EDH Time!! Oloro, Ageless Ascetic

Hey guys, it's GuitarSlam.

I wanted to change up the topic of this post from my typical Standard format talk and look at a format that I have arguably more fun playing; EDH.  Now, for those of you who don't know about EDH/Commander, here are some helpful links about the format:

http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=magic/rules/edh

http://mtgcommander.net/rules.php

Both of these links will be way more helpful for a new player than I could be, so I urge you guys to check them out if you're unsure of how this format works.  It's a little daunting in the beginning (I know that I sure was afraid to start playing it) but once you get the hang of it and try a few games out, I'm know that you'll love it.  Honestly, I've found very few people that have tried EDH and didn't have a good time playing it.

You get to build a deck around whatever you want and because of how the format is structured, you basically have enough time to do anything!  If you enjoy a deck type, there are countless EDH generals and deck strategies that will work.  Give it a try :)  Plus, if you guys are brand new and want some help in making a deck, Wizards has released a Commander set in the past and will be releasing Commander 2013 on November 1st.  These are all pre-made EDH decks that give out some really powerful cards and make new ones specifically for EDH.  Even if you don't decide to keep playing the general(s) that come with the deck, at least you have a collection of good cards and an idea as to what you want to do next.  Here are the links for those:

http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/732

http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/productarticle.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/commander13/productinfo

http://www.mtgsalvation.com/commander-2013-spoiler.html

Alright, so now that my little EDH intro is over, let's get into the topic of this post: Oloro, Ageless Ascetic is a fantastic general.

I know you're probably thinking to yourself, "Well, duh.  Of course he's fantastic.  He was made specifically to get new players into EDH.  He has to be good."  Yes, you're right.  Wizards does want these generals to be powerful and yes, it's pretty easy to see why Oloro is good, but that's not going to stop me from explaining exactly why :P

Seems pretty good.

The most important part of him is that you get a benefit from him being in the Command zone.  Typically, if
your general is in the Command zone, they're not doing anything.  They're just sitting there waiting to be played... but not Oloro.  During every one of your upkeeps, regardless if he's in the Command zone or not, you gain 2 life.  If he's on the field you can get the additional bonus of drawing a card and draining your opponents, but that's not where his power is.  Gaining 2 life during every upkeep is super powerful.  During my games last night with him as my general, I usually got up to around 56-60 life before everyone started really doing something where I felt threatened.  Yes, if your opponent has a fast start and attacks you, you won't have this luxury, but typically that's not going to be the case.  Generally, you're going to have a much higher life total than your opponents will.

That's really the main benefit of Oloro.  You're not going to be using him as your primary win condition, but he's a tremendous support general that helps you out every turn.  This won't be the general for you if you're the type of player that wants a combat oriented or combo aiding general; Oloro really isn't good at those things.  But if you want a general that is always helping you and fits perfectly into the gameplan of an Esper Control EDH deck, he's your guy.

Just like Felidar Sovereign.

There's also a semi-rattlesnake attribute about Oloro.  Sometimes, despite the fact that you're gaining a lot of free life, there will be another player that is building up their board so much that everyone has to stop them, meaning that you'll be left alone.  Now, this isn't always the case because people may just target you because of how powerful your general is, but from what I've found so far, you're not the prime target.  Control decks like to just sit back, build up their mana, and wait for the right time to either clear the board or to play a fatty and try to win.  If this is your gameplan, why not get some free life every turn for your troubles?

I'll be posting my deck sometime in the future.  Right now it's still in it's initial version and is really rough around the edges.  A lot of cards need to be tested and removed, so once the Commander 2013 decks come out and I see some new cards, I can get my deck much closer to a final version.  If you're really looking for what the core of the deck is, it's pretty simple:

1. Destroy all creatures through Wrath-like effects.
2. Swords to Plowshare and Path to Exile kill anything that can survive a Wrath.
3. Draw cards.

That's really it.  The deck's all about surviving and getting to the end game.  What else would you expect from me? ;)

See you guys later.