I completely redid the deck. It's not something I can afford a physical copy of, but I have 90% of the cards on MTGO so I can play it there.
This is my attempt at the most competitive Mono-U deck possible. That's a controversial claim considering most folk would consider Azami as the obvious choice for best mono-U. I admit that she may actually be the best, but I moved to Talrand for now for a couple reasons:
1) Talrand is a win condition with the entire deck. You cast spells, you make drakes, you kill with the drakes. Azami requires very specific cards to go off, most notable Mind Over Matter, and has poor options to tutor for those specific cards.
2) Talrand is free to run a Polymorph package, while Azami cannot because she's running wizards. Polymorphing a drake into Tidespout Tyrant is brutal.
3) The drakes protect you if games stretch longer. Goldfishing all-in combo decks work great against casuals, but at a competitive table people will actively disrupt you and delay your combo. If you durdle with an empty board, you can die. Drakes protect you.
The game plan of this deck is ramp hard, get Talrand out, and keep slinging spells until you either win with an army of drakes + extra turns, or cheat out a big threat like Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur and protect it long enough to win, or storm off with the help of Mind's Desire, Temporal Fissure, and Tidespout Tyrant. Bounce the board, swing with drakes.
There's a lot of mana doublers as the primary ramp. Blue mana is very important. You ramp, you cantrip, you draw big, then go off. You also run more disruption than most combo decks, so you can play "control" if necessary until you find a window to go off.
I also run some nasty control cards: Torpor Orb, Back to Basics, Mindlock Orb. These don't affect the deck but can totally screw opposing combos.
I've waffled on these two cards before. They're explosive ramp, but this Talrand deck takes things slow anyway. Outside of those two creatures there's not much I'm looking to slam down in a hurry. Is it still worth it?
Tezzeret The Seeker: good utility - tutors, acts as ramp with mana rocks, all quite useful and now a cheap card thanks to MM2.
He's a good one. I had him in at some point and then took him out because he's defenseless without Talrand out. But even if he tutors a single time that might be worth it.
I'd recommend putting some instant/sorcery recursion in. Archaeomancer and Call To Mind I've found quite useful.
I still like Pongify and Rapid Hybridization more because they only cost 1 mana, but hmm. Maybe I take out Curse of the Swine for it? Would be lovely to imprint on my Isochron Scepter.
I've waffled on these two cards before. They're explosive ramp, but this Talrand deck takes things slow anyway. Outside of those two creatures there's not much I'm looking to slam down in a hurry. Is it still worth it?
I'd say they're worth trying. High Tide is - usually - the weaker of the two. If you need a slot for Mana Vault, maybe take out Extraplanar Lens? Since I started playing green and to a lesser extent, white, I've found that people's mana rocks are a great target, and an Extraplanar Lens makes a very tempting target given its land exile sets its owner back a turn. Though in more rampy strategies you may still want it, but I'd definitely run Mana Vault before I'd run Lens and in terms of cards with similar effects, Gauntlet Of Power should favor your deck in all but Talrand mirrors.
Though a little pricier than the previous cards, I also recommend Bribery. Talrand's army tends to be a little frail, so raiding an opponent's library for an Eldrazi or Blightsteel Colossus can be huge, or if you're already ahead, poking around the green deck to finish the game with drakes and a stolen Craterhoof Behemoth. The more your know your opponent's decks the better it is. ( That being said, be sure you know there's something worth grabbing: I've had my creatureless mono black targeted with Bribery a lot. It's hilarious. )
I also noticed one really amazing counterspell is missing from your list: Abjure. With Talrand and at least one drake out, it's basically a one-mana Counterspell.
Have fun with Talrand! The fun thing about playing him is that everyone mopes about "Oh, you're not doing anything but countering my spells" until you win.
I took out Abjure back when the tuck rule still existed and I was veeeery conservative with casting Talrand, making Abjure a dead card for large chunks of the game. I'll try putting it back in when I can find a copy.
Changelog:
+ Terrain Generator, Blue Sun's Zenith, Mystical Tutor, Rhystic Study, Temporal Mastery
- Island, Evacuation, Stroke of Genius, Curse of the Swine, Domineering Will
If I may suggest instead of upgrading eventually to Vedalken Shackles, to look at upgrading to Helm of Possession. The card allows you to sac a drake to get any creature of any size. It also helps that the card is currently only ~$4 as opposed to Shackles' ~$14. As for what to potentially cut to make room for the card, maybe something innocuous as Opt.
I've found that with this many cantrips in a blue deck, mind's desire becomes very good. Just add in a time warp/temporal manipulation and mind's desire will generally win the game with enough storm.
I don't like devastation tide, you feel that bouncing all nonland permanents has a possibility of setting you back as well. Considering this cantrip build, temporal fissure/aetherspouts depending on whether you want an instant or sorcery bounce would work better.
If you really like having the temporal mastery/devastation tide, I can't imaing not having sensei's top as well.
I completely redid the deck. It's not something I can afford a physical copy of, but I have 90% of the cards on MTGO so I can play it there.
This is my attempt at the most competitive Mono-U deck possible. That's a controversial claim considering most folk would consider Azami as the obvious choice for best mono-U. I admit that she may actually be the best, but I moved to Talrand for now for a couple reasons:
1) Talrand is a win condition with the entire deck. You cast spells, you make drakes, you kill with the drakes. Azami requires very specific cards to go off, most notable Mind Over Matter, and has poor options to tutor for those specific cards.
2) Talrand is free to run a Polymorph package, while Azami cannot because she's running wizards. Polymorphing a drake into Tidespout Tyrant is brutal.
3) The drakes protect you if games stretch longer. Goldfishing all-in combo decks work great against casuals, but at a competitive table people will actively disrupt you and delay your combo. If you durdle with an empty board, you can die. Drakes protect you.
The game plan of this deck is ramp hard, get Talrand out, and keep slinging spells until you either win with an army of drakes + extra turns, or cheat out a big threat like Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur and protect it long enough to win, or storm off with the help of Mind's Desire, Temporal Fissure, and Tidespout Tyrant. Bounce the board, swing with drakes.
There's a lot of mana doublers as the primary ramp. Blue mana is very important. You ramp, you cantrip, you draw big, then go off. You also run more disruption than most combo decks, so you can play "control" if necessary until you find a window to go off.
I also run some nasty control cards: Torpor Orb, Back to Basics, Mindlock Orb. These don't affect the deck but can totally screw opposing combos.
I had some serious fun testing this deck for the first time. I probably want to cut Consecrated Sphinx and switch out the non-Islands into Islands, as High Tide is the nuts. You Storm off, bounce all the opposing permanents, and then win with an army of drakes. Awesome.
I really want another wheel. I'm going to test out Day's Undoing.
1 Talrand, Sky Summoner
Instant (30)
1 Abjure
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Counterspell
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Dig Through Time
1 Flusterstorm
1 Foil
1 Forbid
1 Force of Will
1 Frantic Search
1 Gush
1 High Tide
1 Impulse
1 Mana Drain
1 Misdirection
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Opt
1 Pact of Negation
1 Quicken
1 Rapid Hybridization
1 Reality Shift
1 Remand
1 Snap
1 Spell Pierce
1 Stifle
1 Swan Song
1 Thwart
1 Turnabout
1 Twincast
1 Back to Basics
1 Mind Over Matter
1 Mystic Remora
1 Rhystic Study
Creature (3)
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
1 Tidespout Tyrant
Artifact (18)
1 Caged Sun
1 Candelabra of Tawnos
1 Chrome Mox
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Grim Monolith
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mindlock Orb
1 Mox Diamond
1 Mox Opal
1 Proteus Staff
1 Sapphire Medallion
1 Sol Ring
1 Surveyor's Scope
1 Torpor Orb
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Fabricate
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Hidden Strings
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mind's Desire
1 Personal Tutor
1 Polymorph
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Recurring Insight
1 Temporal Fissure
1 Temporal Mastery
1 Time Spiral
1 Time Warp
1 Timetwister
1 Windfall
Land (30)
1 Scrying Sheets
28 Snow-Covered Island
1 Terrain Generator
I completely redid the deck. It's not something I can afford a physical copy of, but I have 90% of the cards on MTGO so I can play it there.
This is my attempt at the most competitive Mono-U deck possible. That's a controversial claim considering most folk would consider Azami as the obvious choice for best mono-U. I admit that she may actually be the best, but I moved to Talrand for now for a couple reasons:
1) Talrand is a win condition with the entire deck. You cast spells, you make drakes, you kill with the drakes. Azami requires very specific cards to go off, most notable Mind Over Matter, and has poor options to tutor for those specific cards.
2) Talrand is free to run a Polymorph package, while Azami cannot because she's running wizards. Polymorphing a drake into Tidespout Tyrant is brutal.
3) The drakes protect you if games stretch longer. Goldfishing all-in combo decks work great against casuals, but at a competitive table people will actively disrupt you and delay your combo. If you durdle with an empty board, you can die. Drakes protect you.
The game plan of this deck is ramp hard, get Talrand out, and keep slinging spells until you either win with an army of drakes + extra turns, or cheat out a big threat like Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur and protect it long enough to win, or storm off with the help of Mind's Desire, Temporal Fissure, and Tidespout Tyrant. Bounce the board, swing with drakes.
There's a lot of mana doublers as the primary ramp. Blue mana is very important. You ramp, you cantrip, you draw big, then go off. You also run more disruption than most combo decks, so you can play "control" if necessary until you find a window to go off.
I also run some nasty control cards: Torpor Orb, Back to Basics, Mindlock Orb. These don't affect the deck but can totally screw opposing combos.
UBRThraximundar, Tribal ZombiesUBR
WURZedruu's Great TradesWUR
Upgrades all currently less than $10 if you look around:
Rhystic Study: either a draw, or a tax, both effects are well worth it.
Mana Vault is still fairly cheap and great ramp. The damage is negligible in this format.
High Tide can get a little crazy mid- to late-game. Turn four Consecrated Sphinx; turn five Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur.
Tezzeret The Seeker: good utility - tutors, acts as ramp with mana rocks, all quite useful and now a cheap card thanks to MM2.
I'd recommend putting some instant/sorcery recursion in. Archaeomancer and Call To Mind I've found quite useful.
Reality Shift, because blue gets hard exile now.
UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU's prison: blue is the new orange is the new black.
Mizzix Of The Izmagnus : wheels on fire... rolling down the road...
BSidisi, Undead VizierB: Bis zum Erbrechen
GTitiania, Protector Of ArgothG: Protecting Argoth, by blowing it up!
GYisan, The Wanderer BardG: Gradus Ad Elfball.
Duel EDH: Yisan & Titania.
In Progress: Grand Arbiter Augustin IV duel; Grenzo, Dungeon Warden Doomsday.
D'oh! How'd I miss that? Adding.
I've waffled on these two cards before. They're explosive ramp, but this Talrand deck takes things slow anyway. Outside of those two creatures there's not much I'm looking to slam down in a hurry. Is it still worth it?
He's a good one. I had him in at some point and then took him out because he's defenseless without Talrand out. But even if he tutors a single time that might be worth it.
Maybe Call to Mind. I run Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time but one of these cards may still be worthwhile.
I still like Pongify and Rapid Hybridization more because they only cost 1 mana, but hmm. Maybe I take out Curse of the Swine for it? Would be lovely to imprint on my Isochron Scepter.
Thanks for the suggestions!
UBRThraximundar, Tribal ZombiesUBR
WURZedruu's Great TradesWUR
I'd say they're worth trying. High Tide is - usually - the weaker of the two. If you need a slot for Mana Vault, maybe take out Extraplanar Lens? Since I started playing green and to a lesser extent, white, I've found that people's mana rocks are a great target, and an Extraplanar Lens makes a very tempting target given its land exile sets its owner back a turn. Though in more rampy strategies you may still want it, but I'd definitely run Mana Vault before I'd run Lens and in terms of cards with similar effects, Gauntlet Of Power should favor your deck in all but Talrand mirrors.
Though a little pricier than the previous cards, I also recommend Bribery. Talrand's army tends to be a little frail, so raiding an opponent's library for an Eldrazi or Blightsteel Colossus can be huge, or if you're already ahead, poking around the green deck to finish the game with drakes and a stolen Craterhoof Behemoth. The more your know your opponent's decks the better it is. ( That being said, be sure you know there's something worth grabbing: I've had my creatureless mono black targeted with Bribery a lot. It's hilarious. )
I also noticed one really amazing counterspell is missing from your list: Abjure. With Talrand and at least one drake out, it's basically a one-mana Counterspell.
Have fun with Talrand! The fun thing about playing him is that everyone mopes about "Oh, you're not doing anything but countering my spells" until you win.
UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU's prison: blue is the new orange is the new black.
Mizzix Of The Izmagnus : wheels on fire... rolling down the road...
BSidisi, Undead VizierB: Bis zum Erbrechen
GTitiania, Protector Of ArgothG: Protecting Argoth, by blowing it up!
GYisan, The Wanderer BardG: Gradus Ad Elfball.
Duel EDH: Yisan & Titania.
In Progress: Grand Arbiter Augustin IV duel; Grenzo, Dungeon Warden Doomsday.
Changelog:
+ Terrain Generator, Blue Sun's Zenith, Mystical Tutor, Rhystic Study, Temporal Mastery
- Island, Evacuation, Stroke of Genius, Curse of the Swine, Domineering Will
UBRThraximundar, Tribal ZombiesUBR
WURZedruu's Great TradesWUR
I don't like devastation tide, you feel that bouncing all nonland permanents has a possibility of setting you back as well. Considering this cantrip build, temporal fissure/aetherspouts depending on whether you want an instant or sorcery bounce would work better.
If you really like having the temporal mastery/devastation tide, I can't imaing not having sensei's top as well.
Redone!
UBRThraximundar, Tribal ZombiesUBR
WURZedruu's Great TradesWUR
I really want another wheel. I'm going to test out Day's Undoing.
UBRThraximundar, Tribal ZombiesUBR
WURZedruu's Great TradesWUR