Turning on Keranos isn't really super relevant. It's a 6/5 that gets chumped and dies to Selesyna Charm for 5 Mana.
The best reason I can think of to run Keranos, God of Storms is that it is a win condition that can't die to Hero's Downfall. It's much worse than Stormbreath against control though.
One thing's for sure. Eidolon of Blossoms is by far the best (only playable?) constellation card. So green is your starting point. The best enchantments in the set are Dictate of Kruphix and Dictate of Karametra, in that order. SO UG seems like the way to do this.
Problem is, the rest of the constellation cards suck. They suck so goddamn bad.
There could be some kind of combo to be done with Skybind and riptide chimera, but it seems clunky as heck.
Essence Scatter is much better than Cancel, Flash.deck is inherently a favorite against control and a dog against midrange/aggro. Cancel isn't a great Magic card at the end of the day, really.
Basically just cleaning up some numbers. If you want to try 3-4 Mutavault, you'll likely need to add Guildgates (ew) or Mana Confluence. 15-20 creatures (somewhere in there) is the "correct" number. One note is that you 100% want 4 Simic Charm. When I was playtesting the original deck (and later a Bant spin-off), it was a super impressive card.
No need for 4 Revoke Existence. Cut 2-3, add 2 Mistcutter Hydra. Only deck that you'd want that many Revoke against would be Enchantress (if that ends up being a deck). For control 1-2 would suffice.
It's a 'Big Four' and has been for awhile: Azorius/Esper Control, Black-based Devotion, Blue-based Devotion, and Gruul/Jund Monsters. Those are the 4 best decks in the format, the differences between archetypes with 'multiple' decks being mostly related to mana, and what cards an extra colour opens up. While it is a bit distressing that this hasn't evolved overly since PT Theros (wherein all 4 of these archetypes were represented in some form or another), this is not a bad Standard. Four different archetypes is better than any formats that required banning cards, which is the ultimate sign a format has been warped irrevocably. The number of secondary archetypes is acceptable, and hopefully some of those get enough of a boost from JOU in order to compete regularly against the primary four. As mentioned, some of the best cards in the format (Pack Rat, Sphinx's Revelation) are wildly different in terms of how they need to be answered and this certainly affects the win percentage of other archetypes.
The ubiquity of Mutavault demonstrates that it may very well be too good of a card to print in Standard. While M15 was likely finalized some time ago, I will be surprised if it is reprinted.
Personally I would love a Mutavault ban. I believe that card is a prime reason that lots of powerful multicolor options are being shafted. It's pricing players out of Standard, limiting creativity, breaking Pack Rat and even occasionally flat out losing people games (keep two Island/Swamp never cast Nightveil Specter). It's my best friend against Control decks, but I hate it otherwise.
I understand that it isn't realistic at all for it to be banned, just venting a bit. I'm tired of coming up with two/3 color deck ideas, then realizing "Well I can't play BB and/or GG cards because I'm running 2-4 ******* Mutavault".
So basically, what you are saying is you don't like deckbuilding, because that's what it is about. Decisions, trade-offs.
It's just this one particular decision/trade-off. Mutavault is way too strong for this Standard, so we have to shove it into everything at the expense of consistency. The best strategies tend to be the ones that make the best use of it (Mono-Black) without hurting themselves much.
Thanks for the decklist! Extremely helpful!
I'm a tad leery of having so many 2 drops and so few 1 drops. Pre-rotation i usually ran 6-8 1 drop mana dorks with good results. But I'll play test this list.
Isn't 4 Scion a bit much? Maybe a 3-of with an additional Trostani, Wandering Temple or Brimaz? I thought Brimaz would be a great addition to deck like this. Then again, I haven't had the chance to play with him.
It's much harder to cast T2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos off Elvish Mystic. Brimaz is also $25 (I don't have any). But if you have them, 2 Brimaz/2 Smiter is fine. Brimaz is generally better when you aren't T2'ing it, but T2 Smiter has been a beating for over a year now.
As for Call of the Conclave versus Fleecemane Lion, you have 30 Mana sources, which might make the Populate worse than the useful mana sink. Maybe. I don't really know, you could test either way. Concerning 1-drops, if Avacyn's Pilgrim or Birds of Paradise were still around, I'd run 4 them/4 Mystic for sure. But Dryad Militant is basically Elite Vanguard and we have too many powerful things to do to waste a card on that.
Finally Scion is pure gas if you can get a Voice/Wurm token, and is 3WW 4/3 1/1 Flier 1/1 Flier if you can't (which still gives you great board presence). If they Downfall it, you can keep the pressure up with a pair of birds too. You have 23 lands and 7 mana dorks, which means that your average draw will have no issue hitting 5 Mana (similar to GR Monsters). This is your Stormbreath Dragon, and T3 Advent -> T4 Scion (copying Advent) is a mammoth-sized beating against non-Verdict decks.
Also run Unflinching Courage over Centaur Healer in the side if you run either, card is sick with all these fatties. Burn should be a pretty easy matchup.
Dryad Militant and Druid's Deliverance seem underpowered in most matchups to me, so I wouldn't run any copies. Instead, I added a 1-of Trostani, Fleeces (nice on curve guy with Monstrous option), and Scions. You have 30 Mana sources and a pretty high threat density, which isn't bad. Once JOU rolls around I could see 1-2 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes being strong in a deck like this. All of the abilities are helpful and card advantage helps you recover from Thoughtseize, Lifebane Zombie and removal.
i understand your want to play with duskmantle seer, but its just not a good card, for 4 mana, you can play desecration demon, and soon for 3 youll have master of the feast.
Magic doesn't work like that, the issue with Duskmantle Seer has never been "it isn't a good card" (at least for Standard). The issue has always been that there's nothing else in UB to make it worth playing.
Why are UW decks suddenly running 1 Aetherling/1 Elixir/2 Elspeth instead of 1 Aetherling/3 Elspeth? I was glad to Elixir gone, as it feels like a terrible Magic card in a Monoblack meta (basically a mulligan when you draw it). It has utility in the mirror, sure, but the games I watch in Control mirrors are Aetherling fights, not Elixir fights.
Having the option to scum up Game 1 (by wasting 40 minutes winning a game that was won 25 minutes ago, courtesy of your opponent not scooping) and then just sit on fingers in Game 2 is powerful I guess, but I prefer to play Magic cards that actually do something. If I get Thoughtseize'd by my T1 Mono-Black opponent and he sees Elixir, he knows that I've basically taken a mulligan, as 5 life is not a Magic card (and it'll be 10+ turns before the shuffling effect becomes relevant in improving our draws). Perhaps RW Burn has prompted us to play a nerfed Angel's Mercy? No clue.
tl;dr: Lifebane Zombie is a good card. Does it make green unplayable? no. Does it deserve a ban? no.
I mean it actually kind of does make Green unplayable, in tandem with Doom Blade and Pack Rat and so on. Unplayable in the sense that you won't win too many games of Magic against it with a deck of green/white creatures (that isn't too fast for its own good). Just because people are stubborn enough to sleeve up Domri Rade doesn't mean they are correct in doing so.
Regardless Magic isn't a Blizzard game, we can't just cry to Blizz to nerf *****. Gotta ride it out.
I like the list but I'm not sure about the quantity of maindeck TS/Abrupt/Golgari Charm (non-enchantment cards).
The best reason I can think of to run Keranos, God of Storms is that it is a win condition that can't die to Hero's Downfall. It's much worse than Stormbreath against control though.
Doomwake Giant, Strength from the Fallen and Underworld Coinsmith do not suck.
Here's how I'd fix up the deck:
4 Shambleshark
4 Boon Satyr
4 Horizon Chimera
4 Briarpack Alpha
3 Fated Intervention
Spells (17)
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Essence Scatter
4 Simic Charm
4 Dissolve
1 Mystic Genesis
4 Syncopate
4 Breeding Pool
7 Forest
7 Island
2 Mutavault
4 Temple of Mystery
1 Bow of Nylea
4 Courser of Kruphix
4 Mistcutter Hydra
2 Negate
2 Plummet
2 Polukranos, World Eater
Basically just cleaning up some numbers. If you want to try 3-4 Mutavault, you'll likely need to add Guildgates (ew) or Mana Confluence. 15-20 creatures (somewhere in there) is the "correct" number. One note is that you 100% want 4 Simic Charm. When I was playtesting the original deck (and later a Bant spin-off), it was a super impressive card.
Destination: Durdlecity
No need for 4 Revoke Existence. Cut 2-3, add 2 Mistcutter Hydra. Only deck that you'd want that many Revoke against would be Enchantress (if that ends up being a deck). For control 1-2 would suffice.
It's just this one particular decision/trade-off. Mutavault is way too strong for this Standard, so we have to shove it into everything at the expense of consistency. The best strategies tend to be the ones that make the best use of it (Mono-Black) without hurting themselves much.
It's much harder to cast T2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos off Elvish Mystic. Brimaz is also $25 (I don't have any). But if you have them, 2 Brimaz/2 Smiter is fine. Brimaz is generally better when you aren't T2'ing it, but T2 Smiter has been a beating for over a year now.
As for Call of the Conclave versus Fleecemane Lion, you have 30 Mana sources, which might make the Populate worse than the useful mana sink. Maybe. I don't really know, you could test either way. Concerning 1-drops, if Avacyn's Pilgrim or Birds of Paradise were still around, I'd run 4 them/4 Mystic for sure. But Dryad Militant is basically Elite Vanguard and we have too many powerful things to do to waste a card on that.
Finally Scion is pure gas if you can get a Voice/Wurm token, and is 3WW 4/3 1/1 Flier 1/1 Flier if you can't (which still gives you great board presence). If they Downfall it, you can keep the pressure up with a pair of birds too. You have 23 lands and 7 mana dorks, which means that your average draw will have no issue hitting 5 Mana (similar to GR Monsters). This is your Stormbreath Dragon, and T3 Advent -> T4 Scion (copying Advent) is a mammoth-sized beating against non-Verdict decks.
Also run Unflinching Courage over Centaur Healer in the side if you run either, card is sick with all these fatties. Burn should be a pretty easy matchup.
I'd change the list to look like this:
4 Elvish Mystic
3 Fleecemane Lion
3 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Voice of Resurgence
4 Loxodon Smiter
1 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
4 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi
2 Armada Wurm
4 Selesnya Charm
4 Rootborn Defenses
4 Advent of the Wurm
Lands (23)
1 Grove of the Guardian
6 Plains
8 Forest
4 Temple Garden
4 Temple of Plenty
1 Armada Wurm
2 Bow of Nylea
4 Centaur Healer
2 Druid's Deliverance
4 Mistcutter Hydra
2 Pithing Needle
Dryad Militant and Druid's Deliverance seem underpowered in most matchups to me, so I wouldn't run any copies. Instead, I added a 1-of Trostani, Fleeces (nice on curve guy with Monstrous option), and Scions. You have 30 Mana sources and a pretty high threat density, which isn't bad. Once JOU rolls around I could see 1-2 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes being strong in a deck like this. All of the abilities are helpful and card advantage helps you recover from Thoughtseize, Lifebane Zombie and removal.
Magic doesn't work like that, the issue with Duskmantle Seer has never been "it isn't a good card" (at least for Standard). The issue has always been that there's nothing else in UB to make it worth playing.
You also can't really compare it to Master of the Feast, which upgrades your opponent's Hero's Downfall into a cantrip.
I was probably turned off because it says "other Minotaurs you control", but in truth a 2/3 Deathtouch for 2B is excellent regardless.
Having the option to scum up Game 1 (by wasting 40 minutes winning a game that was won 25 minutes ago, courtesy of your opponent not scooping) and then just sit on fingers in Game 2 is powerful I guess, but I prefer to play Magic cards that actually do something. If I get Thoughtseize'd by my T1 Mono-Black opponent and he sees Elixir, he knows that I've basically taken a mulligan, as 5 life is not a Magic card (and it'll be 10+ turns before the shuffling effect becomes relevant in improving our draws). Perhaps RW Burn has prompted us to play a nerfed Angel's Mercy? No clue.
I mean it actually kind of does make Green unplayable, in tandem with Doom Blade and Pack Rat and so on. Unplayable in the sense that you won't win too many games of Magic against it with a deck of green/white creatures (that isn't too fast for its own good). Just because people are stubborn enough to sleeve up Domri Rade doesn't mean they are correct in doing so.
Regardless Magic isn't a Blizzard game, we can't just cry to Blizz to nerf *****. Gotta ride it out.