This deck is based on a fairly old combo of Unnatural Selection and Pure Reflection. For purposes of consistency, I did not include Spirit Mirror. The deck is mainly inspired by DLink123's deck, which can be found in this thread. Major props to him!
I decided to make a new thread since I didn't want to necro the old one, plus I went UW as well.
Unnatural Selection plays double duty here. Earlier on, when you don't have Eldrazi Monument set up yet, you can use the Selection to help mitigate the drawback of the Reflection on your side of the field. Otherwise, even after the Monument is set up, you can use Unnatural Selection to nuke your opponent's creatures.
Need a source of renewable ammunition for Pure Reflection? Look no further than Timid Drake. With a Pure Reflection out, playing the Drake will nuke all Reflections first, then creates a 3/3 Reflection on your side.. which will bounce the Drake back to your hand for use later. I do realize that it can get mana intensive, but I like having something that can auto-bounce without additional requirements. If any of you can come up with a better card to replace the Drake, let me know!
As for the early phases of the game, plop down a Wall of Omens, which cantrips and serves as an early defender. Cantripping helps, especially when we use Enlightened Tutor to search for our combo pieces as well as our Oblivion Rings when necessary. The singleton Shrine of Loyal Legions can be fetched and it serves as a standby in case I need to feed the Monument in a pinch after a board wipe or something.
The Suspend creatures were DLink123's idea, and they serve Pure Reflection fairly well since you can suspend them early on and gain some beefier Reflections later. Eldrazi Monument was part of the package with the suspend plan, since it makes our Reflections indestructible and takes pressure away from our manabase (instead of, say, having to activate Unnatural Selection every other second to save our own Reflections). The sacrifice requirement of the Monument isn't all too hefty, considering that we have Timid Drake in the deck.
I try to be as consistent as I can, since it's an issue that all combo decks have to deal with. Eight cantrips in Wall of Omens and Ponder should smooth things out somewhat. The tutors also help as well. I've thought about including Spirit Mirror since I already have the tutors, but ultimately decided against it since I felt that it might add on to the burdens of our manabase (the initial casting cost, that is), and I felt that requiring 3 components for the core combo engine can be unwieldy at times.
Nevertheless, this deck is still in pretty rough shape. Should I add some additional support spells to this? Any suggestions to further improve this is very welcomed. Once again, much props to DLink123 since a good chunk of the deck was inspired from his old thread.
Here are some ideas I apparently didn't think of when I first made the deck.
Evoke/Convoke creatures also benefit from Pure Reflection. Mulldrifter is always good, Dawnfluke isn't the best card, but I think it can be really good when combined with Pure Reflection. Flashing it in at instant speed (only 1 mana!) allows you to live until Eldrazi Monument comes down. It creates a surprise 4/4 blocker, destroys your opponent's attacking reflections when it enters the battlefield (again, at Instant speed!) and prevents 3 damage. It's not a bad choice against Burn/Aggro. The other alternative is Angel of Salvation - at a CMC of 8, it would create an 8/8 token, again, at Instant Speed! The tokens you create can help pay the Convoke cost.
I wish had access to Enlightened Tutor as it does make the deck a lot better. These are just first glance suggestions, so I'll make more a little later when I have more time. Glad you found my deck idea interesting
I have one of these too. I made a rough skeleton of the deck and posted years ago, but it's so old it's probably not relevant. I'll stick it below for your perusal. (it was a PM, so ignore the format.)
Specifically to your list, I am surprised Spirit Mirror is not in. Did you consider it? It takes the need out of replaying critters. Consider 1 if since you have a playset of tutors. Obviously the combo is with Selection, not Reflection, but they do similar things in different ways. Each has some subtle advantages that I can discuss if you need.
Shields of Velis Vale is a nice support card. They cast a critter when Pure is out? Wrath them.
However, the biggest thing you need (as many combo decks do) is combo protection. I would run Hindering Light, Rebuff the Wicked, or the new blue Rebuff the Wicked to protect your pieces. Or straight up counterspells if you like.
If you do like the Timid Drake... Shrieking Drake is an option. Cheaper, and can self bounce. Smaller tokens, yes, but more mana open for protection.
I've played this combo for quite a while, so feel free to use me as a resource.
------------
Sorry for the delay! Holidays and all that.
Here's my decklist and a few notes. I have not updated the deck since I made it quite a while ago, so if you'd like to discuss newer options / replacements I would be glad to assist.
22x land
60x cardsOk to explain some
- First deck split 2-2 Pure Reflection and Spirit Mirror. I think ultimately SM is the better choice, but Pure allows the game to progress quicker since it gives you some creatures to attack with. Mirror is less risky choice. Try both or one, they both seem to work for me.
- Either wipes a player with Shields. Mirror plus Shields wipes their critters. Or with Pure, they cast a creature then you can wipe them.
- Unnatural Selection is pretty key. I run two plus a full set of Imagecrafters. 3x US might be a better option.
- Hindering Light is a option to protect your combo pieces. If you can, play a piece and keep your UW open. If you have to play one without protection to save yourself, you might have to do so.
- Long Term Plans is not that great. Enlightened Tutor or Idyllic Tutor is better. Auramancers are tutors too in a sense. Being 3/3 means they give you a bit of time to develop as well.
- Slayer, Drake, and Scalebane I had lying around. Slayer functions the best. Drake turned out nice to save my own stuff. Hack the type and bounce my own critter to save it from removal. But, it's great to bounce the other player's stuff (re-triggering Reflection.)
- You might not know, but for Pure Reflection, you can sometimes keep your Reflections around a while by hacking their types to something else so they don't get destroyed.
- Djinn is a classic finisher, but there are tons of better options these days. I would suggest you look into them. Sphinx of Jwar Isle is a good one with evasion and shroud. Fat angels are nice too.
- Factory I liked to keep getting creatures once you have the soft-lock on. Save your mana for Light and other stuff, if they do nothing, make a token at their end of turn phase.
- Knowledge is my card-drawing slot. Feel free to look at other stuff.
Thanks for the input. Here's several things I noted:
1. It seems that the Evoke creatures might be a better fit than the Suspend critters, since they have a more immediate effect. I'm highly considering replacing the current Suspend lineup with Evoke creatures.
2. The Timid Drake replacements all seem pretty good. I think I'll stick to Venser, Shaper Savant and Shrieking Drake; Venser looks like something that strikes a balance between size and Flash-like speed while the Drake is a cheap option for the early game. It also lets me leave mana open for counterspells and the likes.
3. Speaking of counters, I'll probably include Rebuff the Wicked. And I'll consider the singleton Spirit Mirror. My main concern before was consistency, but I run 4 tutors already so hopefully it isn't too big of a deal.
I'll sit down with the list and update later. Thanks guys!
I decided to make a new thread since I didn't want to necro the old one, plus I went UW as well.
4x Island
4x Seachrome Coast
4x Glacial Fortress
4x Wall of Omens
3x Knight of Sursi
3x Shade of Trokair
3x Timid Drake
3x Duskrider Peregrine
3x Ivory Giant
3x Pure Reflection
3x Unnatural Selection
2x Oblivion Ring
1x Shrine of Loyal Legions
4x Ponder
Unnatural Selection plays double duty here. Earlier on, when you don't have Eldrazi Monument set up yet, you can use the Selection to help mitigate the drawback of the Reflection on your side of the field. Otherwise, even after the Monument is set up, you can use Unnatural Selection to nuke your opponent's creatures.
Need a source of renewable ammunition for Pure Reflection? Look no further than Timid Drake. With a Pure Reflection out, playing the Drake will nuke all Reflections first, then creates a 3/3 Reflection on your side.. which will bounce the Drake back to your hand for use later. I do realize that it can get mana intensive, but I like having something that can auto-bounce without additional requirements. If any of you can come up with a better card to replace the Drake, let me know!
As for the early phases of the game, plop down a Wall of Omens, which cantrips and serves as an early defender. Cantripping helps, especially when we use Enlightened Tutor to search for our combo pieces as well as our Oblivion Rings when necessary. The singleton Shrine of Loyal Legions can be fetched and it serves as a standby in case I need to feed the Monument in a pinch after a board wipe or something.
The Suspend creatures were DLink123's idea, and they serve Pure Reflection fairly well since you can suspend them early on and gain some beefier Reflections later. Eldrazi Monument was part of the package with the suspend plan, since it makes our Reflections indestructible and takes pressure away from our manabase (instead of, say, having to activate Unnatural Selection every other second to save our own Reflections). The sacrifice requirement of the Monument isn't all too hefty, considering that we have Timid Drake in the deck.
I try to be as consistent as I can, since it's an issue that all combo decks have to deal with. Eight cantrips in Wall of Omens and Ponder should smooth things out somewhat. The tutors also help as well. I've thought about including Spirit Mirror since I already have the tutors, but ultimately decided against it since I felt that it might add on to the burdens of our manabase (the initial casting cost, that is), and I felt that requiring 3 components for the core combo engine can be unwieldy at times.
Nevertheless, this deck is still in pretty rough shape. Should I add some additional support spells to this? Any suggestions to further improve this is very welcomed. Once again, much props to DLink123 since a good chunk of the deck was inspired from his old thread.
BR Sarkhan Midrange
BG Infect
UW Millfolk
UR Draco Explosion
WGR Natural Emergence
Janky Fun
GW Tribal Unicorns
Evoke/Convoke creatures also benefit from Pure Reflection. Mulldrifter is always good, Dawnfluke isn't the best card, but I think it can be really good when combined with Pure Reflection. Flashing it in at instant speed (only 1 mana!) allows you to live until Eldrazi Monument comes down. It creates a surprise 4/4 blocker, destroys your opponent's attacking reflections when it enters the battlefield (again, at Instant speed!) and prevents 3 damage. It's not a bad choice against Burn/Aggro. The other alternative is Angel of Salvation - at a CMC of 8, it would create an 8/8 token, again, at Instant Speed! The tokens you create can help pay the Convoke cost.
So on a similar note, I think Timid Drake should be replaced with something with Flash. Venser, Shaper Savant gives you more control and it can bounce itself, Stonecloaker and Whitemane Lion are also options with Flash.
I wish had access to Enlightened Tutor as it does make the deck a lot better. These are just first glance suggestions, so I'll make more a little later when I have more time. Glad you found my deck idea interesting
R: Copypasta Sauce {Browbeat}
UR: Mana Cache , One Spell to Bind them All {Magnetic Theft}
UG: Epic Struggle , All-In-Poison {Metamorphosis}
UW: Planar Overlay , Decree of the Bailiff {Saprazzan Bailiff}
BG: Thought Gorger , Dark Chroma {Umbra Stalker}
UBR: Dwarven Shrine
WUBRG: Dissipation Field , Maelstrom Nexus
Specifically to your list, I am surprised Spirit Mirror is not in. Did you consider it? It takes the need out of replaying critters. Consider 1 if since you have a playset of tutors. Obviously the combo is with Selection, not Reflection, but they do similar things in different ways. Each has some subtle advantages that I can discuss if you need.
Shields of Velis Vale is a nice support card. They cast a critter when Pure is out? Wrath them.
However, the biggest thing you need (as many combo decks do) is combo protection. I would run Hindering Light, Rebuff the Wicked, or the new blue Rebuff the Wicked to protect your pieces. Or straight up counterspells if you like.
If you do like the Timid Drake... Shrieking Drake is an option. Cheaper, and can self bounce. Smaller tokens, yes, but more mana open for protection.
I've played this combo for quite a while, so feel free to use me as a resource.
------------
Sorry for the delay! Holidays and all that.
Here's my decklist and a few notes. I have not updated the deck since I made it quite a while ago, so if you'd like to discuss newer options / replacements I would be glad to assist.
Deck Wicked Reflection
WU Creature Control
Combo Pieces
2x Spirit Mirror
2x Pure Reflection
3x Shields of Velis Vale
2x Unnatural Selection
Utility Spells
3x Hindering Light
3x Seal of Cleansing
4x Accumulated Knowledge
3x Long-Term Plans
Critters
4x Imagecrafter
3x Undead Slayer
2x Coastal Drake
3x Lost Auramancers
1x Rashida Scalebane
3x Mahamoti DjinnLands
9x Island
9x Plains
2x Urza's Factory
2x UW dual or fetch of choice
22x land
60x cardsOk to explain some
- First deck split 2-2 Pure Reflection and Spirit Mirror. I think ultimately SM is the better choice, but Pure allows the game to progress quicker since it gives you some creatures to attack with. Mirror is less risky choice. Try both or one, they both seem to work for me.
- Either wipes a player with Shields. Mirror plus Shields wipes their critters. Or with Pure, they cast a creature then you can wipe them.
- Unnatural Selection is pretty key. I run two plus a full set of Imagecrafters. 3x US might be a better option.
- Hindering Light is a option to protect your combo pieces. If you can, play a piece and keep your UW open. If you have to play one without protection to save yourself, you might have to do so.
- Long Term Plans is not that great. Enlightened Tutor or Idyllic Tutor is better. Auramancers are tutors too in a sense. Being 3/3 means they give you a bit of time to develop as well.
- Slayer, Drake, and Scalebane I had lying around. Slayer functions the best. Drake turned out nice to save my own stuff. Hack the type and bounce my own critter to save it from removal. But, it's great to bounce the other player's stuff (re-triggering Reflection.)
- You might not know, but for Pure Reflection, you can sometimes keep your Reflections around a while by hacking their types to something else so they don't get destroyed.
- Djinn is a classic finisher, but there are tons of better options these days. I would suggest you look into them. Sphinx of Jwar Isle is a good one with evasion and shroud. Fat angels are nice too.
- Factory I liked to keep getting creatures once you have the soft-lock on. Save your mana for Light and other stuff, if they do nothing, make a token at their end of turn phase.
- Knowledge is my card-drawing slot. Feel free to look at other stuff.
Good luck. Any questions, lemme know.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showpost.php?p=4557651&postcount=1
TheWarden's Creative Commons Music Pick Project (Retired):
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=336498
1. It seems that the Evoke creatures might be a better fit than the Suspend critters, since they have a more immediate effect. I'm highly considering replacing the current Suspend lineup with Evoke creatures.
2. The Timid Drake replacements all seem pretty good. I think I'll stick to Venser, Shaper Savant and Shrieking Drake; Venser looks like something that strikes a balance between size and Flash-like speed while the Drake is a cheap option for the early game. It also lets me leave mana open for counterspells and the likes.
3. Speaking of counters, I'll probably include Rebuff the Wicked. And I'll consider the singleton Spirit Mirror. My main concern before was consistency, but I run 4 tutors already so hopefully it isn't too big of a deal.
I'll sit down with the list and update later. Thanks guys!
BR Sarkhan Midrange
BG Infect
UW Millfolk
UR Draco Explosion
WGR Natural Emergence
Janky Fun
GW Tribal Unicorns