Just took this out for a spin and it's a crazy fun combo. One or two things I noticed:
The combo is slightly more resilient than it seems. Memory's Journey gets back your Laboratory Maniac reasonably fast when you've picked up your entire deck.
You can win in response to removal if you've got double Think Twice and Omniscience or any two uses of Think Twice and the mana to cast them. Alchemist's Refuge is also sweet, I used it to Urban Evolution on my upkeep for the win.
In that vein, one-of Thought Scour would be good for a cheap instant win with Maniac in play.
i know this is random...but i was considering playing decree of silence, is there any cards where I could transfer counters from decree to jenara? I know it would be a decent lock, but may be to hard to pull off.....comments?
Cruel Ultimatum and Coalition Relic can probably contribute to this deck. One time I lived the dream of turn 2 Signet, turn 3 Relic, turn 4 Ultimatum. It was too soon to recur a creature but I didn't really mind.
Speaking of well-timed Test of Endurance, have you tested Vedalken Orrery? Tutoring and casting the Test at the end of someone else's turn seems good, though your playgroup might see it coming the second time.
Goblin Hollering(B/G)R
Enchantment
Sacrifice a Goblin: Add two mana in any combination of colors to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to play creature spells. If this mana is spent on a creature spell with power 5 or greater, that creature has haste.
"The only good part about the performance was how quickly it ended." -Cimon, vedalken critic
It also scratches the itches that Terror can't like Tidehollow Sculler and Goblin Outlander (which laughs at almost everything else in the deck). Plus Putrid Leech and the Esper/Jund Fooblades, which usually come down early enough so the drawback of Path to Exile really hurts.
And I didn't think it was relevant as creature pump until I killed a control deck with exactly 20 the turn before he could clear the board due to an inverted Wilt Leaf Liege on turn 4. So it can be 3 to the face without Doran and it really messes up combat math with Doran.
So Dauntless Escort basically makes this deck insane... I mean Fallout and Wrath were about the only ways to slow us down, so now that we have another 3 drop (on turn 2) we can basically win-more against every type of deck.
Has he been working out for you? I was really enthusiastic about him but now it seems like all my 3-drops outshine him and my Teegs and Scullers do his job vs. sweepers while also shutting down Cryptic Command shenanigans.
Instead of adding extra Wrath countermeasures, I've been trying out Jenara as a strong turn 2 play that's still good in the midgame on a freshly cleared board. I've also put in one or two Bloodbraid Elf to exploit the high density of awesome 3 drops. It's a bit dodgy with the 30% chance to roll into a mana creature, but it seems like another strong play post-Wrath. And I haven't had to change a single land from the 4 color version; 4 birds + 4 ziggurats seem to give me the one red mana when I need it.
Looks like a really fun deck, though I agree with the guy who said it needs more lands. Here are a few elementals and support cards you might want to look at.
I played against a guy who used a deck like this and couldn't believe I hadn't seen Prowess of the Fair before. If you get one on the board then you can overextend a little without living in fear of Fallout or Wrath. If you get two then you probably win.
This version is weak against other Elfball decks but more robust against getting its board wiped. Scourglass, Austere Command, and Hallowed Burial still shut it down, but those aren't very widespread these days.
Ad Nauseam is vicious against 5cc. In response to a Cryptic on fog mode you can tap your guys for mana and draw a new hand at, in this deck, around 1.4 life per card.
I'm still figuring out whether I like Terror or Eyeblight better, hence the 2/2 split. And the sideboard is very crude. Eulogists are in there to take the place of the Ad Nauseams against Blightning or any other deck running a lot of burn. The Infests haven't proven themselves yet, but they seem strong with a Prowess on the board.
Sage of Fables has been great for me. He lets Sowers survive 2 damage sweepers, turns late game Cursecatchers into useful cantrips, and basically wins the game if you untap with him and Glen Elendra Archmage in play. If that combo is ever going to be competetive, it'll be in a deck like this. Cursecatchers and Bannerets can get it on the board and protected on turn 4 without needing any cards that you wouldn't want to play without the combo.
Took this out for a spin... this deck is a relentless grind. In a good way. Makes 5cc look absolutely reckless.
One thing I noticed; Beacon of Immortality is nice for the shuffle effect, but it might be unnecessary. If life matters by the time you're able to cast it, you're probably low enough that it won't really help. If life doesn't matter by the time you're able to safely cast it, you've probably already won. So I took a look through some other shufflers that might be worth it.
There is room; Primal Command could go in instead of one Beacon of Immortality. Around the same casting cost, still gives you life, and makes the deck more versatile and more resistant to getting a Mistveil blown up.
Ignore what I said earlier; your build suggested a straight U/G version to me and it's a lot more fun to play than the one that tries to get Rafiq on turn 3. Whispersilk Cloak looks nice, but when I tried out Loxodon Warhammer it was just a little too slow for my taste. I'd think the Cloak would have the same problem.
Maybe try out Cold-Eyed Selkie and Spawnwrithe. Your deck is already built around getting one small nasty creature in for combat damage, it couldn't hurt to have 4-8 more creatures that do nasty stuff when they hit.
I've been using green creature pump instead of Wings of Velis Vel. Giant Growth has been nice; nobody expects it and it's broken if any of your creatures gets through. On a Selkie it becomes Ancestral Recall, on a Constable it's three Boomerangs, and on a Chameleon Colossus it's gigantic. Tower Above has worked too. Not only does it give your guys size and trample, it can act like removal if you want an untapped creature dead. Even deals with Finks.
4 x Yavimaya Coast and 4 x Cryptic Command too, if you can get them.
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The combo is slightly more resilient than it seems. Memory's Journey gets back your Laboratory Maniac reasonably fast when you've picked up your entire deck.
You can win in response to removal if you've got double Think Twice and Omniscience or any two uses of Think Twice and the mana to cast them. Alchemist's Refuge is also sweet, I used it to Urban Evolution on my upkeep for the win.
In that vein, one-of Thought Scour would be good for a cheap instant win with Maniac in play.
This is a cool idea. Power Conduit might be what you're looking for. You can also try to abuse Decree with Clockspinning, Ferropede, Medicine Runner, Chisei, Heart of Oceans, and Spinal Parasite. Clockspinning seems like the best of the bunch, but all of them can also cause shenanigans with Dark Depths or any cumulative upkeep card.
Legendary Creature - Human Shaman
If a spell or ability an opponent controls would remove a card you own from the game, you may put that card into your graveyard instead.
Tap two untapped creatures you control: Shuffle target card in a graveyard into its owner's library.
2/4
Next: Mayael the Anima
Enchantment
Sacrifice a Goblin: Add two mana in any combination of colors to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to play creature spells. If this mana is spent on a creature spell with power 5 or greater, that creature has haste.
"The only good part about the performance was how quickly it ended." -Cimon, vedalken critic
And I didn't think it was relevant as creature pump until I killed a control deck with exactly 20 the turn before he could clear the board due to an inverted Wilt Leaf Liege on turn 4. So it can be 3 to the face without Doran and it really messes up combat math with Doran.
Has he been working out for you? I was really enthusiastic about him but now it seems like all my 3-drops outshine him and my Teegs and Scullers do his job vs. sweepers while also shutting down Cryptic Command shenanigans.
Instead of adding extra Wrath countermeasures, I've been trying out Jenara as a strong turn 2 play that's still good in the midgame on a freshly cleared board. I've also put in one or two Bloodbraid Elf to exploit the high density of awesome 3 drops. It's a bit dodgy with the 30% chance to roll into a mana creature, but it seems like another strong play post-Wrath. And I haven't had to change a single land from the 4 color version; 4 birds + 4 ziggurats seem to give me the one red mana when I need it.
Deepfire Elemental - doesn't sacrifice, but eats tokens and cheap artifacts.
Stingmoggie - like Fertilid, but with Pillage instead of Rampant Growth.
Vigor and Dread - these could take the place of some of your more generic big guys.
Erratic Portal and Crystal Shard - abuse your comes-into-play abilities. These interact with evoke in a disgusting way.
Worldly Tutor and Eladamri's Call - you've already got the creature toolbox set up.
The best part about it is that you can dig them up with Sisay, Worldly Tutor, or Eladimri's Call. And they can both come in at once with Tooth and Nail or Defense of the Heart.
4 Twilight Mire
6 Forest
4 Llanowar Wastes
4 Heritage Druid
4 Imperious Perfect
4 Nettle Sentinel
4 Twinblade Slasher
4 Wolf-Skull Shaman
4 Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 Elvish Champion
4 Llanowar Elves
2 Eyeblight's Ending
4 Prowess of the Fair
2 Terror
2 Terror
2 Relic of Progenitus
4 Scattershot Archer
3 Elvish Hexhunter
2 Elvish Eulogist
2 Infest
This version is weak against other Elfball decks but more robust against getting its board wiped. Scourglass, Austere Command, and Hallowed Burial still shut it down, but those aren't very widespread these days.
Ad Nauseam is vicious against 5cc. In response to a Cryptic on fog mode you can tap your guys for mana and draw a new hand at, in this deck, around 1.4 life per card.
I'm still figuring out whether I like Terror or Eyeblight better, hence the 2/2 split. And the sideboard is very crude. Eulogists are in there to take the place of the Ad Nauseams against Blightning or any other deck running a lot of burn. The Infests haven't proven themselves yet, but they seem strong with a Prowess on the board.
Any suggestions?
One thing I noticed; Beacon of Immortality is nice for the shuffle effect, but it might be unnecessary. If life matters by the time you're able to cast it, you're probably low enough that it won't really help. If life doesn't matter by the time you're able to safely cast it, you've probably already won. So I took a look through some other shufflers that might be worth it.
Beacon of Destruction - Could be worth it. Deals with a lot of the things a cycled Resounding Thunder does. Instant speed like Immortality, casting cost manageable with Vivid Crags and Pools.
Beacon of Unrest
Beseech the Queen
Diabolic Tutor
Idyllic Tutor - My favorite of the four tutoring options. Pride, did you say you had this in your current list?
Liliana Vess
Ponder
Put Away
Maybe try out Cold-Eyed Selkie and Spawnwrithe. Your deck is already built around getting one small nasty creature in for combat damage, it couldn't hurt to have 4-8 more creatures that do nasty stuff when they hit.
I've been using green creature pump instead of Wings of Velis Vel. Giant Growth has been nice; nobody expects it and it's broken if any of your creatures gets through. On a Selkie it becomes Ancestral Recall, on a Constable it's three Boomerangs, and on a Chameleon Colossus it's gigantic. Tower Above has worked too. Not only does it give your guys size and trample, it can act like removal if you want an untapped creature dead. Even deals with Finks.
4 x Yavimaya Coast and 4 x Cryptic Command too, if you can get them.