It began as a gimmick - "What can I do with Isamaru, Hound of Konda as a commander that feels like an appropriate theme for such a creature?"
Then it hit me: I should make a deck where every non-land card's converted mana cost is 1!
I pulled up Gatherer and made an almost 300-card list of possible submissions. The original idea was to put in every card that let me draw cards within these constraints. However, not only were there too many, this made for an inefficient build - how was I supposed to win?
Sure, I had in Dark Depths, Scrying Sheets, and Snow-Covered Plains (both to accelerate mana grabbing, thin out dead draws, and to have something to pour mana into), and I had in Myth Realized, as well as a handful of other cards that had abilities to pour mana into - but it felt like it was lacking direction.
I discussed this with several MTGS Mods (being I'm a former Mod, myself, and made some friends while on staff) and came to the conclusion that I needed to center the deck around a more viable win condition.
I decided the deck needed to be a sort of Voltron/weenie-aggro fusion, with bits and pieces of other cards that I could pour my extra mana into. Myth Realized was a card I had in up until the most recent iteration, but it seemed to underperform, so it was the last thing that I cut. I really wanted Ajani's Presence to work, but it also did not play well in testing.
I had a lot of cards in there, such as Bandage and Festival of the Guildpact, but ultimately decided against throwing them in. They simply weren't doing enough to justify the draw power. Restore Balance was in there from the start, because I think it falls under the spirit of the CMC-1 restriction.
Finally, I broke my restriction for two CMC-0 cards, simply to allow the deck to have a chance to win. Those cards were Endless One and Hangarback Walker. I considered Sigil of Distinction, Chalice of the Void, and Everflowing Chalice, but I felt they were simply too far and away from the original idea behind the deck. It was around this time that I also switched Isamaru to Kytheon, simply to improve the chance of a win.
A fun combo I've noticed is Sensei's Divining Top, Scrying Sheets, and Liar's Pendulum. It really accelerates the deck-thinning, and allows to make it so that Scrying Sheets rarely misses. I had Terrain Generator in there, as well, but it just wasn't worth the slot. Dark Depths is cute, being a land, and I can use Thespian's Stage to copy either that or Emeria, the Sky Ruin. Additionally, Vesuva can also become a copy of Emeria, which is extremely useful with the setup of smaller creatures that I run, here. They're gonna get binned relatively quickly, which means I'm never at a loss for little dudes - and it's especially great when I can get multiple copies of Emeria out.
The creatures, themselves, are basically the best I could come up with for the build. I looked for cards that had utility with what I was running, cards that had a slight downside to them for more P/T, Level Up cards, and a few others. I considered the creatures that let you pay {1} when a white spell is played to gain a life, but in Commander, those are pretty uh, ineffective. Besides, Soul Warden and Soul's Attendant are much better in that regard.
I considered cards like Akroan Jailer, but felt like my creatures were better used for the aggro rush rather than control.
There are a lot of CMC-1 Artifacts that I could have put in here, but I ultimately decided that they were not cohesive with the rest of the build (such as Soul Net). I wanted to throw Elixir of Immortality in, but it was probably the last card I cut before Myth Realized and I just didn't feel like I was getting all that much mileage out of it.
Anyway, I'm not looking to add any other CMC-0 cards, and I think my current build is as good as it can get based on my testing, but I'm open to suggestions. (For example, are Court Homunculus or Auriok Glaivemaster better than Aven Skirmisher, here? Explain why to me!)
2011: Best Mafia Performance (Individual) - Best Newcomer
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
Funny you suggest Reconnaissance, as it's basically a mass Gustcloak Runner (which I was considering) for all of my creatures. I'd like it better if it affected attacking AND blocking creatures I control, but still, it's better than nothing. I like that it basically says "you will always do damage as long as you attack with more creatures than defending opponent controls", so it's sort of granting my creatures quasi-Indestructible and Vigilance. I actually really like this, here.
2011: Best Mafia Performance (Individual) - Best Newcomer
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
Another creature I'm considering is Loyal Pegasus. Thoughts?
Reconnaissance works just fine with Infiltration Lens. Lens is triggered upon blockers being declared, and goes on the stack. You can use the Reconnaissance ability immediately after putting the Lens trigger on the stack, and you'll still get to draw the cards since Lens won't check to see that your creature is still in combat when it resolves. Or, you can activate the Recon ability after the Lens trigger resolves, and that's fine, too. As long as you don't pass priority on an empty stack, the game won't progress to the Damage step.
The Loyal Pegasus seems pretty good. Not sure how it stacks up to your other dudes--honestly I'm not familiar with all of the creatures in the list. I've only skimmed through them to get the flavor of things. I definitely couldn't identify the weakest of them for a possible cut.
Seems like the best cut for it would be a 1/1 Flying creature, but I'm not sure if that's the correct choice. Anyone else that might have a better idea of relative power level for small creatures is welcome to weigh in.
Also, I really like Meekstone in here. Yes, it paralyzes my commander when he's flipped, as well as any of my creatures that get bigger, but for the most part, I think it helps me. Especially with the new addition of Reconnaissance.
2011: Best Mafia Performance (Individual) - Best Newcomer
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
I don't think that's true, since Gideon isn't a creature during the untap step, so no downside here
What I'm interested in is: Does this deck ever actually win?
I had some really close games with some early builds of it, but I haven't tested it outside of Cockatrice yet, so I'm uncertain. I can post results after I build it (though it takes a backseat to finishing my Ulasht build ).
I think the strategy, here, is to either mob my opponent(s) to death extremely early on, or act like I'm not a threat and then toss out a Marit Lage via Thespian's Stage and beat face with her.
2011: Best Mafia Performance (Individual) - Best Newcomer
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
I think you could safely replace once of your vanilla 1/1 fliers with Topplegeist, it's a great card if you have delirium and combos nicely with Meekstone. I also think Mother of Runes and Kor Duelist seem like a shoe-ins for this deck.
Have you considered any bestow creatures like Nyxborn Shieldmate and Hopeful Eidolon, since they allow you to pump your creatures a little bit and become creatures themselves if the creature they're enchanting dies. Gryff's boon might also be worth testing since it gives a small pump as well as evasion.
Ah yes, Topplegeist is strictly better than a 1/1 vanilla Flier. I'll drop one of those for it.
Mother of Runes is too limited in its protective scope to be worth its weight - I did test her out. Kor Duelist has the same problem as Glaivemaster, here - though if you can make a case for it being better than Bushi Tenderfoot, I'd consider it!
I have considered the Bestow creatures, but I think if I drift into that territory, that Meekstone starts hurting me more. I'll definitely put Topplegeist in, though!
2011: Best Mafia Performance (Individual) - Best Newcomer
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
10/10 I would never see this deck coming haha. You could add Humility to bring everyone down to your level, but I don't really know if that's what you're going for. Can always go for Spectral Procession for more 1/1's and Ajani Goldmane for the the team pumps. Maybe Kami of False Hope?
I managed to win the first game I played with this build!
My friend was using Talrand. I aggro'd out pretty quickly with Kytheon, a 1/1 flier, and some 2/1 beaters. Dropped Trusty Machete and Skullclamp on Kytheon, and Gaze of Justice'd my friend's Talrand. Kytheon died twice, and got Delayed the third time I tried to cast him, but not before pummeling my opponent with Gideon a little bit! He recast Talrand and I dropped Gerrard's Battle Cry, putting out Mystic Penitent and Isamaru. I traded with his Drake tokens, using Skullclamp to fuel my hand, until he was forced to block with Talrand; then I swooped in for lethal with my two remaining creatures!
The deck has sustainability, which is good, as that was my primary concern. It absolutely flourishes in a 1v1 environment; I think the real question is, how well will it fare in a multiplayer game?
I'll let you guys know when I finish building it IRL.
It was in the initial build and completely underwhelmed me with how little it actually did for the deck. I need my creatures attacking, not on standby for protection - otherwise, winning isn't feasible, here.
Quote from Honor Basquiat »
The deck is a cool concept although I feel it would have trouble winning.
Thanks! It does struggle, but that's part of the fun of the build.
Given how quickly I run out of cards, Scroll Rack isn't really going to do more than Sensei's Divining Top, here; of the two, I think the latter is the better choice. Brave the Elements is a good suggestion, but I found it ran into the same problem that Ajani's Presence did - that being a lack of staying power. In a deck where everything is so fragile and costs next-to-nothing, staying power is important - that's why Skullclamp and Infiltration Lens are so great, here - they give me long-term benefit, stay out for some time, and definitely carry their weight. I have to weigh cards like that versus a single turn of protection - make sense? Oust is probably a good add to the deck, and I need to figure out what to take out for it. Maybe Restore Balance, which seems really slow. (I suspended it in the game against my friend and the Delayed Kytheon would have come back even before Restore Balance hit the field. It's also really hard to time with who's going to have how many creatures on the field.) My only issue with Oust is that my creatures are small, meaning the 3 life my opponent gains might make a critical difference - but I think I'll swap Restore Balance for it and see how it works out.
Tithe and Land Tax are both good cards, but given the nature of the deck, I found out very quickly that they're dead draws. I might try to find room for Land Tax somewhere down the line, as it helps thin out my dead draws (much like Liar's Pendulum and Scrying Sheets do), but I think I'll need to test more to see where it could fit in.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Quote from Allanon »
You could add Humility to bring everyone down to your level, but I don't really know if that's what you're going for. Can always go for Spectral Procession for more 1/1's and Ajani Goldmane for the the team pumps. Maybe Kami of False Hope?
Unfortunately, Humility, Spectral Procession, and Ajani aren't CMC 1 cards - otherwise, there are a lot of other cards (such as Sun Titan) that I could put in that would benefit this deck greatly. Kami of False Hope unfortunately has the same problem that I have with Mother of Runes and Brave the Elements, here. While I like that it has a protection clause attached to a weenie body, it doesn't do me better than, say, Savannah Lions does. Remember - it's all about generating sustainability and damage output!
-
Summary: Trading out Restore Balance for Oust to see how well it works.
2011: Best Mafia Performance (Individual) - Best Newcomer
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
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1 Ardent Recruit
1 Aven Skirmisher
1 Boros Elite
1 Bushi Tenderfoot
1 Caravan Escort
1 Champion of the Parish
1 Cliffside Lookout
1 Doomed Traveler
1 Dragon Hunter
1 Elite Vanguard
1 Endless One
1 Expedition Envoy
1 Glint Hawk
1 Hangarback Walker
1 Herald of Anafenza
1 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
1 Kitesail Scout
1 Lantern Kami
1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
1 Mystic Penitent
1 Phyrexian Dreadnought
1 Planar Guide
1 Savannah Lions
1 Serra Ascendant
1 Soldier of the Pantheon
1 Soul Warden
1 Soul's Attendant
1 Student of Warfare
1 Thraben Gargoyle
1 Thraben Inspector
1 Topplegeist
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Bonesplitter
1 Darksteel Axe
1 Expedition Map
1 Gorgon's Head
1 Infiltration Lens
1 Liar's Pendulum
1 Masterwork of Ingenuity
1 Meekstone
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Skeleton Key
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
1 Trusty Machete
1 Gaze of Justice
1 Oust
1 Steelshaper's Gift
1 Angel's Grace
1 Condemn
1 Divine Deflection
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Glimpse the Sun God
1 Mana Tithe
1 Path to Exile
1 Rebuff the Wicked
1 Secure the Wastes
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Inheritance
1 Reconnaissance
1 Gideon, Battle-Forged
1 Dark Depths
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
1 Scrying Sheets
1 Sea Gate Wreckage
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Vesuva
30 Snow-Covered Plains
So, the idea behind this deck is fairly simple.
It began as a gimmick - "What can I do with Isamaru, Hound of Konda as a commander that feels like an appropriate theme for such a creature?"
Then it hit me: I should make a deck where every non-land card's converted mana cost is 1!
I pulled up Gatherer and made an almost 300-card list of possible submissions. The original idea was to put in every card that let me draw cards within these constraints. However, not only were there too many, this made for an inefficient build - how was I supposed to win?
Sure, I had in Dark Depths, Scrying Sheets, and Snow-Covered Plains (both to accelerate mana grabbing, thin out dead draws, and to have something to pour mana into), and I had in Myth Realized, as well as a handful of other cards that had abilities to pour mana into - but it felt like it was lacking direction.
I discussed this with several MTGS Mods (being I'm a former Mod, myself, and made some friends while on staff) and came to the conclusion that I needed to center the deck around a more viable win condition.
I decided the deck needed to be a sort of Voltron/weenie-aggro fusion, with bits and pieces of other cards that I could pour my extra mana into. Myth Realized was a card I had in up until the most recent iteration, but it seemed to underperform, so it was the last thing that I cut. I really wanted Ajani's Presence to work, but it also did not play well in testing.
I had a lot of cards in there, such as Bandage and Festival of the Guildpact, but ultimately decided against throwing them in. They simply weren't doing enough to justify the draw power. Restore Balance was in there from the start, because I think it falls under the spirit of the CMC-1 restriction.
Finally, I broke my restriction for two CMC-0 cards, simply to allow the deck to have a chance to win. Those cards were Endless One and Hangarback Walker. I considered Sigil of Distinction, Chalice of the Void, and Everflowing Chalice, but I felt they were simply too far and away from the original idea behind the deck. It was around this time that I also switched Isamaru to Kytheon, simply to improve the chance of a win.
A fun combo I've noticed is Sensei's Divining Top, Scrying Sheets, and Liar's Pendulum. It really accelerates the deck-thinning, and allows to make it so that Scrying Sheets rarely misses. I had Terrain Generator in there, as well, but it just wasn't worth the slot. Dark Depths is cute, being a land, and I can use Thespian's Stage to copy either that or Emeria, the Sky Ruin. Additionally, Vesuva can also become a copy of Emeria, which is extremely useful with the setup of smaller creatures that I run, here. They're gonna get binned relatively quickly, which means I'm never at a loss for little dudes - and it's especially great when I can get multiple copies of Emeria out.
The creatures, themselves, are basically the best I could come up with for the build. I looked for cards that had utility with what I was running, cards that had a slight downside to them for more P/T, Level Up cards, and a few others. I considered the creatures that let you pay {1} when a white spell is played to gain a life, but in Commander, those are pretty uh, ineffective. Besides, Soul Warden and Soul's Attendant are much better in that regard.
I considered cards like Akroan Jailer, but felt like my creatures were better used for the aggro rush rather than control.
There are a lot of CMC-1 Artifacts that I could have put in here, but I ultimately decided that they were not cohesive with the rest of the build (such as Soul Net). I wanted to throw Elixir of Immortality in, but it was probably the last card I cut before Myth Realized and I just didn't feel like I was getting all that much mileage out of it.
Anyway, I'm not looking to add any other CMC-0 cards, and I think my current build is as good as it can get based on my testing, but I'm open to suggestions. (For example, are Court Homunculus or Auriok Glaivemaster better than Aven Skirmisher, here? Explain why to me!)
Thanks in advance!
Auriok Glaivemaster -> Reconnaissance
Suntail Hawk -> Topplegeist
Restore Balance -> Oust
{мы, тьма}
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
Reconnaissance might be worth it to save your weenie horde from dying in combat.
Love the deck concept.
Funny you suggest Reconnaissance, as it's basically a mass Gustcloak Runner (which I was considering) for all of my creatures. I'd like it better if it affected attacking AND blocking creatures I control, but still, it's better than nothing. I like that it basically says "you will always do damage as long as you attack with more creatures than defending opponent controls", so it's sort of granting my creatures quasi-Indestructible and Vigilance. I actually really like this, here.
How does Reconnaissance interact with Infiltration Lens?
Also, what would you recommend taking out for either of these? I'm mostly willing to budge on creatures, at this point.Edit: I'm taking out Devoted Retainer and Auriok Glaivemaster for Reconnaissance and Weathered Wayfarer. I will update the OP to reflect this.
Another creature I'm considering is Loyal Pegasus. Thoughts?
{мы, тьма}
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
Reconnaissance works just fine with Infiltration Lens. Lens is triggered upon blockers being declared, and goes on the stack. You can use the Reconnaissance ability immediately after putting the Lens trigger on the stack, and you'll still get to draw the cards since Lens won't check to see that your creature is still in combat when it resolves. Or, you can activate the Recon ability after the Lens trigger resolves, and that's fine, too. As long as you don't pass priority on an empty stack, the game won't progress to the Damage step.
The Loyal Pegasus seems pretty good. Not sure how it stacks up to your other dudes--honestly I'm not familiar with all of the creatures in the list. I've only skimmed through them to get the flavor of things. I definitely couldn't identify the weakest of them for a possible cut.
Also, I really like Meekstone in here. Yes, it paralyzes my commander when he's flipped, as well as any of my creatures that get bigger, but for the most part, I think it helps me. Especially with the new addition of Reconnaissance.
{мы, тьма}
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
What I'm interested in is: Does this deck ever actually win?
GWKarametra - The MistveiledGW
GWR Marath - The Egg-laying Wool-Milk-Pig GWR
RBGrenzo - Restrained RakdosRB
UWRGBHorde of NotionsUWRGB
Retired: Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Rafiq of the Many | Animar, Soul of Elements | Maelstrom Wanderer
I had some really close games with some early builds of it, but I haven't tested it outside of Cockatrice yet, so I'm uncertain. I can post results after I build it (though it takes a backseat to finishing my Ulasht build ).
I think the strategy, here, is to either mob my opponent(s) to death extremely early on, or act like I'm not a threat and then toss out a Marit Lage via Thespian's Stage and beat face with her.
I'll figure it out!
{мы, тьма}
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
Have you considered any bestow creatures like Nyxborn Shieldmate and Hopeful Eidolon, since they allow you to pump your creatures a little bit and become creatures themselves if the creature they're enchanting dies. Gryff's boon might also be worth testing since it gives a small pump as well as evasion.
Mother of Runes is too limited in its protective scope to be worth its weight - I did test her out. Kor Duelist has the same problem as Glaivemaster, here - though if you can make a case for it being better than Bushi Tenderfoot, I'd consider it!
I have considered the Bestow creatures, but I think if I drift into that territory, that Meekstone starts hurting me more. I'll definitely put Topplegeist in, though!
{мы, тьма}
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player
Brave the Elements is a card I feel you are missing that would be a great fit. Oust is also good removal.
Scroll Rack and Land Tax are both good for card advantage if your budget can handle them. Tithe is also great.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls - Knowledge is Power U [Primer]
R Heartless Hidetsugu - The Art of Ending Games R
GB Ishkanah, Grafwidow - The Cluster HungersBG
My friend was using Talrand. I aggro'd out pretty quickly with Kytheon, a 1/1 flier, and some 2/1 beaters. Dropped Trusty Machete and Skullclamp on Kytheon, and Gaze of Justice'd my friend's Talrand. Kytheon died twice, and got Delayed the third time I tried to cast him, but not before pummeling my opponent with Gideon a little bit! He recast Talrand and I dropped Gerrard's Battle Cry, putting out Mystic Penitent and Isamaru. I traded with his Drake tokens, using Skullclamp to fuel my hand, until he was forced to block with Talrand; then I swooped in for lethal with my two remaining creatures!
The deck has sustainability, which is good, as that was my primary concern. It absolutely flourishes in a 1v1 environment; I think the real question is, how well will it fare in a multiplayer game?
I'll let you guys know when I finish building it IRL.
Now, for responses:
It was in the initial build and completely underwhelmed me with how little it actually did for the deck. I need my creatures attacking, not on standby for protection - otherwise, winning isn't feasible, here.
Thanks! It does struggle, but that's part of the fun of the build.
Given how quickly I run out of cards, Scroll Rack isn't really going to do more than Sensei's Divining Top, here; of the two, I think the latter is the better choice. Brave the Elements is a good suggestion, but I found it ran into the same problem that Ajani's Presence did - that being a lack of staying power. In a deck where everything is so fragile and costs next-to-nothing, staying power is important - that's why Skullclamp and Infiltration Lens are so great, here - they give me long-term benefit, stay out for some time, and definitely carry their weight. I have to weigh cards like that versus a single turn of protection - make sense? Oust is probably a good add to the deck, and I need to figure out what to take out for it. Maybe Restore Balance, which seems really slow. (I suspended it in the game against my friend and the Delayed Kytheon would have come back even before Restore Balance hit the field. It's also really hard to time with who's going to have how many creatures on the field.) My only issue with Oust is that my creatures are small, meaning the 3 life my opponent gains might make a critical difference - but I think I'll swap Restore Balance for it and see how it works out.
Tithe and Land Tax are both good cards, but given the nature of the deck, I found out very quickly that they're dead draws. I might try to find room for Land Tax somewhere down the line, as it helps thin out my dead draws (much like Liar's Pendulum and Scrying Sheets do), but I think I'll need to test more to see where it could fit in.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Unfortunately, Humility, Spectral Procession, and Ajani aren't CMC 1 cards - otherwise, there are a lot of other cards (such as Sun Titan) that I could put in that would benefit this deck greatly. Kami of False Hope unfortunately has the same problem that I have with Mother of Runes and Brave the Elements, here. While I like that it has a protection clause attached to a weenie body, it doesn't do me better than, say, Savannah Lions does. Remember - it's all about generating sustainability and damage output!
-
Summary: Trading out Restore Balance for Oust to see how well it works.
{мы, тьма}
2012: Best (False?) Role Claim - Worst Town Performance (Group) - Best Mafia Performance (Group) - Best SK Performance - Best Overall Player
2013: Best Non-SK Neutral Performance
2014: Best Town Performance (Individual) - Best Town Performance (Group) - Most Interesting Role - Best Game - Best Overall Player
2015: Worst Mafia Performance (Group) - Best Read
2016: Best Town Performance (Group) - Best Town Player - Best Overall Player