I knew right away that I wanted to run Aurelia, the Warleader as one of my commanders, but was very torn by my choice for the 2nd. Here were the top 3 picks.
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight- was really high on my list of possibilities. One down side was that she doesn't reduce damage dealt to my ally or their creatures. Also the aggro that this produces from the command zone is unreal.
Tajic, Blade of the Legion- still very high on my list if Agrus doesn't work out. This guy has really started to grow on me more and more. But I decided to run him as one of the 99 in one of the decks for now.
Agrus Kos, Wojek Veteran- What really set this guy apart for me is how well he worked when drawn in the opening 12 of Aurela decks. When he comes down turn 5 followed by Aurela turn 6 damage just flies off the chart. Now, Aurela wont untap him since she is controlled by your ally not you, but you will get to participate in the extra combat step (assuming you can untap him) and he will pump up every attacking red(/white) creature including your partners.
Where to go from here?
Lets ask ourselves a few questions:
What do the decks need to do to work together? And what do they want seperately? What cards do I just really want to play?
First off in order to attack a second time with Agrus, he needs to have vigilance or be untapped at instant speed (there is no main step between the attack steps).
Captain of the Watch- grants all soldiers (like agrus) vigilance... Makes me want to explore a soldier theme... Mobilization adds to this.
Oathsworn Giant- fits the soldier theme and still grants commander vig if we dont go that rout.
Hold the Gates/ Serra's Blessing/
Possibility of soldier theme.
Catapult Master- ok they have vig while attacking then they exile guys...
Field Marshal- first strike and +1/+1
Preeminent Captain- bringing out captain of the watch 2 turns early?
Rhox Pikemaster- 1st strike again, may not use this one as field marshal is better.
Veteran Swordsmith- +1/+0 not all that but ok filler
Daru Warchief- Holy str on every soldier is good, lower cost may be better.
Soldiers:
Court Street Denizen- in combination with anything making white soldier tokens...
Goldnight Commander- again nuts with mass tokens...
Hero of Bladehold- knight, but makes soldiers.
Jötun Grunt- GY hate.
Kor Firewalker- Some red spells should see play...
Legion Loyalist- suddenly your army cant be blocked by tokens
Odric, Master Tactician- rediculous
Phantom General- maybe card. It will get soldier benifites and it will buff tokens which at this point are going to be included.
Precinct Captain- soldier making soldiers.
Ranger of Eos- if we have 1 cc creatures in the deck
Seasoned Marshal- tapping blockers seems good.
Soltari Champion- one of the first creatures that comes to mind when I think of attacking multiple times in 1 turn.
Soltari Guerrillas- solid and can be used as removal.
Spark Trooper- I think would fit better in aurela's deck though.
Sunhome Guildmage- wizard but makes soldiers. red and white ones which is important to Agrus.
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben- neither deck is heavy at this point in non creature spells. -if that holds true well run her.
As red creatures are more important than white for agrus, lets look at red filler soldiers.
Towering Thunderfist- solid filler soldier, is red (non red creatures are getting a bit heavy for an Agrus Kos deck) and can have vig if the other ways of vig aren't available.
Viashino Firstblade- Another red soldier, this is one I really want to test out.
Wojek Halberdiers- another ok, red soldier.
Assemble the Legion- This card isn't a huge threat right away, but has great effect if left alone. Also this deck wants a mass of token creatures.
Boros Battleshaper- Forces a creature to play along with the combat game every combat seems fun.
Boros Swiftblade/Hearthfire Hobgoblin/Ordruun Veteran- doublestike is very good with pumping effects.
Firefist Striker- not letting a creature block is almost as good as tapping it down.
Foundry Champion- um yeah, damage is good...
Goblin Trenches- interesting, this deck has a lower curve, this may be a good use of extra land.
Rise of the Hobgoblins- Mass R/W goblin soldier tokens.
Warmind Infantry- 4/3 when attacking for 3 is good. 6/5 with Agrus attacking along side. then 10/7 on the second attack.
How many cards do I have for the soldier deck at this point? With Tajic, I count 41 saving 42 spots for lands and mana accel. That leaves 17 more cards needed. I've got some things in mind, but we should work on Aurela to see what the team is missing once her's is more filled out. Noted soft spots at this point are card draw and removal.
Agrus is all about attacking, Aurela on the other hand can utilize the ability to tap a creature for effect multiple times each turn. Great tapping creatures include: Adarkar Valkyrie, Dwarven Miner, Dwarven Thaumaturgist, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Living Inferno, Mother of Runes, Oriss, Samite Guardian, Pentarch Paladin, and Pulsemage Advocate.
Interesting little effects in there. living inferno getting protection via mom or being protected by oriss can take out a few opposing creatures.
Kiki, Valkyrie, and pulsemage all make creatures with EtB effects more fun to use. And to increase that even more I'll throw in Mimic Vat, Heat Shimmer, and a few proliferate cards (Eyes in the Skies, Rootborn Defenses, and Trostani's Judgment).
Start with Inferno Titan and Sun Titan for obvious reasons.
Aegis Angel- not just your permanents...
Anarchist- could see play with a few key sorceries...
Angel of Serenity- Always a nice control card.
Archangel of Strife- Solid card that gets rediculous with kiki-jiki (not that it's hard to do)
Bogardan Hellkite- clear smaller creatures, finish off larger ones.
Conquering Manticore/ Molten Primordial/ Zealous Conscripts- borrow a creature and hit our opponents with it twice.
Duergar Hedge-Mage- 3 for 1's are always welcome
Karmic Guide- enhances the theme a little more.
Warstorm Surge, Luminate Primordial, Tyrant of Discord, - removal
Thundermaw Hellkite- clear fliers from blocking
Attacking triggers:
Galepowder Mage- blink fits into the deck too.
Firemane Avenger- why not?
Lord of Shatterskull Pass- may take a second to build up, but highly effective.
Other cards I want to see in the controlling deck:
Parallax Wave- remove 5 blockers for a turn, or potential save from wrath.
Divine Reckoning- pseudo wrath, leaves our commanders to duke it out.
Séance- to go with the EtB theme.
Admonition Angel- my favorite white commander card.
Crib Swap, Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, Oblivion Ring- just have to be included somewhere.
Fun cards:
Elemental Mastery- Tap creature to put X(= power) red creatures into play. Attack with them, agrus pumps them to deal 3X damage. Aurela untaps everyone, tap creature again, attack again dealing 5X+3X more damage dealing a total of 11 times the creatures power... magical christmasland include.
Increasing Vengeance- who knows what fun spells my opponents will dream up.
Legion's Initiative- chosen for this deck due to the token subtheme of the soldier deck.
up to 45 cards, This deck will need a little more mana, so let's say 46. That leaves 8 cards. Removal is covered, this leaves card draw as our largest soft spot.
Agrus Kos adds:
Mentor of the Meek, Carnage Altar, Skullclamp, are repeated card draw a soldier deck should be able to take advantage of.
Reforge the Soul and Wheel of Fortune, can give them 1 shot uses to refill.
Aurela adds:
Temporary Truce, Truce , Wheel of Fate as her 1 shot card draw spells.
Wall of Omens- adds to her use of EtB effects.
Pyrite Spellbomb and Sunbeam Spellbomb- give us more options with sun titan attacks.
Agrus needs 12
Aurela needs 2
Agrus:
Waves of Aggression- good use of late game lands, who wants to attack only 2 times per turn?
Seize the Day- another way to attack again, with vigilance all your guys can attack again. (untap your partners creature)
Boros Charm- to save your team mostly
True Conviction- life is good.
Elspeth Tirel Elspeth, Knight-Errant- both make token soldiers.
Gideon, Champion of Justice- a big soldier.
Righteous Cause- should gain some serious life.
Shared Animosity- nice tribal pump.
Mirror Entity- is a pseudo soldier that can make attacking with a lot of tokens deadly.
Fervor, Anger, - giving creatures haste is always a good thing.
Aurela:
Gideon Jura- always a fun control card.
Crucible of Worlds- This came after doing lands...
Now for mana sources.
Mana Fix/Ramp- just pile it here then decide where to put it.
Knight of the White Orchid , Kor Cartographer, Armillary Sphere, Expedition Map, Pilgrim's Eye, Solemn Simulacrum, Walking Atlas, Wayfarer's Bauble, Boros Cluestone, Boros Keyrune, Boros Signet, Chromatic Lantern, Coalition Relic, Coldsteel Heart, Darksteel Ingot, Manalith, Mox Diamond, Spectral Searchlight, Sphere of the Suns, and Vessel of Endless Rest. this doesn't include cards that can tap for just 1 color, nor cards I just thought were bad. This list is larger than I thought...
Ancient Amphitheater, Ancient Ziggurat, Arid Mesa, Battlefield Forge, Boros Garrison, Boros Guildgate, Cavern of Souls, City of Brass, Clifftop Retreat, Command Tower, Evolving Wilds, Forbidden Orchard, Gemstone Mine, Grand Coliseum, Reflecting Pool, Rugged Prairie, Rupture Spire, Sacred Foundry, Scabland, Terramorphic Expanse, Transguild Promenade, Vesuva, Vivid Crag, and Vivid Meadow
Other utility lands:
Deserted Temple, Dust Bowl, Eiganjo Castle, Emeria, the Sky Ruin, Gargoyle Castle, Ghost Quarter, Hall of the Bandit Lord, Haunted Fengraf, Homeward Path, Kor Haven, Mouth of Ronom, Mystifying Maze, Rishadan Port, Rogue's Passage , Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep, Slayers' Stronghold, Spinerock Knoll, Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion, Terrain Generator, Thespian's Stage, and Windbrisk Heights.
42 spots for Agrus
45 Spots for Aurela
Agrus is the faster deck that needs early game fixing. It gets:
Ancient Amphitheater, Ancient Ziggurat, Arid Mesa, Boros Guildgate, Cavern of Souls, Clifftop Retreat, Command Tower, Reflecting Pool, Rugged Prairie, and Sacred Foundry.
I want to include some utility land, but don't want to risk early color req's: Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep, and Eiganjo Castle. There's 12 so far.
Aurela isn't worries so much about early color, but wants to ramp up and have access to early utility lands. Also looks to reccursion more. Boros Garrison, Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse, Deserted Temple, Dust Bowl, Gargoyle Castle, Ghost Quarter, Haunted Fengraf, Homeward Path, Kor Haven, Mouth of Ronom, Mystifying Maze, Rishadan Port, Rogue's Passage, Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion, Terrain Generator, and Thespian's Stage. That's 17.
Agrus:
Spectral Searchlight- Agrus gets this to give mana to aurela later in the game, Aurela can use ghost quarter to give agrus a boost of mana for a turn when needed, or she can use deserted temple to untap one of his lands. This should even it out a little.
Boros Keyrune is a soldier, seems right.
Boros Signet- is early ramp for the faster deck.
Knight of the White Orchid- can go search for Sacred Foundry.
16 down. Leaves room for 26 basics, 13 of each for now.
Aurela:
Kor Cartographer & Solemn Simulacrum- jump out as EtB guys.
Chromatic Lantern- Fixes any colorless land issues.
Boros Cluestone- gives another draw option to reccur with sun titan
Coalition Relic- The better of the 3 mana options for higher curve decks.
Coldsteel Heart- gives us a turn 2 option
Armillary Sphere- thins out lands late game, can be reccured if needed. will need testing due to low basic count.
Expedition Map- with all the utility land should have good targets.
25 down, leaving room for 20 basics. 10 of each should be fine.
So we end up with 2 fun looking decks. And aggro to the walls soldier deck led by Agrus Kos alligned with a more controlling Aurela deck. This was a fun experiment into the world of constructed 2HG. Can't wait to see what others come up with.
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