I've loved Dralnu for a long time, hearkening back to the days when my semi-competitive Infinite Turns list (found here) was one of the best in my playgroup. I've since been interested in mono-Blue shenanigans, and I've come to love Memnarch and Teferi, Temporal Archmage deeply. I've been particularly enamored of Paradox Engine and its implications for Dralnu.
Seeing how I've come to appreciate the Storm mechanic as I've developed as a player, I've decided to revamp my Dralnu list to accomodate the new changes to my card pool as well as the new cards that have been printed.
The primary combo line is simply Paradox Engine. Dralnu has a tap ability that allows you to cast things from your graveyard. It's SO easy to just accidentally combo off with the Engine, some mana rocks, and Dralnu in play. Once you've got momentum going with the Engine, it's nearly impossible to lose.
Stax deck got you down? No worries! Jace, Wielder of Mysteries and Tainted Pact will help save the day and win the game for you as well! The deck was designed around Tainted Pact so that you can find the exact card that you need without running into any duplicates of a card.
Indeed. I have all the pieces for it, so I figured I would at least keep an update list somewhere so I can rebuild it at will. This list is admittedly not optimized, but there are a ton of cards in here that I enjoy playing. Ad Nauseam is really the only other card I'd want to find room for since it's so powerful.
Ok, time to post an optimized list for Dralnu after playing with AD Nauseam for a while. Whew, that card is incredible. Drawing 20+ cards is EASY with Nauseam, and it's really, really difficult to lose when you're drawing that many cards.
This deck is a streamlined combo that has several strategies that it can pivot around.
The first combo of note is the traditional Isochron Scepter + [CARD}Dramatic Reversal[/CARD] + mana rock(s) that tap for more than 3. This will yield an infinite Storm count and infinite mana as well, which you can then dump into Blue Sun's Zenith or Capsize kill your opponents or lock them out of meaningful interaction for the rest of the game. The infinite Storm count is also good for activating the Fish Bowl Laser of Doom to kill your opponents.
Paradox Engine is one of the best cards to have been printed for cEDH in a long time. Casting it is pretty easy in the deck, and it allows you to chain spells and card draw to net mana, storm count, and dig super deep into the deck. Dralnu, Lich Lord is especially useful in this particular case as the Engine allows you to recast spent Instants and Sorceries, making it significantly easier to win in 1 turn with Dralnu, mana rocks, and a 'yard with some instants and sorceries.
Helm of Awakening enables us to cram more spells into a turn, to increase our Storm count for a Aetherflux Reservoir kill, and also allows Sensei's Divining Top to go infinite as well with Future Sight Draw your deck, and create a storm count of 75+ so that you can kill your opponents with the Laser.
Future Sight + Sensei's Divining Top + Paradox Engine is another way to go virtually infinite, as you can draw deeply into your deck via recasting the Top off the top of your library via Future Sight with the Engine untapping a mana rock or two to keep the loop going. More often than not, this will allow you to go infinite by digging into one of the pieces for an infinite combo.
Finally, there's Doomsday piles that you can win with. Most of them require that you have a draw spell in hand and/or Dralnu in play. A couple of piles, in card order, are:
Use a draw spell to draw at least Brainstorm, then cast Brainstorm. Put 2 cards from your hand on top of your library, then cast Predict, naming the card you put on top of your library. This will mill the top card and draw you into Laboratory Maniac. CAst Lab Man and then cast the Probe that you drew from the Brainstorm on an empty library and win.
This pile requires that you have Dralnu, Lich Lord in play and untapped. Use a draw spell to draw Predict. Cast Predict naming Ponder, which will draw you into Lotus Petal and Lab Man. Cast Lab Man and Petal, then flashback the Predict naming Gitaxian Probe and then draw off an empty library.
Shimmer Myr may seem odd, but it is used to allow you to cast Necropotence, draw 30 cards, cast Dark Ritual into [CARD]Shimmer Myr[/CARD} and start dumping artifact mana into play during your end step. If you draw the Reservoir, there's a good chance that you can win during your end step, once the Necro'd cards go to your hand.
Ad Nauseam is one of the best draw spells ever printed, and over-performs in this deck. Use it liberally, ideally during the end-step of the opponent right before you so you can untap with a massive hand of cards.
High Tide also does a ton of work in the deck, making cards like Snap, Frantic Search, and Candelabra of Tawnos net mana on top of their effects. With Dralnu in play, you can triple the output of your Islands during the combo turn.
There's a pretty extensive removal suite in the deck and each card was chosen for its synergy with Dralnu, its CMC, and its overall utility. Gilded Drake could make its way into the list, but I like the current spell-suite.
I'll be updating the OP shortly with this improved list.
After playing with this deck fairly frequently, I've found that the Doomsday package was unnecessary to the main Storm line as well as the Future Sight package. I'll be tweaking the deck some more, but this has been one of my most favorite decks to play. I can understand why Storm players love to play Storm... it's a lot of fun to just play a bajillion spells and win the game.
I've added in another tutor effect with Tainted Pact because of its functionality in finding the specific card I need in order to win as well as its ability to win the game with Laboratory Maniac. I'll be testing out this effect to see how effective it is. It's super risky, but could be worthwhile.
I took out the High Tide package in favor of a few more pieces of removal and counterspells. I've found it increasingly more important to be able to interact with my opponents instead of focusing exclusively on my combo lines.
I'm also testing Whispering Madness as another Windfall effect. While Timetwister is strictly better I prefer the fact that the Madness dumps the cards into the 'yard for potential Dralnu interactions. It's also another Wheel type effect to make Notion Thief even more powerful than it is. Memory Jar might come in, but I need to test the Madness a little bit more. The Cipher ability could be relevant in addition to having natural Dralnu synergies.
What's your opinion on Sentinel Tower? It's a different tracker to keep count of but seems like a solid, synergistic win condition. You're running a dense enough core of instants and sorceries to tutor and draw that I think it could be worth running.
What's your opinion on Sentinel Tower? It's a different tracker to keep count of but seems like a solid, synergistic win condition. You're running a dense enough core of instants and sorceries to tutor and draw that I think it could be worth running.
Meh is my opinion. In comparison to Aetherflux Reservoir, the ability to ping off a large number of creatures (the most useful part about the Tower) as we're chaining our spells together is not better than the lifegain that the Reservoir allows. Over the course of a game, I find that I'm very cavalier with my life total. Being able to replenish that for Necropotence or a flashbacked Ad Nauseam and draw more cards is absolutely fantastic. So, while I'd recommend it as a supplement to the Reservoir, I would consider the Fish-Bowl Laser to be an integral part of the deck.
Did you know that Tainted Pact checks for basic lands as part of its stop clause? Yeah, I totally space this in my deck design as I just didn't think about my basic land package. I had a game where I COULD have won on T3 with Lab Man and the Pact with a Brainstorm in hand, but as I was flipping over my deck, my brother pointed out the basic land restriction in my deck. I had to stop my line and win on my next turn, but it was certainly annoying to have give away another turn to my opponents.
I'll be updating the OP decklist to accommodate this very important nuance.
Nothing from the new set looks particularly interesting here, with the exception of Mission Briefing. But I'm already not missing Snapcaster Mage, so I don't think that the Briefing will make it to testing.
Well, hot damn, Lavinia, Azorius Renegade is absolutely broken for the cEDH scene. It single-handedly stops nearly every competitive Combo deck in this format as long as she's in play and she has a massively attractive mana cost. This card spells Doom for fast Combo decks, and I know Dralnu will be crying crocodile tears. Time to up the removal count in here.
EDIT: I'm repeating a comment I made on my Tasigur Primer about Lavinia here as well in order to clarify my thinking on why she's so important for the cEDH scene.
I think you're 100% correct when evaluating the [new Lavinia] from a more casual approach. I happily admit that there are many ways to play Commander, and I personally prefer playing more competitively. That being said, here's how I see the new Lavinia:
Lavinia's power is directly proportional to the type of decks your opponents are playing. For me and my playgroup, and the cEDH meta generally, mana rocks are king, especially the ones costing 2 and under. Lavinia causes mana rocks to be non-beneficial sources of mana advantage since she restricts your opponents' casting of spells to their land size. Check out my Memnarch and Teferi Primers. You see the relatively low land counts? More often than not, I only have 2-3 lands in play but a bunch of artifact mana that powers out MORE sources of mana advantage and card advantage. Very few of these effects WHEN I CAST THEM are ever proportional to the number of actual lands I have in play! Lavinia makes this type of mana advantage a liability for these types of decks since they no longer contribute directly to developing your board presence for the important non-creature spells that are played. There are too many playlines and gamestates to describe where the ability of my mana rocks to generate mana that can be used to cast non-creature spells ahead of their casting cost is absolutely crucial.
In my playgroup, it's very frequent that you'll see someone trying to jam a T1 Mana Rock into some sort of T2 non-creature spell (more often than not some sort of Wheel effect). This is almost 100% the consistent playline that I see and Lavinia stops that super effectively. Additionally, cEDH decks run a VERY low land count. This means that the non-creature spells that cost any more than 2+ mana have a real possibility of being unable to be cast with Lavinia in play. Hell, she even stops the earliest, most effective Wrath effect from going off UNTIL T3. If they even get to 3 actual lands in play in order to cast it. This is a very significant tempo loss for your opponents since they now HAVE to depend on land as their primary mana sources in order to unlock their spells.
Lavinia doesn't just shut down "large X spells" or Tooth and Nail type of cards. She causes legitimate tempo loss for optimized decks that run low land counts and the most powerful non-creature spells available. Ad Nauseam decks will NEVER get off the ground as long as Lavinia is in play until AT LEAST T5. Do you see how Lavinia shuts down any type of Dark Ritual effect? What about High Tide? Fast Combo decks that aren't Flash Hulk decks can no longer chain their spells together on time until they have the correct number of lands in play. Assuming they even hit their land drops every turn. Teferi Chain Veil decks now have to up their removal count because there's NO WAY that they can cast a T2 or T3 Teferi with Lavinia in play. Even Food Chain[/CARD} decks will stumble (not as signficantly as Storm or Teferi Chain Veil) because their most common line of play is T1 mana dork or tutor -> T2 double mana dork or tutor -> T3 Food Chain, often seeing rarely seeing their 3rd land since they depend on mana dorks to power out an early Food Chain line. Even Flash Hulk type of decks have to be careful since they can still possibly jam a T2 Flash but now have to be careful about what kind of protection they have for their combo. And her 2nd ability shuts down the new Arcum Dagsson decks that depend on different variants of Ornithopter in order to keep triggering Paradox Engine.
All of this discussion is relevant because Lavinia is a Legendary creature and can therefore be a Commander. That means she can be cast on T2 EVERY game and even on T1 with a MASSIVE degree of consistency. Because her effects are also ASYMMETRICAL, you don't disrupt your own combo lines at all. She's like a one-sided Gaddock Teeg.
So, to conclude my rant/explanation, Lavinia is significant and a very important card for the cEDH scene. For any other type of play, she's just a cool 2/2 Hate-Bear that enforces everyone to play fairly or depend on the inherently slower land-based ramp effects available.
Font of Agonies - this deck is really good at paying life via Necropotence and Aetherflux Reservoir. However, it might just be a strictly win-more type of card that doesn't do anything by itself.
Verity Circle - depending on the meta (read: mana-dork heavy metas) this card should draw a significant number of cards. I'm not sure it's very good for what this deck is trying to do, but others have had good success with it on the cEDH Discord community.
I think that Jace, Wielder of Mysteries is a strict upgrade over Laboratory Maniac for this deck. I want to remove as many weaknesses for this deck as possible, and reducing the creature count is a good way to do that.
The new Ashiok and Narset also look extremely appealing, so I think I'll be doing an update to this deck relatively soon. War of the Spark was really good to cEDH and I REALLY hope that the design team follows this trend. There are very powerful cards that have been printed at reasonable mana costs, and I'm pleased with the way they're taking the card design.
Thank you for your decklist. I always played Dralnu Turns to annoy my opponents.
But my meta shifted to more competitive, so I found your list.
Is there any cards, that not used due to budget reasons?
What cards you would consider if you have unlimited budget?
Hi pokemonych1! The OP list in its current state is the most optimized version of the deck as it stands. It runs all of the expensive fast mana, tutor effects, and counterspells and is a well-oiled machine of death. The only cards I would consider for the deck are any new additions from Modern Horizons, particularly Force of Negation. There might be some other ones that get spoiled that would be includes, but I'll refrain from commenting on the whole set until it's fully spoiled.
Scratch my previous comment. Echo of Eons is definitely going in the deck. I'm probably going to cut Blink of an Eye to squeeze it in the decklist. Dralnu Storm is feeling like lean, mean combo machine.
It's been a great time being a member of this community. Truly, this site has been a lifeline for me in my lowest life moments and I've grown and developed as a player in direct response to the feedback I've received, the comments I've read, and the decklists I've perused on this site. MTGSal has been my online MTG home since 2009 and I have nothing but fond memories of this site.
However, in light of the closure announcement of MTGSal and its attendant 11th hour resurrection, I have personally decided to commit myself fully to the MTGNexus project that Feyd_Ruin has started. My reasoning, which I hope you'll respect and appreciate, is explained below.
First and foremost, the majority of the MTGSal staff that make this site work and function are leaving for MTGNexus. This wholesale migration of valuable and active members within the MTGSAl community that maintain its integrity and reputation leaves me uneasy as to the future direction of this site. Cryogen, Airithne, Wildfire, and many others that make this site tick are already active on MTGNexus and are, quite frankly, having a better experience with the new platform and have already established the basic infrastructure to make it successful in the same ways that MTGSal has been successful. I'm a strong supporter of these individuals and prefer to trust my online MTG experience to people that have been a part of the online MTG space for decades. I will be leaving this site to follow them in the new adventure that is Nexus, and I'm super happy to do so.
Next, the coding versatility and overall look and feel of MTGNexus is, quite simply, gorgeous. Check out the site here and explore if for a few minutes yourself. Then, check out these two Primers to get an idea of the coding versatility that exists on the new platform: darrenhabib's Will & Rowan Kenrith Primer and rumpy5897's Feather, the Redeemed Primer. In comparison to MTGSal, I think these Primers are far and away the visually superior product in comparing them to their respective MTGSal primers, and this kind of experience is one that I've personally always wanted from my online MTG experience. So, from a user standpoint, I find MTGNexus to offer a superior experience from a backend coding perspective that allows users to create visually complex and attractive posts that is unmatched by MTGSalvation.
Finally, there is a chance for myself, in my current Moderator position on MTGNexus, to be able to positively shape the way MTGNexus as a site performs. I'm an inherently creative person, and because of the personal relationship that I have with the site Admins and Owner, I feel confident that I will be able to influence the site in the ways that I think will increase MTGNexus' stature and reputation. In my current role on MTGSal, this is just not the case. It's like shouting into a void when it comes to real, concrete suggestions that the site Admins need to look over that never happens. I will have a chance to proactively introduce new content and new directions for the site that will actually be listened to and implemented by the MTGNexus staff, which will lead to a better user experience for me personally.
It's been a great adventure on MTGSal, and I'll be stepping down from all responsibilities on MTGSal by the end of 7/11/2019 at the official launch of MTGNexus and will be removing all of my content, with the exception of decklists from MTGSal as a site. I will NOT be updating the MTGSal threads and will not be actively contributing to MTGSal except on the rare occassion that my fancy is struck.
I wish you the best journey should you remain on MTGSal, but I would encourage you to give MTGNexus a try. It's already got a lot of participation and a large segment of the MTGSal community has already made the jump.
Why not you? It's your chance to start over fresh, contribute in a meaningful way to a new platform, and have a chance to positively shape what will become the premier MTG site on the internet.
Seeing how I've come to appreciate the Storm mechanic as I've developed as a player, I've decided to revamp my Dralnu list to accomodate the new changes to my card pool as well as the new cards that have been printed.
1x Dralnu, Lich Lord
Mana Sources (17)
1x Chrome Mox
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mox Opal
1x Mox Diamond
1x Dark Ritual
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Vault
1x Voltaic Key
1x Grim Monolith
1x Dimir Signet
1x Talisman of Dominance
1x Thought Vessel
1x Cabal Ritual
1x Worn Powerstone
1x Basalt Monolith
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Gilded Lotus
Tutors (11)
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Lim-Dul's Vault
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Transmute Artifact
1x Tainted Pact
1x Whir of Invention
1x Praetor's Grasp
1x Spellseeker
1x Intuition
1x Dark Petition
Combo Pieces/Utility (7)
1x Extirpate
1x Dramatic Reversal
1x Isochron Scepter
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Ashiok, Dream Render
1x Paradox Engine
1x Bolas's Citadel
1x Blue Sun's Zenith
1x Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
1x Aetherflux Reservoir
Card Advantage (14)
1x Preordain
1x Ponder
1x Brainstorm
1x Mystic Remora
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Impulse
1x Pull from Tomorrow
1x Necropotence
1x Rhystic Study
1x Windfall
1x Whispering Madness
1x Notion Thief
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Ad Nauseam
Counterspells (10)
1x Pact of Negation
1x Flusterstorm
1x Swan Song
1x Mental Misstep
1x Counterspell
1x Mana Drain
1x Trickbind
1x Muddle the Mixture
1x Narset's Reversal
1x Force of Will
Removal (8)
1x Chain of Vapor
1x Rapid Hybridization
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Blink of an Eye
1x Dimir Charm
1x Reality Shift
1x Capsize
1x Toxic Deluge
1x Polluted Delta
1x Flooded Strand
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Marsh Flats
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Academy Ruins
1x Inventors’ Fair
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Minamo, School at Water’s Edge
1x Cephalid Coliseum
1x Seat of the Synod
1x Vault of Whispers
1x Command Tower
1x Forbidden Orchard
1x Underground Sea
1x Watery Grave
1x Morphic Pool
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Sunken Ruins
1x Underground River
1x Darkslick Shores
1x Snow-Covered Island
1x Snow-Covered Swamp
1x Island
1x Swamp
Doomsday List
5x Dralnu, Lich Lord
Mana Sources (17)
0x Mana Crypt
0x Mox Diamond
0x Chrome Mox
0x Mox Opal
0x Lotus Petal
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Vault
1x Candelabra of Tawnos
1x Dark Ritual
1x High Tide
2x Grim Monolith
2x Dimir Signet
2x Talisman of Dominance
2x Fellwar Stone
2x Helm of Awakening
4x Thran Dynamo
5x Gilded Lotus
Tutors (12)
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Vampiric Tutor
2x Demonic Tutor
2x Transmute Artifact
2x Lim-Dul's Vault
2x Tainted Pact
3x Intuition
3x Whir of Invention
3x Doomsday
3x Praetor's Grasp
3x Spellseeker
5x Dark Petition
Combo Pieces (3)
2x Isochron Scepter
2x Dramatic Reversal
5x Paradox Engine
3x Blue Sun's Zenith
3x Laboratory Maniac
4x Aetherflux Reservoir
Counterspells (10)
0x Pact of Negation
1x Swan Song
1x Mental Misstep
1x Flusterstorm
2x Counterspell
2x Mana Drain
2x Arcane Denial
2x Delay
3x Disallow
5x Force of Will
Card Draw (14)
1x Brainstorm
1x Preordain
1x Gitaxian Probe
1x Sensei's Divining Top
2x Impulse
2x Predict
2x Night's Whisper
3x Windfall
3x Frantic Search
3x Necropotence
4x Notion Thief
5x Gush
5x Future Sight
5x Ad Nauseam
Removal (8)
1x Chain of Vapor
1x Rapid Hybridization
2x Snap
2x Reality Shift
2x Blink of an Eye
2x Cyclonic Rift
3x Toxic Deluge
3x Capsize
2x Baral, Chief of Compliance
2x Lightning Greaves
3x Shimmer Myr
Lands (30)
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Cephalid Coliseum
1x Command Tower
1x Forbidden Orchard
1x Mana Confluence
1x Morphic Pool
1x Darkslick Shores
1x Underground Sea
1x Watery Grave
1x Sunken Hollow
1x Fetid Pools
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Sunken Ruins
8x Island
2x Swamp
1x Polluted Delta
1x Flooded Strand
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Misty Rainforest
A brief description of the combo lines is useful:
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
5x Dralnu, Lich Lord
Mana Sources (17)
0x Mana Crypt
0x Mox Diamond
0x Chrome Mox
0x Mox Opal
0x Lotus Petal
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Vault
1x Candelabra of Tawnos
1x Dark Ritual
1x High Tide
2x Grim Monolith
2x Dimir Signet
2x Talisman of Dominance
2x Fellwar Stone
2x Helm of Awakening
4x Thran Dynamo
5x Gilded Lotus
Tutors (12)
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Vampiric Tutor
2x Demonic Tutor
2x Transmute Artifact
2x Lim-Dul's Vault
2x Tainted Pact
3x Intuition
3x Whir of Invention
3x Doomsday
3x Praetor's Grasp
3x Spellseeker
5x Dark Petition
Combo Pieces (3)
2x Isochron Scepter
2x Dramatic Reversal
5x Paradox Engine
3x Blue Sun's Zenith
3x Laboratory Maniac
4x Aetherflux Reservoir
Counterspells (10)
0x Pact of Negation
1x Swan Song
1x Mental Misstep
1x Flusterstorm
2x Counterspell
2x Mana Drain
2x Arcane Denial
2x Delay
3x Disallow
5x Force of Will
Card Draw (14)
1x Brainstorm
1x Preordain
1x Gitaxian Probe
1x Sensei's Divining Top
2x Impulse
2x Predict
2x Night's Whisper
3x Windfall
3x Frantic Search
3x Necropotence
4x Notion Thief
5x Gush
5x Future Sight
5x Ad Nauseam
Removal (8)
1x Chain of Vapor
1x Rapid Hybridization
2x Snap
2x Reality Shift
2x Blink of an Eye
2x Cyclonic Rift
3x Toxic Deluge
3x Capsize
2x Baral, Chief of Compliance
2x Lightning Greaves
3x Shimmer Myr
Lands (30)
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Cephalid Coliseum
1x Command Tower
1x Forbidden Orchard
1x Mana Confluence
1x Morphic Pool
1x Darkslick Shores
1x Underground Sea
1x Watery Grave
1x Sunken Hollow
1x Fetid Pools
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Sunken Ruins
8x Island
2x Swamp
1x Polluted Delta
1x Flooded Strand
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Misty Rainforest
This deck is a streamlined combo that has several strategies that it can pivot around.
The first combo of note is the traditional Isochron Scepter + [CARD}Dramatic Reversal[/CARD] + mana rock(s) that tap for more than 3. This will yield an infinite Storm count and infinite mana as well, which you can then dump into Blue Sun's Zenith or Capsize kill your opponents or lock them out of meaningful interaction for the rest of the game. The infinite Storm count is also good for activating the Fish Bowl Laser of Doom to kill your opponents.
Paradox Engine is one of the best cards to have been printed for cEDH in a long time. Casting it is pretty easy in the deck, and it allows you to chain spells and card draw to net mana, storm count, and dig super deep into the deck. Dralnu, Lich Lord is especially useful in this particular case as the Engine allows you to recast spent Instants and Sorceries, making it significantly easier to win in 1 turn with Dralnu, mana rocks, and a 'yard with some instants and sorceries.
Isochron Scepter also goes infinite with Paradox Engine as well. By imprinting one of the following spells on the Scepter with mana rocks and the Engine, you should be able to achieve an infinite iteration of spells that will ideally kill your opponents: Predict (to draw your deck), Reality Shift (deck any opponent that has a creature in play, which we can create via Forbidden Orchard or Rapid Hybridization), Into the Roil/Blink of an Eye/Cyclonic Rift (keep nonland cards off of your opponent's boards for the rest of the game), Impulse (draw your deck), Brainstorm (draw your deck), Dark Ritual/Cabal Ritual (infinite B), or Swan Song (create infinite bird tokens).
Helm of Awakening enables us to cram more spells into a turn, to increase our Storm count for a Aetherflux Reservoir kill, and also allows Sensei's Divining Top to go infinite as well with Future Sight Draw your deck, and create a storm count of 75+ so that you can kill your opponents with the Laser.
Future Sight + Sensei's Divining Top + Paradox Engine is another way to go virtually infinite, as you can draw deeply into your deck via recasting the Top off the top of your library via Future Sight with the Engine untapping a mana rock or two to keep the loop going. More often than not, this will allow you to go infinite by digging into one of the pieces for an infinite combo.
Finally, there's Doomsday piles that you can win with. Most of them require that you have a draw spell in hand and/or Dralnu in play. A couple of piles, in card order, are:
02 Predict
03 Pact of Negation
04 Gitaxian Probe
05 Laboratory Maniac
Use a draw spell to draw at least Brainstorm, then cast Brainstorm. Put 2 cards from your hand on top of your library, then cast Predict, naming the card you put on top of your library. This will mill the top card and draw you into Laboratory Maniac. CAst Lab Man and then cast the Probe that you drew from the Brainstorm on an empty library and win.
02 Ponder
03 Laboratory Maniac
04 Lotus Petal
05 Gitaxian Probe
This pile requires that you have Dralnu, Lich Lord in play and untapped. Use a draw spell to draw Predict. Cast Predict naming Ponder, which will draw you into Lotus Petal and Lab Man. Cast Lab Man and Petal, then flashback the Predict naming Gitaxian Probe and then draw off an empty library.
Shimmer Myr may seem odd, but it is used to allow you to cast Necropotence, draw 30 cards, cast Dark Ritual into [CARD]Shimmer Myr[/CARD} and start dumping artifact mana into play during your end step. If you draw the Reservoir, there's a good chance that you can win during your end step, once the Necro'd cards go to your hand.
Ad Nauseam is one of the best draw spells ever printed, and over-performs in this deck. Use it liberally, ideally during the end-step of the opponent right before you so you can untap with a massive hand of cards.
High Tide also does a ton of work in the deck, making cards like Snap, Frantic Search, and Candelabra of Tawnos net mana on top of their effects. With Dralnu in play, you can triple the output of your Islands during the combo turn.
There's a pretty extensive removal suite in the deck and each card was chosen for its synergy with Dralnu, its CMC, and its overall utility. Gilded Drake could make its way into the list, but I like the current spell-suite.
I'll be updating the OP shortly with this improved list.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
-Sensei's Divining Top
-Future Sight
-Doomsday
-Thousand-Year Elixir
-Predict
-Gitaxian Probe
-Trinket Mage
+Mana Leak
+Pull from Tomorrow
+Fact or Fiction
+Vedalken Shackles
+Damnation
+Trickbind
+Tainted Pact
I've added in another tutor effect with Tainted Pact because of its functionality in finding the specific card I need in order to win as well as its ability to win the game with Laboratory Maniac. I'll be testing out this effect to see how effective it is. It's super risky, but could be worthwhile.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
I'm also testing Whispering Madness as another Windfall effect. While Timetwister is strictly better I prefer the fact that the Madness dumps the cards into the 'yard for potential Dralnu interactions. It's also another Wheel type effect to make Notion Thief even more powerful than it is. Memory Jar might come in, but I need to test the Madness a little bit more. The Cipher ability could be relevant in addition to having natural Dralnu synergies.
-Frantic Search
-High Tide
-Snap
-Candelabra of Tawnos
+Everflowing Chalice
+Coalition Relic
+Vedalken Shackles
+Damnation
I also added a section for the Doomsday list on the OP so that I can keep track of the different versions of the deck that I've created/played.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
Meh is my opinion. In comparison to Aetherflux Reservoir, the ability to ping off a large number of creatures (the most useful part about the Tower) as we're chaining our spells together is not better than the lifegain that the Reservoir allows. Over the course of a game, I find that I'm very cavalier with my life total. Being able to replenish that for Necropotence or a flashbacked Ad Nauseam and draw more cards is absolutely fantastic. So, while I'd recommend it as a supplement to the Reservoir, I would consider the Fish-Bowl Laser to be an integral part of the deck.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
I'll be updating the OP decklist to accommodate this very important nuance.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
EDIT: I'm repeating a comment I made on my Tasigur Primer about Lavinia here as well in order to clarify my thinking on why she's so important for the cEDH scene.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
I'm also thinking about adding in Mind's Desire because of the synergy it has with Dralnu. Still undecided though.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
The new Ashiok and Narset also look extremely appealing, so I think I'll be doing an update to this deck relatively soon. War of the Spark was really good to cEDH and I REALLY hope that the design team follows this trend. There are very powerful cards that have been printed at reasonable mana costs, and I'm pleased with the way they're taking the card design.
EDIT: I've updated the decklist.
EDIT 2: The specific cuts were as follows:
1 Damnation
1 Preordain
1 Disallow
1 Sunken Hollow
1 Gilded Drake
1 Laboratory Maniac
1 Bolas's Citadel
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Narset's Reversal
1 Ashiok, Dream Render
1 Dimir Charm
1 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
But my meta shifted to more competitive, so I found your list.
Is there any cards, that not used due to budget reasons?
What cards you would consider if you have unlimited budget?
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
It's been a great time being a member of this community. Truly, this site has been a lifeline for me in my lowest life moments and I've grown and developed as a player in direct response to the feedback I've received, the comments I've read, and the decklists I've perused on this site. MTGSal has been my online MTG home since 2009 and I have nothing but fond memories of this site.
However, in light of the closure announcement of MTGSal and its attendant 11th hour resurrection, I have personally decided to commit myself fully to the MTGNexus project that Feyd_Ruin has started. My reasoning, which I hope you'll respect and appreciate, is explained below.
It's been a great adventure on MTGSal, and I'll be stepping down from all responsibilities on MTGSal by the end of 7/11/2019 at the official launch of MTGNexus and will be removing all of my content, with the exception of decklists from MTGSal as a site. I will NOT be updating the MTGSal threads and will not be actively contributing to MTGSal except on the rare occassion that my fancy is struck.
I wish you the best journey should you remain on MTGSal, but I would encourage you to give MTGNexus a try. It's already got a lot of participation and a large segment of the MTGSal community has already made the jump.
Why not you? It's your chance to start over fresh, contribute in a meaningful way to a new platform, and have a chance to positively shape what will become the premier MTG site on the internet.
Adieu, my friends!
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager