens" href="#" target="_blank">Revenge of Ravens</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can help us with both.</p> <p>Every time a creature attacks us or a planeswalker we control, that creature’s controller loses one life, and we gain one life.</p> <p>This can trigger a lot of our permanents and is a major issue for go-wide decks that want to attack with several creatures at once. This should prevent a few attacks here and there to let us build up our life total more easily.</p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sheltered by Ghosts"></div></div> <h3>4. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sheltered by Ghosts" href="#" target="_blank">Sheltered by Ghosts</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (0.6%)</h3> <p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sheltered by Ghosts" href="#" target="_blank">Sheltered by Ghosts</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> isn’t a card that I would use in higher brackets, but I do like this card for brackets three and below.</p> <p>To start, we can temporarily exile a nonland permanent for as long as Sheltered by Ghosts is in play. If we target someone’s commander with this, they are likely going to elect to put it back in their command zone instead.</p> <p>Once it’s in play, a creature we control gets +1/+0, ward 2, and lifelink. This can help protect one of our value pieces while giving us another way to gain life.</p> <p>These are the kind of cards that can help round out our deck by combining cards from the removal category with game plan cards.</p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Leech Collector"></div></div> <h3>3. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Leech Collector" href="#" target="_blank">Leech Collector</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (0.52%)</h3> <p>This is not a flashy card, but it does give us a play early in the game as well as a method of ticking down our opponents’ life totals.</p> <p>Every time we gain life for the first time each turn, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Leech Collector" href="#" target="_blank">Leech Collector</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> becomes prepared. Once prepared, we can cast the second spell on the card, Blood Letting, for one black mana to have each opponent lose two life.</p> <p>Since we’re guaranteed to gain life every turn, we can simply save one mana on our turn to chip the table for two life if we don’t have anything better to do. It’s a nice budget card for both mana and price to include in the deck.</p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Abigale, Eloquent First-Year"></div></div> <h3>2. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Abigale, Eloquent First-Year" href="#" target="_blank">Abigale, Eloquent First-Year</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (0.23%)</h3> <p>I absolutely love this card. Most decks that I play Abigale in simply want to use this as a removal piece, blanking out a creature with powerful abilities, but giving it flying and lifelink.</p> <p>We can absolutely use it in Oloro this way as well, but there are other options available to us. We have cards in our deck like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ajani&#039;s Pridemate" href="#" target="_blank">Ajani&#039;s Pridemate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a 2/2 Cat Soldier of <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> that gets a +1/+1 counter every time we gain life.</p> <p>At some point, there can be diminishing returns on this as it can get arbitrarily big without having evasion or trample.</p> <p>At this point, Abigale can come in to wipe out the ability to get any more counters, but it would then have flying and lifelink to gain us life and hopefully connect for combat damage through the air.</p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Irma, Part-Time Mutant"></div></div> <h3>1. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Irma, Part-Time Mutant" href="#" target="_blank">Irma, Part-Time Mutant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (0.04%)</h3> <p>Finally, we have <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Irma, Part-Time Mutant" href="#" target="_blank">Irma, Part-Time Mutant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Irma is a card that I have been thrilled with ever since its release in the <em>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Commander</em> precon.</p> <p>Every turn during our combat step, Irma gains a +1/+1 counter and can become a copy of another creature we control, except Irma retains the name <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Irma, Part-Time Mutant" href="#" target="_blank">Irma, Part-Time Mutant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and gains this ability. We can constantly rotate between our value pieces.</p> <p>We can start out making Irma a copy of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ajani&#039;s Pridemate" href="#" target="_blank">Ajani&#039;s Pridemate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to build up +1/+1 counters and then turn into something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Drogskol Reaver" href="#" target="_blank">Drogskol Reaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to capitalize on the size.</p> <p>We could copy our commander if we put it into play or something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crested Sunmare" href="#" target="_blank">Crested Sunmare</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to lock up an indestructible board of Horses.</p> <p>The only limit on Irma is our imagination, and it deserves a lot more play in Oloro and Commander as a whole.</p> <h2>Wrapping Up</h2> <p>Oloro is such a neat commander, from its pioneering mechanics to its endurance to stay in the format over ten years after its release.</p> <p>While these are some fantastic hidden gems, this is by no means a complete list. The lifegain mine is a deep one, and there is plenty more to explore.</p> <p>If you have an Oloro deck that uses a hidden gem, let us know in the comments below. We’re here for good vibes and great cards. Until next time, Happy brewing!</p> 

Hidden Gems for Oloro, Ageless Ascetic

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher" href="#" target="_blank">Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> art by David Gaillet</h6>
<p> Welcome to <em>Bottom of the Barrel</em>! This is a new series where we pick a theme from EDHREC and look at the “bottom of the barrel.” This means that we look at the least played color-combination and pick a commander in those colors to brew a spicy new deck around! It’s likely that this commander has not been considered for this theme before, and that’s the point! This allows us to play around with themes that we enjoy while keeping our decks unique and interesting. Our theme for our first excursion into the “bottom of the barrel” is: Equipment. This is an extremely popular theme, especially in Boros/Lorehold colors (red and white). There have been a plethora of commanders that have been printed with Equipment in mind, and we’ve even gotten a couple of Esper (black/white/blue) options this year in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arna Kennerüd, Skycaptain" href="#" target="_blank">Arna Kennerüd, Skycaptain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ratonhnhaké:ton" href="#" target="_blank">Ratonhnhaké:ton</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Arna Kennerüd, Skycaptain Ratonhnhaké:ton"></div></div> Esper Equipment provides an interesting new territory to explore, and I personally loved the idea of adding new colors into an already-developed theme. With this being said, I believe today’s deck shows just how interesting Equipment strategies can be in non-Boros colors. Since our theme of the article is Equipment, I clicked around the color combinations to see which ones needed some love. With a whopping 183 decks to its identity, Simic/Quandrix (green and blue), was our winner! There were several 4-color combinations that had under 183 decks with an Equipment theme, but limiting our colors will really force us to find creative ways to play, and that’s the whole point of this series! Let’s meet our commander, or should I say commanders: <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher Raised by Giants"></div></div> Why <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher" href="#" target="_blank">Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>? The simple answer is: she helps to pay for equip costs. I’m sure you’re thinking: “wait, but she’ll be tapped if you use her to pay for equip costs! How will that work??” Thus, takes us into our first category… </p>
<h2>Category #1: Evasive Threats</h2>
<p> Unlike most Equipment decks that are solely reliant on making their commander huge and killing someone in one hit, this deck relies on small evasive threats to carry our sword for us. For example, something like a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pollywog Prodigy" href="#" target="_blank">Pollywog Prodigy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an absolute house in a deck like this. It comes down early, and the bigger it gets, the more likely we are to draw cards from its ability! It’s a win/win! The other all-stars from this category are cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ledger Shredder" href="#" target="_blank">Ledger Shredder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Invisible Stalker" href="#" target="_blank">Invisible Stalker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cold-Eyed Selkie" href="#" target="_blank">Cold-Eyed Selkie</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ledger Shredder Invisible Stalker Cold-Eyed Selkie"></div></div> We can include <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blighted Agent" href="#" target="_blank">Blighted Agent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Inkmoth Nexus" href="#" target="_blank">Inkmoth Nexus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> if we want to go the poison route, but I know that’s not for everyone, so I didn't include those in my list. There are 3 specific cards I wanted to mention in this category that pull double duty for us: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel" href="#" target="_blank">Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Azure Beastbinder" href="#" target="_blank">Azure Beastbinder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cephalid Facetaker" href="#" target="_blank">Cephalid Facetaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel Azure Beastbinder Cephalid Facetaker"></div></div> Malcolm is a powerful commander in his own right, but in this deck he gives us the ability to consistently loot from turn 2, and can turn into a powerful value engine when he gets to 4 chorus counters. Azure Beastbinder can blank our opponent’s best creature on attack until our next turn, which is absolutely crazy. Finally, Cephalid Facetaker is already unblockable, but can turn into an unblockable version of the best creature on the board! (Yes, it’ll still be a 1/4, but that’s nothing a few swords can’t fix!) Now that we’ve covered a few great evasive threats, let’s move into our next category: using Vhal’s ability. </p>
<h2>Category 2: Using Vhal’s Ability</h2>
<p> Seeing Vhal’s ability, it’s no secret that she can go infinite with just about anything, but we’re trying to avoid that in this deck. In my list, I do include Umbral Mantle, and while that’s a notorious combo piece, it’s also an Equipment, so it’s on theme. It can also make Vhal huge. <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Umbral Mantle"></div></div> In theory, using Vhal’s ability for equip costs makes sense, but there are other cards that can profit off of her, and I have included those cards in this deck. For example, we can draw cards with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prophet of Distortion" href="#" target="_blank">Prophet of Distortion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Diviner’s Wand" href="#" target="_blank">Diviner’s Wand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Book of Rass" href="#" target="_blank">Book of Rass</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>; untap our lands with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Magus of the Candelabra" href="#" target="_blank">Magus of the Candelabra</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>; filter out mana of any color with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Energy Refractor" href="#" target="_blank">Energy Refractor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>; or just store mana for later with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kruphix, God of Horizons" href="#" target="_blank">Kruphix, God of Horizons</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. These abilities are only the tip of the iceberg, as Vhal’s ability only cares about not casting spells from our hands. What this means is, we can take huge advantage of casting spells from other zones. One of the best cards in this deck for this reason, is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sword of Forge and Frontier" href="#" target="_blank">Sword of Forge and Frontier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It allows us to “impulse draw” 2 cards, which we can use Vhal’s mana to cast. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dream Thief’s Bandana" href="#" target="_blank">Dream Thief’s Bandana</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> allows us to do something similar, but we are getting spells from the top of an opponent’s deck instead of our own. Since flashback is also casting a spell not from our hand, I added <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dryad’s Revival" href="#" target="_blank">Dryad’s Revival</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as a piece of recursion that we can cast from our graveyard on later turns. Plot costs can also be paid with her mana, so I included <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fblthp, Lost on the Range" href="#" target="_blank">Fblthp, Lost on the Range</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to let us plot cards from the top of our library and set up huge turns. Using Vhal’s mana for equip costs is a way for us to spread the Equipment to our evasive threats, but we can also wait until our second main phase to activate Vhal. This way, she can attack if she’s equipped, and since she has vigilance, we can use her ability to equip something after combat. </p>
<h2>Category #3: Protection and Removal</h2>
<p> Whenever you go all in with an aggressive strategy like Equipment, you need to make sure you can protect yourself and deal with any problems on the board. For that reason, I’ve decided to add cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aetherize" href="#" target="_blank">Aetherize</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Propaganda" href="#" target="_blank">Propaganda</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, both of which serve as fantastic protection against any aggression we may cause. To protect our creatures, I have included <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ring of Evos Isle" href="#" target="_blank">Ring of Evos Isle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This can give the equipped creature hexproof while growing the equipped creature on each of our upkeeps. (Growing Vhal every single turn is very good) The removal portion of this deck is tricky because most removal spells in blue and green involve giving a creature in “exchange” for destroying something (i.e. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pongify" href="#" target="_blank">Pongify</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>). This can cause problems because we need to get in for damage and giving opponents blockers can put a wrench in our gameplan. I still included <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beast Within" href="#" target="_blank">Beast Within</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in this deck, as it’s too versatile to not include, but I shied away from things like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pongify" href="#" target="_blank">Pongify</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rapid Hybridization" href="#" target="_blank">Rapid Hybridization</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. </p>
<h2>Category #4: Cost/Budget</h2>
<p> With any deck building, it’s important that we keep budget in mind. Equipment decks would seem strange without any of the “sword of” cycle, but I tried to keep this deck as “budget conscious” as I could. I splurged on a couple of cards, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Academy Ruins" href="#" target="_blank">Academy Ruins</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shadowspear" href="#" target="_blank">Shadowspear</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> especially, but there are easy swaps for these cards that I recommend. Shadowspear can be swapped for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Loxodon Warhammer" href="#" target="_blank">Loxodon Warhammer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, as those cards occupy a similar space with what they do. There is already <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Buried Ruin" href="#" target="_blank">Buried Ruin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in the deck, so Academy Ruins isn’t necessary, but extra recursion is never bad. </p>
<h2>Category #5: Secret Spice</h2>
<p> When it comes to building a deck, there’s always an option to add those few tech cards that can make your deck truly unique. I call this the “secret spice” of the deck, and this deck’s “secret spice” revolves around 2 cards. </p>
<h3>1. Assault Formation</h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Assault Formation"></div></div> Assault Formation seems like a strange inclusion, but it allows us to sink our mana from Vhal into something before damage because she has vigilance! This can lead to Vhal dealing a ton of damage out of nowhere. We are already including a few Equipment that care about boosting toughness, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Slagwurm Armor" href="#" target="_blank">Slagwurm Armor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Accorder’s Shield" href="#" target="_blank">Accorder’s Shield</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, so Assault Formation can put in some work in the right circumstances. </p>
<h3>2. Swashbuckler's Whip</h3>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swashbuckler&#039;s Whip"></div></div> This relatively unknown card from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan might seem underwhelming at first, but remember, Vhal has vigilance. This allows us to attack with Vhal, and then activate the whip in our second main phase as long as it’s attached to another creature we control. Discover 10 is insane, and it’s sure to grant us some ridiculous value. Even if we can’t tap for 8, the first ability gets a blocker out of the way in a pinch, and that’s very valuable in this deck. This brings us to the end of our first edition of Bottom of the Barrel! I hope you enjoyed exploring a lesser-played color-combination in the world of Equipment, and hope you’ll take my ideas and brew your own craziness around Vhal and Raised by Giants! Check out my decklist below! <div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Bottom of the Barrel 1 Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher and Raised by Giants" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander] *1 Raised by Giants *1 Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher [/Commander] [Creatures] *1 Azure Beastbinder *1 Cephalid Facetaker *1 Cold-Eyed Selkie *1 Cyberdrive Awakener *1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest *1 Emry, Lurker of the Loch *1 Etherium Sculptor *1 Fblthp, Lost on the Range *1 Gunner Conscript *1 Invisible Stalker *1 Kodama of the West Tree *1 Kruphix, God of Horizons *1 Looter il-Kor *1 Magus of the Candelabra *1 Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel *1 Phyrexian Metamorph *1 Pollywog Prodigy *1 Prophet of Distortion *1 Sai, Master Thopterist *1 Shimmer Dragon *1 Tanuki Transplanter *1 The Reality Chip *1 Urza, Lord High Artificer *1 Vedalken Archmage [/Creatures] [Artifacts] *1 Accorder&#039;s Shield *1 Arcane Signet *1 Bitterthorn, Nissa&#039;s Animus *1 Bone Sabres *1 Book of Rass *1 Champion&#039;s Helm *1 Diviner&#039;s Wand *1 Dream-Thief&#039;s Bandana *1 Energy Refractor *1 Mask of Memory *1 Nettlecyst *1 Pip-Boy 3000 *1 Power Fist *1 Quietus Spike *1 Ring of Evos Isle *1 Robe of the Archmagi *1 Scepter of Celebration *1 Shadowspear *1 Simic Signet *1 Slagwurm Armor *1 Sol Ring *1 Swashbuckler&#039;s Whip *1 Swiftfoot Boots *1 Sword of Forge and Frontier *1 Talisman of Curiosity *1 Umbral Mantle [/Artifacts] [Sorceries] *1 Dryad&#039;s Revival *1 Ezuri&#039;s Predation *1 Rise and Shine [/Sorceries] [Planeswalkers] *1 Ugin, the Ineffable [/Planeswalkers] [Instants] *1 Aetherize *1 Beast Within *1 Heroic Intervention *1 Three Steps Ahead [/Instants] [Enchantments] *1 Assault Formation *1 Kenrith&#039;s Transformation *1 Propaganda *1 Well Rested [/Enchantments] [Lands] *1 Academy Ruins *1 Archway of Innovation *1 Buried Ruin *1 Command Tower *1 Dreamroot Cascade *1 Evolving Wilds *8 Forest *1 Hedge Maze *1 Hinterland Harbor *11 Island *1 Overflowing Basin *1 Rejuvenating Springs *1 Roadside Reliquary *1 Rogue&#039;s Passage *1 Seat of the Synod *1 Tanglepool Bridge *1 Temple of Mystery *1 Tree of Tales *1 Yavimaya Coast [/Lands]"></span></div> </p>


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Hidden Gems for Oloro, Ageless Ascetic

Bottom of the Barrel - Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher and Raised by Giants