Gr Devotion

I first became interested in the Gr Devotion deck when I saw that it top4ed a SCG Open. I wasn't thrilled with the version I saw though, so I didn't pay it much attention until I saw Makihito Mihara playing the deck on Friday at PT Theros. That's when I went and bought the rest of the cards I needed and put something together. I didn't have Mihara's decklist but I figured I'd be able to wing it.

It turns out Mihara was one of few people playing the deck at the Pro Tour and he ended up top4ing. I've been tuning my version since then and I've arrived at this:

4 Elvish Mystic
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
2 Kalonian Tusker
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Voyaging Satyr
2 Nylea, God of the Hunt
4 Polukranos, World Eater
2 Arbor Colossus

4 Domri Rade
1 Xenagos, the Reveler
4 Garruk, Caller of Beasts

4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nix
4 Stomping Ground
4 Temple of Abandon
10 Forest
1 Mountain

Sideboard
2 Mistcutter Hydra
4 Mizzium Mortars
2 Nylea's Disciple
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Skylasher
1 Stormbreath Dragon
2 Wasteland Viper
1 Xenagos, the Reveler

I started with 4 Kalonian Tusker because I thought it just made too much sense in a green devotion deck and therefore thought it was in Mihara's deck. It turns out he played 0 copies. I still like a few because it does some cool things some of the time and it's a good creature to Domri-fight with. They get boarded out about half the time.

The rest of the maindeck is very similar to Mihara's but that doesn't mean I haven't tried variations. This is what I've arrived at after a lot of trial and error.

In the sideboard Skylasher and Stormbreath Dragon are the only standouts. Skylasher is helpful against Mono Blue, especially when they don't see it coming. Taking a Tidebinder Mage out for free is really nice. Skylasher isn't a game ender, which is why there's only a few. It's definitely a sweet card to have early on against them to make sure they don't put too much pressure on you.

Stormbreath Dragon has been competing with/complementing Mistcutter Hydra for slots. They're really similar. Both are good against UW, Mistcutter is good against Mono Blue, and Dragon is okay against Wr Aggro. This is why I like having a split on them.

I've played with Xenagos a bit and I really can't figure out how good he is. I'm still playing him but it's been confusing. I much prefer Domri+Garruk but there are those times that Domri gets Needled that I don't like playing 4 copies. Normally Domri is great against matchups that have Needle so it's awkward. If there were an Acidic Slime type card I would surely be boarding 1 (Sylvan Primordial is too expensive for me, thanks).

Questions, comments? Let me know below or on twitter!

(Update 10/18/13)

To my surprise, after playing with the deck more I've come even closer to matching Mihara's original decklist. One thing that I've now learned is that cards like Stormbreath Dragon, while very good against control, don't do anything to help against Supreme Verdict which is the primary problem in those matchups. For that reason I've made a few changes to help against the card.

I've decided I don't much care for Xenagos except against wrath effects but it's still not a bad card (very similar to Garruk Wildspeaker) and I don't know what else I'd rather play MD anymore.

Bramblecrush serves as an answer to Pithing Needle and Detention Sphere but is also capable of destroying a land, a Jace, or an Elspeth. It's akin to Sylvan Primordial except it doesn't cost 7.

The lone Mutavault is also to help against wrath effects. I typically cut 2 ramp creatures to hedge and Mutavault makes up for those.

Theros Brews, Pauper and Modern Decklists (pics)

Last night towards the end of my stream, I decided to brew up a decklist that I would be interested in playing in the post Theros format. I wanted to start with GR Aggro because of how much I like Polukranos and Stormbreath Dragon but I also want to look at GW Aggro and WU Control. Here are my initial ideas:

Gruul

4 Elvish Mystic

4 Experiment One

4 Kalonian Tusker

3 Scavenging Ooze

2 Boon Satyr

4 Ghor-Clan Rampager

4 Polukranos, World Eater

4 Stormbreath Dragon

4 Domri Rade

3 Mizzium Mortars

4 Stomping Ground

4 Temple of Abandon

12 Forest

4 Mountain

There are no Burning-Tree Emissary because it doesn't fit well with Tusker, which is a card I like better in this deck. Boon Satyr may not be good enough to be included in large numbers but it's still a 4 power 3-drop and that's something I want. Magma Jet is probably not better than Mizzium Mortars but I could see a combination. The new planeswalker, Xenagos, is fine but I would prefer to play 4 Domri and the two don't mix that well. Xenagos does interact well with all of our late game mana sinks so it's something I will try at some point, sideboard at least. Fitting Mutavault into the manabase is probably too greedy, especially when we already have so many late game mana sinks.

Selesnya

4 Elvish Mystic

4 Soldier of the Pantheon

4 Voice of Resurgence

4 Fleecemane Lion

2 Scavenging Ooze

4 Loxodon Smiter

4 Polukranos, World Eater

4 Advent of the Wurm

4 Selesnya Charm

2 Ajani, Caller of the Pride

4 Temple Garden

4 Selesnya Guildgate

8 Forest

8 Plains

I'm not sure which of the available 1-drops are best but Soldier is worth a shot over Dryad Militant. Experiment One has been great in Standard so far so that could still be the way to go. It even works with Ajani in a cute way. Ajani is a card I think can shine in correct circumstances. This deck is incredibly dense so I think it's perfect for Ajani, so long as he's easily castable. The God weapons in red, green, and white are all playable in my opinion but they need to be better than the alternatives and I think Ajani is better in this case.

Azorius/r

1 AEtherling

4 Chained to the Rocks

4 Syncopate

1 Celestial Flare

4 Azorius Charm

2 Azorius Keyrune

4 Detention Sphere

4 Supreme Verdict

4 Jace, Architect of Thought

2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion

4 Sphinx's Revelation

4 Hallowed Fountain

4 Azorius Guildgate

4 Sacred Foundry

4 Steam Vents

2 Mutavault

3 Island

5 Plains

I hit a wall while working on this deck. There are almost no good cards from Theros to help this deck along so I decided that I wanted to give the new 1-drop removal spell a try. Playing 8 additional dual lands isn't ideal, and my just not be worth it, but Chained to the Rocks gives you a Swords to Plowshares type effect that works well with Jace's -2 ability. Otherwise we could always adopt Pacifism or Sensory Deprivation. Going deeper into red could be the way to go but for now I'm sticking to this idea. I would love to be able to play 4 Mutavault in this type of deck but I'm pretty conservative when it comes to mana, at least before any testing.

Going deeper into red could definitely alleviate some of the card quality issues in just UW. It also means that we get access to scrylands but at the cost of Mutavaults and being a more streamlined deck. We'll have to wait and see how important Thunder Strike, Warleader's Helix, and friends are to the new format. And for the record, I'm not a huge fan of Steam Augury. I'm a much bigger fan of Jace, though alongside more instant speed removal it probably has a place. 

Also last night, Pauper bannings were announced. Temporal Fissure and Cloudpost both met the hammer which I think is great for the format. I took a decklist that I brewed up previously in the format (but knew it was bad in a Cloudpost format) and updated it for my expectations of the new format:

4 Fume Spitter

4 Augur of Skulls

4 Chittering Rats

1 Crypt Rats

4 Mulldrifter

1 Snuff Out

1 Brainstorm

1 Disfigure

1 Undying Evil

1 Vendetta

1 Grim Harvest

1 Oona's Grace

1 Soul Manipulation

1 Traumatic Visions

1 Spinning Darkness

4 Tragic Slip

4 Diabolic Edict

3 Mystical Teachings

3 Dimir Aqueduct

2 Dimir Guildgate

4 Evolving Wilds

12 Swamp

1 Island

Sideboard

3 Basilica Screecher

1 Crypt Rats

1 Disfigure

1 Dispel

4 Duress

1 Echoing Decay

1 Grim Harvest

1 Psychic Strike

1 Soul Manipulation

1 Spinning Darkness

This type of deck has a natural advantage against creature decks which is what most of the remaining format is made of but it also has enough card advantage to fight through control decks. A deck comprised of mostly countermagic would give us a hard time but if we can deal with their threats (easy enough), then that'll give us a chance for our engines to take over.

I used to employ a Probe and/or Trinket Mage Engine but I've decided the Mystical Teachings engine is going to be the way to go. It's less clunky than Probe, more versatile than Trinket Mage, and works through discard and countermagic. It also allows the deck to play a lot of sweet singletons as seen above. I would list the sweetest ones, but I'd end up listing almost all of them.

As for Theros additions, Read the Bones is a viable option but I've always said that if you're playing blue you can do better when it comes to card draw.

Lastly, if you missed my Living End decklist that I've started streaming with, here it is:

4 Fulminator Mage

2 Shriekmaw

4 Deadshot Minotaur

4 Monstrous Carabid

4 Street Wraith

3 Pale Recluse

2 Twisted Abomination

4 Jungle Weaver

3 Living End

4 Demonic Dread

4 Violent Outburst

4 Blackcleave Cliffs

3 Copperline Gorge

1 Raging Ravine

1 Blood Crypt

1 Stomping Ground

1 Godless Shrine

1 Overgrown Tomb

4 Verdant Catacombs

1 Swamp

2 Forest

Sideboard

2 Avalanche Riders

1 Domri Rade

2 Faerie Macabre

3 Ingot Chewer

2 Jund Charm

2 Shriekmaw

3 Sin Collector

There's no Dryad Arbor because you rarely need to have one for Demonic Dread and even when you do it's really situational. The deck doesn't need more dead cards either.

The 1 Domri Rade in the sideboard could easily be a 4th Sin Collector but I've had good results with him so far. It serves as a way to circumvent hate while still being a bro otherwise. I bring him in against Tron and UWR.

A Daily Event with a similar decklist will go up on ChannelFireball in a few days so look for that and if you'd like to watch the archived stream from yesterday go here. Thanks for reading!

Currently Playing

Modern: RWU Wafo Tapa Control

4 Celestial Colonnade
2 Sulfur Falls
2 Steam Vents
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Arid Mesa
1 Plains
1 Mountain
3 Island
3 Tectonic Edge

4 Snapcaster Mage

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
2 Spell Snare
1 Izzet Charm
4 Lightning Helix
3 Shadow of Doubt
2 Electrolyze
2 Supreme Verdict
4 Cryptic Command
1 Batterskull
2 Sphinx's Revelation

Sideboard
2 Batterskull
1 Counterflux
2 Negate
2 Runed Halo
2 Stony Silence
1 Isochron Scepter
3 Vendilion Clique
1 Wrath of God
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

 Standard: Esper Control

2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Augur of Bolas
1 Restoration Angel

4 Devour Flesh
4 Azorius Charm
4 Think Twice
2 Liliana of the Veil
2 Dissipate
4 Supreme Verdict
3 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Planar Cleansing
4 Sphinx's Revelation

24 Duals
3 Nephalia Drownyard

Sideboard
1 Blind Obedience
1 Duress
3 Negate
1 Planar Cleansing
4 Rest In Peace
1 Tragic Slip
3 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Witchbane Orb

Currently Playing

Modern: RWU Flash

4 Geist of Saint Traft
3 Vendilion Clique
4 Snapcaster Mage

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
2 Spell Snare
4 Izzet Charm
1 Lightning Helix
2 Remand
4 Electrolyze
2 Batterskull
1 Sphinx's Revelation

4 Celestial Colonnade
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
4 Arid Mesa
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Plains
1 Mountain
3 Island
1 Slayer's Stronghold

2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Lightning Helix
2 Meddling Mage
3 Molten Rain
2 Negate
1 Purify the Grave
1 Runed Halo

Standard: Esper Control

2 Snapcaster Mage

4 Devour Flesh
4 Azorius Charm
4 Think Twice
1 Blind Obedience
4 Liliana of the Veil
1 Murder
1 Dissipate
1 Detention Sphere
4 Supreme Verdict
3 Jace, Memory Adept
4 Sphinx's Revelation

24 Duals
3 Nephalia Drownyard

Sideboard
1 Detention Sphere
1 Duress
3 Negate
4 Rest In Peace
4 Vampire Nighthawk
2 Witchbane Orb

UWb Control in STD

I've finally played a few games of Standard, and with a mostly original list no less. I have no idea where the deck stands against Zombies and Jund since I have done very little with it so far, but the deck is showing some promise.

The idea behind the deck is to be a control deck that doesn't rely on a creature to win. It generally gets advantages by keeping Planeswalkers alive. It usually takes a looong time to kill with...

4 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Plains
4 Island
2 Nephalia Drownyard

4 Azorius Charm
3 Think Twice
4 Lingering Souls
2 Forbidden Alchemy
4 Detention Sphere
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
3 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1 Curse of Death's Hold
2 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
4 Terminus
3 Syncopate

2 Angel of Serenity
1 Dispel
4 Dissipate
2 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Oblivion Ring
2 Sever the Bloodline
1 Sundering Growth
2 Ultimate Price

From the top, we have 26 lands with as many black sources available to us without playing Swamp. The reasoning there is that I'd like to be able to Azorius Charm very consistently.

Nephalia Drownyard seems innocuous but it is actually a game changer for other control decks. They usually have very few ways to answer it (Tamiyo) and so little happens in G1s that Drownyard just takes the game eventually. It's not the primary win condition because a lot of decks have graveyard synergy and you don't actually want to activate it on them but you can still activate it on yourself if you have nothing else to do.

Azorius Charm is one of the best things you can do both early in the game as well as late. I kinda wanted some Ultimate Price in the deck but I ended up just putting them in the SB.

However much I would love to play Sphinx's Revelation, Forbidden Alchemy gets the slot over it because it allows you to abuse all the graveyard interactions seen throughout the deck.

Curse of Death's Hold is a pretty narrow card and I'm pretty sure it will be the first card I cut when I'm looking for room but I didn't want to board it because a lot of decks will be bringing in enchantment hate anyways. It does do a pretty good job against opposing Lingering Souls though.

At the start of this format I thought that counterspells would be near unplayable. That changed very quickly. It turns out they are still playable and you actually want to have them in a number of matchups. Dissipate is certainly better than Syncopate, but the most important thing is being able to interact on turn2 so Syncopate gets the slot and Dissipate is in the SB.

UPDATE 10/29:

My updated list looks like this now:

4 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Swamp
3 Plains
4 Island
2 Nephalia Drownyard

4 Azorius Charm
3 Ultimate Price
4 Lingering Souls
4 Detention Sphere
1 Sever the Bloodline
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
3 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
2 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
1 Supreme Verdict
3 Terminus
3 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Syncopate / Remove Soul

2 Angel of Serenity
1 Negate
3 Dissipate
3 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Pithing Needle
3 Seraph of Dawn
1 Sever the Bloodline
1 Ultimate Price

Zombies And A Control Mockup

First, this is the deck that I expect to be strong at the beginning of the format. I feel that the format will hinge on this deck or something close to it:

4 Gravecrawler
4 Diregraf Ghoul
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Blood Artist
4 Rakdos Shred-Freak
4 Geralf's Messenger
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat

4 Pillar of Flame
4 Brimstone Volley
1 Tragic Slip

4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
2 Mountain
13 Swamp

The fear of this deck stems from the fact that it's hyper-aggressive (12 one-drops) and that it has threats that are hard to answer/ require specific removal (Gravecrawler, Geralf's Messenger, Falkenrath Aristocrat). There are answers to these cards but they tend to be limited in some way. Azorius Charm isn't permenant, Oblivion Ring/Detention Sphere and Sever the Bloodline are clunky, and Knight of Glory is not difficult to answer (BG even has Golgari Charm). Sensory Deprivation and Pacifism might actually be reasonable options seeing as they're both maindeckable and hit any creature, but they don't stop Gravecrawler and Messenger forever (and then there's Abrupt Decay and Golgari Charm).

As far as a control deck goes, I'm having a hard time figuring out a reasonable configuration (as is the case with any unknown format). This is what I've currently got cooking:

2 Snapcaster Mage

4 Pillar of Flame
4 Izzet Charm
4 Mizzium Mortars
2 Desperate Ravings
4 Lingering Souls
4 Rakdos Keyrune
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
2 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
1 Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1 Devil's Play
3 Sphinx's Revelation

4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Clifftop Retreat
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Steam Vents
4 Sulfur Falls
2 Island
3 Mountain

The color breakdown of the deck is very odd. The only white cards are Lingering Souls and Sphinx's Revelation and the only black costs are Souls, Rakdos Keyrune, and a Nicol Bolas. With 10-11 lands untapping the M10 lands I think the mana could actually work out.

The first black card I decided to play was Lingering Souls. It just feels really powerful with Planeswalkers, against certain creatures, and is also a potent win condition. The second black card was Rakdos Keyrune which is miles better than other Keyrunes in control decks. Being able to cast Pillar of Flame off it is one of the reasons for that. I might not actually want any Keyrunes in this deck but Sphinx's Revelation has me pining for them. Nicol Bolas was actually an afterthought. I wanted a game ender and he seemed least vulnerable and also versatile.

Sphinx's Revelation gives the deck access to a huge swing. It might also be the reason we want to keep our curve low. Casting it for 2 is not the worst thing you can do for five mana, but once you pass that point it gets pretty powerful.

Who knows whether or not the deck is actually good. It might not even fare well against the deck I had most in mind when making it, but we'll have to wait and see. Until then it'll just be Cube, Pauper, Modern, and Sealed for me.

Standard, Modern, and Pauper

It's been a while since I've made a post and I had a request to post my lists and thoughts on the current format so I thought I'd do that for all formats I'm currently playing.

If you'd to ask or state anything, feel free to in the comments section or on twitter.

Standard (RUG Pod)

I don't know what it is, but I actually don't like UW Delver. It has seen very good results and is touted as the best deck in the format but I still can't get behind it. Then again, I rarely do get behind the "best" deck so I guess it's actually normal. I've tested other decks too but I keep coming back to RUG Pod. It's been performing the best for me all while being an unpopular deck, which is a quality I much prefer the deck I play to have.

Matt Nass's primer on the deck can be found here. And here's my most recent list:

4 Birds of Paradise
4 Llanowar Elves
2 Elvish Visionary
2 Phantasmal Image
3 Strangleroot Geist
1 Viridian Corrupter
2 Borderland Ranger
1 Deceiver Exarch
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Thragtusk
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Wolfir Silverheart
1 Inferno Titan

4 Birthing Pod
4 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Bonfire of the Damned

4 Copperline Gorge
3 Hinterland Harbor
3 Rootbound Crag
2 Mountain
1 Island
9 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run

Sideboard
1 Ancient Grudge
2 Arc Trail
1 Bonfire of the Damned
3 Hellrider
1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
3 Pillar of Flame
1 Stingerfling Spider
1 Thragtusk
1 Wolfir Silverheart
1 Zealous Conscripts

The ability to switch to a very fast Hellrider deck is really awesome. I've started doing it in matchups that I didn't used to, like RG Aggro and Zombies.

Modern (UW Control)

I haven't done as well as I'd like to have with my UW deck. I think there is a version of it that is good but I'm still not there yet. I'll continue playing it but I'm also going to try some other decks soon (RWU Delver unfortunately). Hopefully Ravnica will have something that puts it over the top (I'm looking at you, Azorius Charm). In the meantime, the Magic Player's Championship will hopefully shake up the format a bit.

This is my current list (which is changing constantly):

4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Squadron Hawk
3 Vendilion Clique
2 Kitchen Finks

2 Engineered Explosives
4 Path to Exile
1 Dismember
1 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
4 Sleight of Hand
3 Remand
4 Cryptic Command

4 Celestial Colonnade
3 Hallowed Fountain
1 Watery Grave
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Marsh Flats
2 Plains
6 Island
1 Moorland Haunt
3 Tectonic Edge

Sideboard
1 Academy Ruins
2 Disenchant
1 Dispel
3 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Vedalken Shackles
1 Oust
1 Pulse of the Grid
2 Kitchen Finks
2 Wrath of God

Vedalken Shackles, while really powerful, are too slow in the important creature matchups. If I drop them entirely then I could go back to a mana base with Seachrome Coast which casts the MD Kitchen Finks better.

I've decided that a lot of the matchups are basically races while in others (combo) we play as a true control deck. But even then, I still have Kitchen Finks over Geist of Saint Traft due to its higher versatility.

I think I'm also going to try a version that has Gifts Ungiven, though that would be in contrary to the idea that most matchups are races. I guess the deck would be a lot different/ have a much different game plan.

Pauper (UR Post)

I only just started playing Pauper so I don't have a lot to say about it. But I have become very opinionated on the deck that I've been playing with, which is UR Post. I'll go over the differences from other versions and why I think this one is correct.

3 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Mnemonic Wall
4 Mulldrifter
1 Ulamog's Crusher

3 Expedition Map
4 Firebolt
4 Preordain
1 Brainstorm
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Izzet Signet
4 Prophetic Prism
1 Counterspell
1 Harvest Pyre
3 Prohibit
1 Capsize
1 Ghostly Flicker
3 Mystical Teachings

9 Island
6 Mountain
4 Cloudpost
4 Glimmerpost

Sideboard
4 Earth Rift
1 Echoing Truth
1 Envelop
2 Flame Slash
3 Negate
1 Pyroblast
1 Seismic Shudder
2 Serrated Arrows

Sea Gate Oracle

Compulsive Research is a much better card in this deck but the body is actually very relevant in this format. In addition to that, I have to play this card to justify the Ghostly Flicker.

Ulamog's Crusher

At first I didn't like the random fatty that you can't tutor for, but I realized that the one random X spell was virtually the same thing and since I've never actually managed to kill any creatures of relevance with  Rolling Thunder I decided to make the switch. So far there's not much difference between the two but I like that this one is a giant.

Firebolt

Firebolt is easily the best of the available burn spells. It hits players, can deal 4, and is a two for one. Most of the time you want to sorcery speed the burn anyways. As an instant, Lightning Bolt does give you more safety which is why it's my second pick for this slot. I play one copy as a tutor target currently. I used to also have a Staggershock but it was (surprisingly) unimpressive.

EDIT: I've actually decided Harvest Pyre has been under-performing and have switched back to Staggershock which I think is better in the matchups where you really need removal. It could also just be another Lightning Bolt instead.

Brainstorm

Other versions usually play Mysteries of the Deep but I prefer one mana to five. My version also has more shuffle / "scry" effects to make Brainstorm do what it's best at. In addition, when drawn it still acts as a way to find relevant cards early game even why you can't shuffle.

Prohibit

Other versions usually play Condescend which I've found to be horrible in this format. It's bad against pretty much every deck that you want a counterspell in as well as the other ones. Prohibit is an actual two (sometimes four) mana hard counter and is definitely best in this slot.


That's all I've got for you today. See you in the queues!

Battle Pod

I've done some streaming and some testing with a deck I'm calling "Battle Pod." I knew it wouldn't be a great success going in, but I was convinced I could make something of it. Now, I'm not so sure. The deck started out as a giant Birthing Pod deck that had a ton of useless singletons. I trimmed it down so that it turned into a Ramp-Birthing Pod-Battle of Wits hybrid and saw some reasonable success in 2-man queues (broke even in tix). But the variance of the deck can't really be helped, thus it is a failed experiment. But if you'd like to give the deck a shot (hopefully just for fun) then continue reading.

One of my guidelines in forging the deck was that there needed to be a lot of value/two-for-one cards in order to offset the likelihood of mana flood/variance. Another was to keep the deck as streamlined as possible also to reduce variance.

Miracles seemed like a good idea in the deck since they will be live a lot more often in a giant deck, but the idea might be slightly misguided. For one thing, the mana is difficult and you won't always have the correct colors for miracles at the right times. And then there's the issue with having too many cards that are stuck in your hand. Bonfire of the Damned (and Terminus in other versions/SB) should continue to be in the deck but I think I'm done with Temporal Mastery in the deck.

I narrowed down the necessary Birthing Pod/Green Sun's Zenith targets to the following:

Rune-Scarred Demon

Sunblast Angel

Fiend Hunter

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

Inferno Titan

Deceiver Exarch

Wurmcoil Engine

Viridian Corrupter

Mwonvuli Beast Tracker

Wolfir Silverheart

Stingerfling Spider

Acidic Slime

Strangleroot Geist

I'd say that's pretty streamlined

Now, for the 4-ofs:

Creatures:

4 Birds of Paradise

4 Avacyn's Pilgrim

4 Llanowar Elves

4 Elvish Visionary

4 Viridian Emissary

4 Scorned Villager

4 Phantasmal Image

4 Borderland Ranger

4 Blade Splicer

4 Huntmaster of the Fells

4 Solemn Simulacrum

4 Restoration Angel

4 Phyrexian Metamorph

4 Thragtusk

4 Primeval Titan

You'll notice that most of the 4-ofs are either ramp or value creatures, as they should be.

Primeval Titan, being the most consistent win condition to hit play, might actually be the best card in the deck. It is capable of fixing all mana issues and of putting a lot of additional power into play. If you're really psycho (or have a better functioning mana base), you could even include Glimmerpost in the list. The utility land package I currently have is 1 Gavony Township, 1 Kessig Wolf Run, 1 Vault of the Archangel. The Vault is actually a surprisingly awesome slot. It does something that Primeval Titan isn't usually capable of, which is racing from really tough spots.

Noncreatures:

4 Ponder

4 Abundant Growth

4 Rampant Growth

4 Farseek

4 Sphere of the Suns

4 Vessel of Endless Rest

4 Divination

4 Forbidden Alchemy

4 Birthing Pod

4 Ranger's Path

4 Garruk Relentless

4 Battle of Wits

4 Gideon Jura

4 Tamiyo the Moon Sage

4 Green Sun's Zenith

4 Bonfire of the Damned

I'm not sure if this version of the deck should actually include Increasing Ambition. It's not likely that you will have 5-mana available and the ability to do nothing two turns in a row without dying.

In this version I've opted for Ranger's Path over Gilded Lotus because we care about that extra turn a lot. And hopefully we're casting Primeval Titan or something else big the turn we'd be casting the Lotus.

The deck does actually want to have removal, but it wants to have the broadest removal possible which is why wrath effects and planeswalkers are best. Something like Dismember could also fit and is something I'd consider.

Initially, I was convinced that Venser the Sojourner would be an auto-include in the deck but I've found that it's not reliable enough. Very rarely will you have a worthwhile card to blink and have Venser sticking around. I've now switch to both Gideon (which I think will be really good) and Tamiyo to accompany him.

I'm contemplating Lingering Souls especially since the two worst matchups are Delver and Zombies. For now I'm going with the heavy planeswalker package because I think they fill a role that this deck needs filled but I'll keep Souls in mind.

Everything else:

2 Zealous Conscripts

2 Mycosynth Wellspring

2 Trading Post

I like two Conscripts because sometimes you want to tutor for the second one.

Then we have two additional mana fixers,and two Trading Posts. Trading Post does enough stuff that we don't mind having a few copies, though I don't think we want to see it often enough to play four.

This deck is capable enough of winning without Battle of Wits that I see no reason to waste a slot on a card like Elixir of Immortality. It would just be another dead card to draw.

Karn Liberated is a noticeable card that is missing from this list. I'm very hesitant to add more 7-drops to the deck but that could just be my normal deck instincts. If I continue playing the deck I'll definitely consider Karn.

75 creatures, 68 spells, now for the 88 lands:

20 Forest

11 Island

7 Plains

1 Mountain

1 Swamp

4 Seachrome Coast

4 Glacial Fortress

1 Darkslick Shores

4 Copperline Gorge

4 Rootbound Crag

4 Razorverge Thicket

4 Sunpetal Grove

1 Isolated Chapel

4 Woodland Cemetery

4 Hinterland Harbor

4 Sulfur Falls

3 Clifftop Retreat

4 Evolving Wilds

1 Gavony Township

1 Kessig Wolf Run

1 Vault of the Archangel

By no means perfect, but there's not much else to work with (Shimmering Grotto...?). You will mulligan a lot because of the lands and other times you will just draw a ton of them because there are so many mana sources. That's the variance you have to accept to play this deck.

No 231 card deck is complete without the last 15:

4 Terminus

4 Day of Judgment

1 Tree of Redemption

1 Silklash Spider

1 Glissa, the Traitor

1 Sylvok Replica

1 Ghost Quarter

2 ?

When you don't get to see your sideboard cards very often, you want them to be as impactful and as tutorable as possible. As such, I have eight additional wrath effects, and 5 useful tutor targets. Not much else fits in the remaining two slots. I'm sure there's some more tutor targets but they would end up being wasted space.

Well, that's Battle Pod. I think with the new changes I want to try the deck again but I know it won't end witty.