surewhynot

Nah, you can do some funny shenanigans with Norin...plus you can cast him without losing =P

Exactly. And our group has always allowed Kaldra (all three pieces start in the Command Zone), so it works the same way really. Kaldra, by the way, might be hard to cast (total of 12 colorless mana)...but once Kaldra's on the field, it's pretty freakin hard to deal with a 9/9 First strike, trample, haste, indestructible that exiles anything it deals damage to O_O

Orzhov colors would be amazing, but for that, and many other reasons, way too good =P

My current idea is to make it a proliferation-boosted Voltron design with other shenanigans thrown around. The simple fact is, if I can get Withengar adequately protected...there's damn near nothing to stop him. His +13 counter ability is practically custom made for EDH...

If you're wondering what other "non-creature" Generals we allow...There is Genju of the Realm and Merit Lage (Merit is actually not too terrible...color identity IS black =/). Used to also include Tatsumasa, but it turns out, only the sword is legendary...the dragon it makes is not!

I need to start writing my articles again -_-

Alright, the immediate problem I see is that you are running WAY too much equipment in here. An equipment deck has to balance between having too many, and also not having enough. I also worry a bit about your splashes. Both are very light splashes, which will generally make the whole deck much slower. I might just stick to mono-white =/

With mono-White you can rock with things like Shrine of Loyal Legions (which will really pump up the Cranial Plating) a whole assortment of white Metalcraft dudes, and Myrsmith, to name a few. The equipment idea is cool, I've always loved the pre-stoneforge equipment decks (another reason I hate stoneforge)...Just remember not to go overboard with the equipment...Sometimes less is more =]

Phage, the Untouchable is actually the worst general ever =P

Shame that happened man, Isamaru is far from bad...he's great!

Hard to say...I doubt it will outdo the top contenders though. The issue with Standard is with the limited card base, there's a top deck or two, and then anything that ISN'T a version of the top deck(s) stands little to no chance. That's actually why I hate standard =/

One other thing I noticed is you might not need 24 lands...that's pretty steep for a stompy. You'll be just fine with 20 I think...22 max

Generally all equipment is a no-go...it's just almost never efficient =/

I also wouldn't run Birthing Pod...you don't need it and it's inefficient, etc. Overall your deck is much more a stompy than not, so I still say props on that =]

Wow...I never realized how helpful that would be O_O

Good point dude! Now what I really want to know is if Withengar Unbound can be used as an EDH general (starts in the command zone as Elbrus, the binding blade, but can be cast from there like a Gen). My group is already going to allow it, but I want to see it official.

There are a couple of cards in this that make it not quite 100% stompy...but it's a very good start..prolly like 80 ish %

GSZ doesn't really carry a stompy-like efficiency with it. If you look away from the tutor ability, it makes everything 1 mana less efficient...that's bad. On paper, the tutoring sounds nice, but if your deck always has a threat no matter what you draw, then there is no need to tutor =]

Rites of Flourishing. Oh man...this card drives me insane. I know my buddy Wumps will agree, this freakin card is so goofy with stompy. On one hand, it is absolutely good for stompy. On the other, it is absolutely NOT good for stompy. Using it is up to you man...If you feel like playing it screws with your efficiency and speed, junk it.

Primordial Hydra is another strange one. Yeah, it can get freaking huge...trust me, I know (Hydra tribal ftw). In general though, it's really not that efficient when you step back and look at it =/

Strangleroot and Ooze are great choices, Ghoul will be interesting to see if you can really make good enough use of the cost reducing ability (and if it's worth it). And as for Vorapede...It's good, very good in fact. Just make sure you aren't leaning too far into the chunky side of the mana curve.

Garruk is debatable. The first Garruk was amazing, and did great things for some stompy decks, but this one and the new(est) one...I dunno =/ The card drawing is excellent, but as said above, Lead the Stampede is a cheaper, and probably better choice overall =]

What I want to know is...will Elbrus be legal as an EDH general? I already know my group will allow it, but I would love to see it be official =]

And I can't wait to put the Cage into the SB of both of my current Extractions...especially my Iso-Seek =D

At the same time regarding the Cage, all I can say is, it's about damn time! I enjoy graveyard shenanigans as much as the next guy, but at the same time, a strong means to keep those shenanigans in check has been well over-due.

Newer EDH rule: General's colors are referenced by their "Color Identity" --> all colors of mana that appear on the general.

Check the site dude =]

Try out Conspiracy with Sporesower and Sporoloth Ancient =]

I suppose I might do something like that =P

You did remind me though, I really need to update the sideboard =P

I think a sneaky thing you could do is pump it before playing a third artifact, thus getting around the protection, but otherwise it's pretty counter-intuitive to waste pumps on him =/

Ouch-ness? =P

That's actually a good question. There are a few cards from that set that I might try to use in this, most notably that new zombie that you can play from the graveyard. I look forward to seeing how they work =]

But in my experience it's an infuriating catch-22 they're given. They need the land to pay for the ability to search for that land! :D

Seek, Exhume, Cranial Plating, Arcbound Ravager, Narcomoeba, Life from the loam, Land Grant, Chaos Orb...there's many more but those are some off the top of my head.

I like it, but I would swap out the STP for Path to Exile. With the Arbiter that is a real pain in the ass.

White is honestly one of the better colors for mass control, essentially what you're looking for. Ghostly Prison (white Propaganda), Lightmine Field, Windborne Muse, etc.