After seeing AliAitrazi's"UG Ramp" deck and really liking it I wanted to build something similar but since I don't have Ulamog
(and don't want to buy it since it's going to rotate soon) I decided to tweak it and go with Approach as my finisher.
To get the White for Approach I've only added one copy of Plains but with Nissa's Renewal and all the card draw in the deck it should be easy enough to find.
Also both of my mana dorks can tap for White as well.
In addition to the 8x mana dorks I've added 2x Baral, Chief of Compliance since (except for Hedron Archive) most of my spells are instants and sorceries anyway and it can be another blocker (especially against 2-power creatures).
#Any idea on how it can be improved (besides Ulamog) ?
#Would Spring // Mind be a better option this deck than Hedron Archive or Bounty of the Luxa ?
It isn't as fast at ramping but works with Baral and is easier to cast early if a mana dork gets removed (and is another way to find the 1x copy of Plains).
The list looks cool - I'm really liking the UG/x ramp archetype right now. Re your questions:
Do you think there is room to add more energy support for Servant of the Conduit? In theory you shouldn't run out of gas for your ramp creatures, but it's possible and might be something to hedge against.
I like Spring // Mind over Archive, simply because other lists are making room for artifact removal to deal with Marvel meaning Archive ends up as collateral damage. When I last ran my list with Archives I found them getting removed pretty consistently.
With Marvel being the current format-warping deck, I think a couple maindeck answers to that will be more valuable than a couple of fogs. As to which of Negate or Deliverance is better, that depends on what you spend your first turns doing. If you are consistently tapped out to ramp on turn 4 then Negate doesn't help you.
I tried Aether Hub previously but it didn't help much so I replaced it with Lumbering Falls which can be another threat later in the game and is good against the annoying "mono-counterspells" decks.
I don't really see any other energy cards that can work here as Glimmer of Genius is weaker than Pull (and Attune with Aether doesn't really do much)
I think I"ll try the swap and see how it goes, tapping out on turn 4 (without a mana dork to accelerate it) can often lead to losing on the next turn quite often.
After giving it more thought Dissenter's Deliverance seems like the most "maindeckable" option (the cycling is useful as well) so I've moved it to the main.
The aggro matchup is still pretty hard (though gets better after I SB in Thing) if I can't draw the fogs.
The control matchup also isn't easy since pressuring them isn't easy when they just doing nothing but holding countermagic until they beat down with Gearhulks.
The deck seems very underpowered at the moment and I'm not sure how it can be better as the G/U color combination has trouble interacting with opposing strategies and the ramp isn't as quick as I want it to be (I also have horrible luck of drawing lands/dorks at the wrong time).
It loses several cards but there are decent replacements:
#Nissa's Renewal - the most obvious alternative can be Hour of Promise though Bounty of the Luxa seems good as well as it is an additional card draw engine.
There is also Harvest Season but I'm not sure if it is reliable enough with only 10x creatures.
#Crush of Tentacles - River's Rebuke being one-sided seems like clear upgrade despite losing the option of making an 8/8 token (which often got pushed or nounced anyway).
The new Entrancing Melody seems like an interesting option for the deck to deal with creatures so I'll try it over the maindeck Aether Meltdown.
Another option can be Confiscation Coup but I"m not sure if it can be better without better energy production (only Servant/Hub).
(and don't want to buy it since it's going to rotate soon) I decided to tweak it and go with Approach as my finisher.
To get the White for Approach I've only added one copy of Plains but with Nissa's Renewal and all the card draw in the deck it should be easy enough to find.
Also both of my mana dorks can tap for White as well.
In addition to the 8x mana dorks I've added 2x Baral, Chief of Compliance since (except for Hedron Archive) most of my spells are instants and sorceries anyway and it can be another blocker (especially against 2-power creatures).
Here is the deck:
4x Servant of the Conduit
4x Channeler Initiate
2x Baral, Chief of Compliance
Instant (10)
4x Haze of Pollen
4x Commit // Memory
2x Pull from Tomorrow
Sorcery (12)
4x Spring // Mind
2x Crush of Tentacles
4x Nissa's Renewal
2x Approach of the Second Sun
2x Aether Meltdown
Land (26)
4x Botanical Sanctum
4x Lumbering Falls
1x Blighted Cataract
8x Forest
8x Island
1x Plains
4x Thing in the Ice
3x Disallow
2x Commencement of Festivities
2x Negate
2x Walking Ballista
1x Sphinx of the Final Word
1x Kefnet the Mindful
#Any idea on how it can be improved (besides Ulamog) ?
#Would Spring // Mind be a better option this deck than Hedron Archive or Bounty of the Luxa ?
It isn't as fast at ramping but works with Baral and is easier to cast early if a mana dork gets removed (and is another way to find the 1x copy of Plains).
#Would Negate or Dissenter's Deliverance be beter maindeck cards than Commencement of Festivities ?
I don't really see any other energy cards that can work here as Glimmer of Genius is weaker than Pull (and Attune with Aether doesn't really do much)
I think I"ll try the swap and see how it goes, tapping out on turn 4 (without a mana dork to accelerate it) can often lead to losing on the next turn quite often.
After giving it more thought Dissenter's Deliverance seems like the most "maindeckable" option (the cycling is useful as well) so I've moved it to the main.
Another decent pseudo-removal option seems to be Aether Meltdown.
The aggro matchup is still pretty hard (though gets better after I SB in Thing) if I can't draw the fogs.
The control matchup also isn't easy since pressuring them isn't easy when they just doing nothing but holding countermagic until they beat down with Gearhulks.
The deck seems very underpowered at the moment and I'm not sure how it can be better as the G/U color combination has trouble interacting with opposing strategies and the ramp isn't as quick as I want it to be (I also have horrible luck of drawing lands/dorks at the wrong time).
I wonder if having Bounty of the Luxa (in the Hedron/Spring slot) can help the deck.
Also, maybe Approach just can't work as finisher ?
Would Nissa, Steward of Elements or Walking Ballista be better ?
It loses several cards but there are decent replacements:
#Nissa's Renewal - the most obvious alternative can be Hour of Promise though Bounty of the Luxa seems good as well as it is an additional card draw engine.
There is also Harvest Season but I'm not sure if it is reliable enough with only 10x creatures.
#Crush of Tentacles - River's Rebuke being one-sided seems like clear upgrade despite losing the option of making an 8/8 token (which often got pushed or nounced anyway).
The new Entrancing Melody seems like an interesting option for the deck to deal with creatures so I'll try it over the maindeck Aether Meltdown.
Another option can be Confiscation Coup but I"m not sure if it can be better without better energy production (only Servant/Hub).
Here is my updated build:
4x Servant of the Conduit
4x Channeler Initiate
2x Baral, Chief of Compliance
Instant (10)
4x Haze of Pollen
4x Commit // Memory
2x Pull from Tomorrow
Sorcery (14)
2x Entrancing Melody
4x Spring // Mind
4x Hour of Promise
2x River's Rebuke
2x Approach of the Second Sun
4x Botanical Sanctum
4x Aether Hub
1x Scavenger Grounds
8x Forest
8x Island
1x Plains
2x Aether Meltdown
3x Disallow
2x Confiscation Coup
2x Negate
4x Walking Ballista
1x Carnage Tyrant
1x Kefnet the Mindful