EDH - The Bank of Kruphix

Personally, EDH for me is a relaxing way to enjoy some Magic. The stress of tournaments and the high intensity of Standard or Modern can be taxing. EDH, for me, brings back the essence of fun to Magic with it's crazy combos and sometimes whacky interactions. Of course this talk may be sacrilege for others who take the EDH format seriously but to each their own.

Today I'm here to talk about my personal favorite EDH deck which I have dubbed the Bank of Kruphix. Listed below is the latest iteration of the deck and I wanted to go over it a little and explain some of my thinking of why I chose what I did. This is the first EDH deck I ever built and it's reaching 2 years old soon and it's gone through many changes.


To begin with, let's discuss the commander. Kruphix. This 4/7 enchanment creature allows you to not only have no maximum hand size but also allows you to keep your mana after your turn is done. Thus I dubbed it the mana bank while I play. Being indestructible helps out a lot as well. When Kruphix was first spoiled he quickly became my favorite God out of all of them in the Theros block. I had never really played EDH before Theros block so when Kruphix was spoiled I suddenly had the urge to build my first EDH deck. The Timmy in me was all giddy and excited to play some big creatures.

 

The first few iterations of my deck consisted of nothing but big creatures and wipe/bounce spells and draw spells. The big creatures were mainly hydras from all sets as, at the time, I thought they were fun to play. Hydras such as, Vastwood Hydra and Protean Hydra were among of some of my favorite one's to play at the time. The only hydra's to survive my many iterations have been Genesis Hydra and Hydra Broodmaster. Managorger Hydra has been a recent addition to the deck and has won a few games if I get him out early and it goes unanswered.

Now it comes down to gameplay and how I play my deck and what I plan for. Everyone's meta is different in their LGS. My LGS' meta can be a bit competitive but still a fun atmosphere, when it comes to EDH. As soon as I slap my commander down most people know what my deck is about and what it can do. I do get a lot of questions as to why I don't run Helix Pinnacle. I personally just don't see the fun in that card. Sure, I have a lot of ways of getting to 100 mana quickly and can win, I would just rather win my own way.

My first goal, like many other's, is to get as much mana as I can, as fast as I can and get to 5 mana quickly to get Kruphix out. Usually I'll need some ramp spells and mana to do that. As long as no one at the table is a big control player I normally get the lands I need out quickly. Once Kruphix comes out on the field the bank officially opens for business.

Now it becomes a game of collecting mana and getting the spells I need and just wait and sit back and watch the development of the board. I'll come across my tutor spells and get a Cyclonic Rift or Genesis Wave, but what happens if I get into the dreaded top deck game? Hopefully I can figure out a way to shuffle my deck with a ramp spell to make the chances of top decking something better. This is where the weakness of my deck comes into play.

I know I can put in better spells such as Brainstorm, Serum Visions, or Ponder for the draw spells. I did have Rush of Knowledge in the deck at one point but it was taken out for Blue Sun's Zenith. I have thought about the Enter the Infinite and Laboratory Maniac combo to win some easy games but to me that's no fun again. I say that because for me, EDH is not always about winning but more for having some good old fun magic. 

So what are some fun combos or interactions the deck can hold? First off there is the Wonder and Stormtide Leviathan combo. If I can't counter my own Wonder when I cast it or use my Bow of Nylea, I'll sometimes use Redirect if someone has a kill spell they try and cast. Once I get Stormtide out I'll give him the boots as well. Also how fun is it to cast Genesis Wave? I used to have Ward of Bones in the deck but that would always get hated and proceed to make me a target. Casting a Progenitor Mimic and having it copy a Dungeon Geist is always fun as well.

Now that I think about it, this deck doesn't have that many combos or interactions. It's full of good stuff and fun stuff. It is very weak to fast aggro decks and can be quite dangerous if left unchecked. It's not the greatest EDH deck but it sure is a fun one to play at least.

I hope to write about more decks I have created soon! Maybe EDH or some other constructed decks such as Standard or Modern? Who knows, we'll soon see! Thanks for reading!