Turning a Random Card into an EDH Deck (Skoa, Embermage)

“Cloning Around”

Welcome to another edition of a random card being turned into an EDH Deck! Every Friday I create a budget (<$100) EDH Deck based entirely around a random card that I pull from [scryfall.com](http://scryfall.com/) (or that is suggested by someone else, either way it’s still random to me). I would love it if anyone has any suggestions for future random cards/decks or just wants to share their own experiences with any cards or decks discussed, I think this is a ton of fun.

[Random Card of the Week](https://cards.scryfall.io/png/front/c/f/cf34b0f8-a68a-428f-9f2c-9556229367ec.png?1717063064) (Download Link)

[Random Card of the Week](https://scryfall.com/card/mh3/138/skoa-embermage) (Scryfall Link)

[Deck List](https://scryfall.com/@13poynz/decks/e1eb0769-78d2-47d9-9640-dfe0fc04ba4f)

[Deck Tech/Gameplay Video](https://youtu.be/2r6aE3qnqtQ): (Reaper King vs Urza, Chief Artificer vs Loot, Exuberant Explorer vs Skoa, Embermage)

This week’s deck uses [[Skoa, Embermage]] as our random card and they're also the commander. Red has a ton of creatures with great ETB abilities that can either do damage (like with [[Demanding Dragon]], [[Fury]], and [[Fear of Burning Alive]]) or give us other forms of value (like with [[Mindless Automaton]], [[Mindclaw Shaman]], and [[Seasoned Pyromancer]]). This lets us play similarly to a burn deck that can also grind out card advantage late into the game. The real synergies start to come in when we make use of all of red's clone effects. [[Cursed Mirror]], [[Delina, Wild Mage]], and [[Helm of the Host]] (plus so many more) give us the ability to re-use our ETB effects and skyrocket ahead of the rest of the table.

Since we have a ton of ETBs and clone effects we may also find ways to benefit from them in multiple ways. [[Panharmonicon]] and [[Harmonic Prodigy]] are the easiest ways, just straight-up doubling our abilities but we do also have cards like [[Molten Gatekeeper]] and [[Witty Roastmaster]] to keep burning out the table. Additionally, if we copy those creatures then we can get even more damage as we keep copying our things. Finally, it is also worth mentioning that we do have a handful of infinite combos because, you know, sometimes games have to end. [[Dualcaster Mage]] with [[Molten Duplication]], [[Twinflame]], [[Heat Shimmer]], or [[Electroduplicate]] create an infinite number of Dualcaster Mages that all have haste. So, if you're not big on infinites then you just have to make sure to remove the Mage and there shouldn't be any others. Either way, the deck is pretty effective at doing damage and winning games.

In the end, this deck came in at $99.81 with [[Splinter Twin]] being the most expensive card at $14.20. Unfortunately, since Splinter Twin has been unbanned in Modern, it's shot up in price and is very slowly coming back down. That means that it's spiking our budget even though it's not specifically game-breaking for our deck. If you do need to trim it for budget purposes then it can easily come out, otherwise it's still a solid way to clone something every turn.

On the other hand, if you want an out-of-budget upgrade for the deck, plus a card to take out for it, then I’ve got you covered. That’s why I’d recommend putting in [[Terror of the Peaks]] ($17.17) and taking out [[Rose Room Treasurer]]. Terror of the Peaks ends games faster than almost any other card that we could put in the deck. If we start cloning it then it doesn't take much to stack up enough damage to burn out the entire table. Rose Room Treasurer, while good, hasn't felt as great in testing as I was hoping it would be. It's tough to hold up mana to do damage when multiple creatures enter and the treasure isn't as relevant as I would like it to be.

Thanks for checking out the deck and reading about it/watching the video! I hope you all like it and if you think there are improvements to be made, if you have suggestions, or just want to chat about it, then let me know. Also, a quick plug: if you want to guarantee that your suggestions get turned into decks or a variety of other benefits (including access to a discord channel to play in the games, help build the decks, getting the decklists a week early, and one of the random cards shipped to you every month) then check me out on [www.patreon.com/dungeonlearnersguide\](http://www.patreon.com/dungeonlearnersguide) or consider becoming a channel member over on YouTube: [www.YouTube.com/dungeonlearnersguide\](http://www.youtube.com/dungeonlearnersguide).