MTG Salvation

A friend of mine is selling a lot of his cards, and I've decided to spend $30 - $40 to upgrade my Roon of the Hidden Realm list. I'm not allowed to post my decklist, but it's a pretty typical Roon-list compared to others on TappedOut, EDHRec or here on MTGS. I don't run infinite combos, and it's used for casual, social play. There's a lot of good cards to choose, and here are those from my friends collection that I don't have and are considering. I'd love some advice on what to choose.

Ramp: Birds of Paradise, Bloom Tender, Lotus Cobra, Somberwald Sage
Clones / Steal: Gilded Drake (a bit on the expensive side), Phyrexian Metamorph, Clever Impersonator, Sakashima's Student, Mimic Vat
Draw: Consecrated Sphinx, Sphinx's Revelation, Blue Sun's Zenith
Removal / Protection: Duplicant, Profaner of the Dead, Qasali Pridemage, Austere Command, Privileged Position, Sylvan Safekeeper, Path to Exile, Resolute Archangel, Venser, Shaper Savant
Utility / Combo / Misc: Mirror Entity, Restoration Angel, Parallax Wave, Stonecloaker, Peregrine Drake, Mirri's Guile, Flash, Deranged Hermit, Crystal Ball
Land: Wooded Bastion, Mystic Gate, Flooded Grove, Minamo, School at Water's Edge, Boseiju, Who Shelters All

I'd rather not spend more than ~$10 per card, but can be swayed if there are really good arguments for including a card.

Edit: Also added Asceticism

I'm not sure why you aren't allowed to post your decklist, as that would be most helpful in giving you feedback regarding what you need based upon what your deck lacks. You have a post on these forums for Roon, are we to assume that is not your decklist you're using currently?

That being said, the cards among the ones you listed that I would prioritize, in this order, would be: Gilded Drake, Venser, Shaper Savant, the filter lands, Path to Exile, Qasali Pridemage, Duplicant, Austere Command, Minamo, School at Water's Edge. I use most of these in my list (listed in my signature below) to great success, and the others I'd include if I had them to spare for the deck.

There's a "No decklist in main forum"-policy here, and I don't want to look like I'm only out to plug my own decklist. My current decklist is in my signature, yes.

A card I'll definitely pick up is Parallax Wave, it seems to have a lot of utility and I'm eager to try it out. Thanks for your input on other cards

Clever Impersonator seems extremely good here, and I'm always a fan of Privileged Position. Maybe you don't play enough enchantments but I'll suggest Sterling Grove anyway.

For Roon, if Aura Shards isn't already on your list, it should be.

Mimic Vat and Duplicant can go in most any deck anyways. I am a fan of Crystal Ball and Mirror Entity.

The cheap version of the deck I have seen involved... switcharoo effects, perplexing chimera, puca's mischief, conjured currency. Then using Roon to bounce your own things back to yourself very weird and kind of cool. With just a few simple etb dorks that you don't mind passing around.

It isn't the worlds most competitive deck but with the power of your opponents deck it can do some damage. Also clone effects.

gilded drake is a good card in most blue decks, but in roon it is insane. You must get gilded drake.
Bloom tender is great but a little on the pricey side, so on a budget I'd recommend the birds and somberwald sage.
Consecrated is a little pricey too but it is insanely powerful as well. I'd try to squeeze that into your budget if you can.
After that, probably duplicant, phyrexian metamorph, and clever impersonator.

Quote from Life1ess »

Clever Impersonator seems extremely good here, and I'm always a fan of Privileged Position. Maybe you don't play enough enchantments but I'll suggest Sterling Grove anyway.

How is Asceticism compared to Privileged Position?

Quote from JWK »

For Roon, if Aura Shards isn't already on your list, it should be.

It's in my list. It can be found in my signature, if interrested.

Thanks for all of your advice, guys, keep it coming if you have more

Do you think the lands are the cards that will improve my decklist the most, compared to the other cards listed? I'm not too sure about Lotus Cobra yet, since I'm not running that many fetches.

• Restoration Angel
  
• Duplicant
  
• Venser
  
• Phyrexian Metamorph
  
• Gilded Drake
  
• Minamo
  
• Consecrated Sphinx

maybes

• Blue Sun Zenith
  
• Sphinx's Revalation
  
• Path to Exile
  
• Austere Command

I would probably drop Gilded Drake in favor of more cards. Its really good and fun, but I would probably get 3-4 cheaper cards on the list than use 1/2 your budget on the Drake. Draw is always good, and Duplicant and Venser should be auto includes in Roon. Clones are good because you can blink and reset them if something better comes along.

Quote from Merricks »

I know... Lands are boring. But your manabase is the foundation of your deck and those filter lands are some of the best mana fixing that exists in the game. It might be more fun and more of a bomb to get the Consecrated Sphinx but if you can't consistently cast it when you need to... My opinion is that the filter lands will make your deck more stable and consistent.

I absolutely agree - it's boring but neccessary to invest some in lands. I do however already run 3x Shocks, 3x Pains, 3x Scry and 3x Checklands. Do you think 3x Filters will make a noticeable difference?

I resonded in detail on your list's thread, but I agree with the above poster that Gilded Drake would probably be the most effective addition to your list, and even better, it fits in really well with your 75% concept, as it scales well with the power level of your opponents.

Asceticism is probably just as good as Privileged Position for you since your list has such a large quantity of creatures.

I just came here to echo the sentiments on Gilded Drake. The card is awesome in any deck that focuses on blinking and flickering. Even though it's pricy it will be well worth including in Roon.

The filters are good, but they're probably over-priced compared to the benefit they give, and with what you describe for other fixing, they are probably a lower priority until they are reprinted (soon, probably) and (hopefully) fall in price.

Gilded Drake really is pretty amazing. That, Duplicant, the clones you note, Venser and Mimic Vat are probably where I would focus.

I've been in a similar situation recently with a friend who was trimming his collection but didn't have the time/knowledge to know what/where to sell. If you're looking to help your friend optimize his profit, then I'd focus on picking up some of the lower-valued cards on the list, as your friend may not see much/any return on them depending on where/how he sells them. As well, cheaper cards are often less popular, and can be harder to find in some stores/sites, which can make the opportunity to pick them up now all the better.

Alternatively, if you're hoping to spend your own money efficiently, the higher-valued cards are well worth picking up, as you paying slightly over a card's trade value will still benefit your friend (who may not be willing/able to barter with other prospective buyers), and still provides you with a solid amount of savings compared to purchasing the card at retail from your LGS or online retailer of choice. It's also worth noting that picking up a few high-valued cards will make adjusting your deck easier than if you were to pick up a larger amount of cheaper cards.

All of that said, the cards I'd be most interested in picking up would be:

Lotus Cobra: Provides explosive ramp when paired with Exploration, Krosan Verge, or blinked Wood Elves.
Gilded Drake: The blink potential can't be denied, and it's age and rarity will only make it harder/more expensive to obtain in the future.
Sphinx's Revelation: A solid card to have in hand when you also want to hold up blink shenanigans, and draws less ire than Card Sphinx.
Venser, Shaper Savant: Another card with solid blink potential whose price tag can make him harder to justify at times.
Path to Exile: Solid spot removal is solid, though if you think you can snag one of the upcoming promo versions it becomes a non-issue.

I'd prioritize action cards above mana dorks in the beginning. Lotus Cobra would be more than happy being a Gyre Sage, Wall of Roots or a Somberwald Sage in the interim. In my Roon list Survival of the Fittest is an all star because it can find anything, mostly Gilded Drake. The hype is real for that card.

If you've only got $40 then pick up action cards that make the deck better, and focus on upgrading more fringe stuff later. I don't think the filter lands are substantially better than the Scry lands or any other cheaper duals. They're good though.

You already are running a sub-Blink package to reinforce Roon, so how about Mystic Snake, Venser (creature), and Draining Whelk? Having the two cheaper ones will greatly empower the Deadeye you're running and are good in general.

Luminate Primordial is much better than his mana cost shows; I used to run him in Brago as a part of a package to exile every threat that even looked at me funny.

The Reveillark/Karmic Guide/Body Double package is worth considering too. Each brings back (or copies) another, and with Body Double, you can keep on getting the best stuff to reuse out of any graveyard.

Edit: Out of the ones mentioned in your OP: Gilded Drake, Duplicant, Path to Exile, Venser (creature) (in that order). Removal does so much to help that it's worth running more, all the time, and Gilded Drake is pseudo-removal while advancing your boardstate too.

clones can be amazing with blink effects. other things you might wanna consider include morphs/manifest cards (when faced-down cards are blinked, they come back faced up, i believe).

You've got your shocks and Khans fetches are about as cheap as they're going to get, so I'd pick up Strand and Heath.

I'm planning to get the fetches in trades.

I'll get a final list tomorrow of what cards that I'll be able to buy. Here's what I think I've decided on:
Gilded Drake $18.5
Venser, Shaper Savant $12

Birds of Paradise $5.5
Parallax Wave $2.8
Phyrexian Metamorph $5.5
Clever Impersonator $2.75
Mirror Entity $2

Profaner of the Dead $0.25
Sylvan Safekeeper $0.25
Tormod's Crypt $0.25
Stonecloaker $0.25
Trinket Mage $0.25

That's about $50 total, a bit above my budget. I might cut Birds of Paradise. I'd really like to get my hands on a Lotus Cobra as well. We'll see what my friend is willing to sell.

Quote from Indigoindigo »

That's about $50 total, a bit above my budget. I might cut Birds of Paradise. I'd really like to get my hands on a Lotus Cobra as well. We'll see what my friend is willing to sell.

Remember that your budget is currently looking at retail prices for cards, and depending on who else your friend is selling out to (i.e. any LGS or online retailer) he's not guaranteed to get retail prices on a lot of his cards (especially if card condition is an issue). If possible, look up some buylist prices for the cards you're interested in (or ballpark it at roughly %50~%60 of retail), and meet your friend somewhere in the middle.

It's generally going to be hard for your friend to nickel and dime every one of his playable cards for full value, especially where he's not looking for trades by the sounds of it, and is dealing with plenty of under $10 cards (which get their buyer's prices slashed to sub %50 by many places). As such, there should be room enough for you to haggle for a lower price that still benefits the both of you.

@Lycoris: Already accounted for, prices was 5 NOK per $1 (instead of the usual 7.6).

I bought the cards today. My friend had sold some of his cards earlier already, but I picked up 6 of the ones he had left:
Birds of Paradise
Lotus Cobra
Bloom Tender
Qasali Pridemage
Gilded Drake
Parallax Wave

I wasn't really sure about Lotus Cobra and Bloom Tender and maybe I should've gotten a Duplicant instead, but I really enjoy playing cheap and effective ramp.

If anyone wants to give some feedback on what to include and what to remove in my list you can find my Roon decklist in my signature.

A big thanks to everybody for their input

spike weaver is great protection in a Roon deck.
Stonehorn Dignitary is also great at controlling aggro decks.