I still think Oloro, Ageless Ascetic is the superior reanimator general and Kess, Dissident Mage excels elsewhere. Passing on white in reanimator control means you are missing out on Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Ashen Rider and Avacyn, Angel of Hope, arguably the best reanimator targets in the format. Oloro's lifegain makes playing an agressive mana base along with cards like Mana Crypt less painful and allows cards like Reanimate to impact your life total less. White also gives you Unburial Rites.
Kess allows you to play spells like Exhume and Reanimate multiple times, but a reanimator deck doesn't want to play their commander on turn 4, they ideally want to reanimate a threat.
What I like about Kess, Dissident Mage is you don't have to play her as soon as possible. Frequently from my testing, I like to play her when I have access to 5 mana, that way the same turn I play her, I can cast a spell like Fatal Push, Preordain or Void Snare from my graveyard in the same turn and get immediate value. Alternatively you can play Anger of the Gods/Radiant Flames on turn 3, cast Kess on turn 4 and recast Anger of the Gods on turn 5. She's an amazing midrange/control general that encourages our opponents not to overextend because they know we can reuse our removal spells. It's an incredibly unique ability.
The commander to draw comparisons to would be Dralnu, Lich Lord who costs more mana, has worse stats, doesn't have flying, can't be used the same turn it is played, has a potential backbreaking drawback and doesn't have access to red.
I still think Oloro, Ageless Ascetic is the superior reanimator general and Kess, Dissident Mage excels elsewhere. Passing on white in reanimator control means you are missing out on Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Ashen Rider and Avacyn, Angel of Hope, arguably the best reanimator targets in the format. Oloro's lifegain makes playing an agressive mana base along with cards like Mana Crypt less painful and allows cards like Reanimate to impact your life total less. White also gives you Unburial Rites.
Kess allows you to play spells like Exhume and Reanimate multiple times, but a reanimator deck doesn't want to play their commander on turn 4, they ideally want to reanimate a threat.
What I like about Kess, Dissident Mage is you don't have to play her as soon as possible. Frequently from my testing, I like to play her when I have access to 5 mana, that way the same turn I play her, I can cast a spell like Fatal Push, Preordain or Void Snare from my graveyard in the same turn and get immediate value. Alternatively you can play Anger of the Gods/Radiant Flames on turn 3, cast Kess on turn 4 and recast Anger of the Gods on turn 5. She's an amazing midrange/control general that encourages our opponents not to overextend because they know we can reuse our removal spells. It's an incredibly unique ability.
The commander to draw comparisons to would be Dralnu, Lich Lord who costs more mana, has worse stats, doesn't have flying, can't be used the same turn it is played, has a potential backbreaking drawback and doesn't have access to red.
On this note, the other thing I am realizing with her is that you don't need to run a TON of spells, you can just run the best cantrips/removal/control and then reuse it, since this general effectively doubles your spell count.
I have cards all over the floor, a bunch of tabs open and ive been trying to figure out how to build Kess all day.
I built a Scarab God deck but despite me liking the card a lot, he required too much work to get going for my taste. I still kinda want him in a deck. My first plan was wheel/reanimator in order to support Locust/Scarab God. The idea sounds fun, just not sure how to go about executing it and if its the best (or even a reliable) non-storm thing I can do. I mean if it's wheels, maybe Nekusaur is better suited for that?
Some silly idea I came up with was to cast exsanguinate for a bunch of mana with Neheb, the Eternal on board. Use the bunch of mana u got with him and re cast exsanguinate with Kess.
I do like getting advantage out of her casting those small draw spells, what im looking for is a consistent way to win. Just not sure if more creatures or more spells is the way to go.
I still think Oloro, Ageless Ascetic is the superior reanimator general and Kess, Dissident Mage excels elsewhere. Passing on white in reanimator control means you are missing out on Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Ashen Rider and Avacyn, Angel of Hope, arguably the best reanimator targets in the format. Oloro's lifegain makes playing an agressive mana base along with cards like Mana Crypt less painful and allows cards like Reanimate to impact your life total less. White also gives you Unburial Rites.
Kess allows you to play spells like Exhume and Reanimate multiple times, but a reanimator deck doesn't want to play their commander on turn 4, they ideally want to reanimate a threat.
What I like about Kess, Dissident Mage is you don't have to play her as soon as possible. Frequently from my testing, I like to play her when I have access to 5 mana, that way the same turn I play her, I can cast a spell like Fatal Push, Preordain or Void Snare from my graveyard in the same turn and get immediate value. Alternatively you can play Anger of the Gods/Radiant Flames on turn 3, cast Kess on turn 4 and recast Anger of the Gods on turn 5. She's an amazing midrange/control general that encourages our opponents not to overextend because they know we can reuse our removal spells. It's an incredibly unique ability.
The commander to draw comparisons to would be Dralnu, Lich Lord who costs more mana, has worse stats, doesn't have flying, can't be used the same turn it is played, has a potential backbreaking drawback and doesn't have access to red.
In an ideal reanimation strategy I'm reanimating on turn two or three, setting me up for bigger plays with Kess later. The usual big white targets are fine, but I'm more of a Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur, It That Betrays, or Sire of Insanity (who is truly insane with Kess) kind of guy, and I'll still argue that the easy access to haste is extremely important in a wrath-filled multiplayer format. All three praetors (Jin, Sheoldred, Whispering One, and Urabrask the Hidden) are solid here, and, again, there is no reason you can't be playing value 1 mana spells and wraths, the point of Kess is that she frees up space for you to be able to do so while still running all the bombs you want.
That kind of deck building freedom is nearly unique to her.
I have cards all over the floor, a bunch of tabs open and ive been trying to figure out how to build Kess all day.
I built a Scarab God deck but despite me liking the card a lot, he required too much work to get going for my taste. I still kinda want him in a deck. My first plan was wheel/reanimator in order to support Locust/Scarab God. The idea sounds fun, just not sure how to go about executing it and if its the best (or even a reliable) non-storm thing I can do. I mean if it's wheels, maybe Nekusaur is better suited for that?
Some silly idea I came up with was to cast exsanguinate for a bunch of mana with Neheb, the Eternal on board. Use the bunch of mana u got with him and re cast exsanguinate with Kess.
I do like getting advantage out of her casting those small draw spells, what im looking for is a consistent way to win. Just not sure if more creatures or more spells is the way to go.
As noted above, she has a lot of freedom in deck building so you can do a little bit of everything without scattering her too much. If you want to focus on the two gods then I would say wheels and reanimation are easy inclusions, just back them up with powerful removal and efficient Brainstorm effects and you have yourself a deck.
I have cards all over the floor, a bunch of tabs open and ive been trying to figure out how to build Kess all day.
I built a Scarab God deck but despite me liking the card a lot, he required too much work to get going for my taste. I still kinda want him in a deck. My first plan was wheel/reanimator in order to support Locust/Scarab God. The idea sounds fun, just not sure how to go about executing it and if its the best (or even a reliable) non-storm thing I can do. I mean if it's wheels, maybe Nekusaur is better suited for that?
Some silly idea I came up with was to cast exsanguinate for a bunch of mana with Neheb, the Eternal on board. Use the bunch of mana u got with him and re cast exsanguinate with Kess.
I do like getting advantage out of her casting those small draw spells, what im looking for is a consistent way to win. Just not sure if more creatures or more spells is the way to go.
The deck is very spell efficient, so you can also use stuff like Thraximundar and other big Grixis/Rakdos/Dimir/Izzet threats to beat people down while extracting value out of double casting your spells. The direction I'm going to go in will probably run 25 instants/sorceries, with a focus on the best in class of counterspells/cantrips/removal. The rest of the deck will be pillowfort and big threats, be them planeswalkers or creatures. I also think copying Exsanguinate or Torment of Hailfire for huge X is great.
What I like about Kess, Dissident Mage is you don't have to play her as soon as possible. Frequently from my testing, I like to play her when I have access to 5 mana, that way the same turn I play her, I can cast a spell like Fatal Push, Preordain or Void Snare from my graveyard in the same turn and get immediate value. Alternatively you can play Anger of the Gods/Radiant Flames on turn 3, cast Kess on turn 4 and recast Anger of the Gods on turn 5. She's an amazing midrange/control general that encourages our opponents not to overextend because they know we can reuse our removal spells. It's an incredibly unique ability.
The commander to draw comparisons to would be Dralnu, Lich Lord who costs more mana, has worse stats, doesn't have flying, can't be used the same turn it is played, has a potential backbreaking drawback and doesn't have access to red.
Good catch that getting value with a 1-mana spell same turn is a good idea. The 1-mana cantrips should pretty top of the line for that. I will say also that I usually favor Instants for removal, and I think they are still ok for Kess even though they don’t get the same advantages when used on your turn. Pongify and the like have always been pretty solid for me.
The comparison to Dralnu is appropriate also. Dralnu is easier to abuse with things like Hidden Strings, Thousand-Year Elixir and Aphetto Alchemist, but does come on much slower. Access to Red is a big deal also, which in my experience is one of the best colors at finishing the game through spells. That is probably the clincher for me.
One aspect of Red also that I don’t think sees enough love is pump spells. The ones that multiply with forks like Rush of Blood and Fatal Frenzy can end an EDH game quickly. The equip route is possible with Kess and her flying, then from there it’s easy to get off 2x of these spells in a turn for an alpha strike.
Painful Truths draws you 3 cards for 3 mana in one turn. Secrets of the Dead draws you 3 cards over the course of 3 turns assuming Kess is on the battlefield and you have spells to cast from your graveyard. Phyrexian Arena also draws a card every turn, but there isn't a condition to be met.
I do feel Burning Vengeance is playable. Being able to Shock a Birds of Paradise or Oracle of Mul Daya whenever you use Kess's ability seems strong.
Painful Truths draws you 3 cards for 3 mana in one turn. Secrets of the Dead draws you 3 cards over the course of 3 turns assuming Kess is on the battlefield and you have spells to cast from your graveyard. Phyrexian Arena also draws a card every turn, but there isn't a condition to be met.
I do feel Burning Provenance is playable. Being able to Shock a Birds of Paradise or Oracle of Mul Daya whenever you use Kess's ability seems strong.
Think you mean Burning Vengeance? Either way its probably not as strong for the same reason Painful Truths is kinda weak. Unless you are running lots of other flashback or cast from graveyard cards, just a straight lightning bolt twice probably better.
Painful Truths draws you 3 cards for 3 mana in one turn. Secrets of the Dead draws you 3 cards over the course of 3 turns assuming Kess is on the battlefield and you have spells to cast from your graveyard. Phyrexian Arena also draws a card every turn, but there isn't a condition to be met.
I do feel Burning Provenance is playable. Being able to Shock a Birds of Paradise or Oracle of Mul Daya whenever you use Kess's ability seems strong.
Think you mean Burning Vengeance? Either way its probably not as strong for the same reason Painful Truths is kinda weak. Unless you are running lots of other flashback or cast from graveyard cards, just a straight lightning bolt twice probably better.
Painful Truths draws you 3 cards for 3 mana in one turn. Secrets of the Dead draws you 3 cards over the course of 3 turns assuming Kess is on the battlefield and you have spells to cast from your graveyard. Phyrexian Arena also draws a card every turn, but there isn't a condition to be met.
I do feel Burning Vengeance is playable. Being able to Shock a Birds of Paradise or Oracle of Mul Daya whenever you use Kess's ability seems strong.
Agree that Burning Vengeance is better than Secrets of the Dead, for the same reason that Shock is better than Reach through the Mists. I am not that big of a fan of Phyrexian Arena effects in this format besides, because they are such poor top-decks. Secrets of the Dead is one card better than Arena later on, but usually one or more cards worse early. If it were between any of these in Kess, I’d probably take Monastery Siege because you can at least cast it later for the Frost Titan static effect and the discarding is not that bad of a drawback for this general. Attunement is worth consideration instead also, for the same reasons of graveyard interaction.
Although, River Kelpie to me seems strong because of Persist. For more mana you get another of these draw 1 per turn effects after your first one dies, and it gives you a card when it comes back. If you’re in re-animator you double-dip with creatures, and it also counts the spells and creatures other players play from the grave.
One card that I used to run in a Mizzix deck that proved to be powerful was Mana Geyser. It was quite common to be getting 15+ mana with this spell, and being able to recast it with Kess is gravy.
Painful Truths draws you 3 cards for 3 mana in one turn. Secrets of the Dead draws you 3 cards over the course of 3 turns assuming Kess is on the battlefield and you have spells to cast from your graveyard. Phyrexian Arena also draws a card every turn, but there isn't a condition to be met.
I do feel Burning Vengeance is playable. Being able to Shock a Birds of Paradise or Oracle of Mul Daya whenever you use Kess's ability seems strong.
Was it just too slow?
It doesn't do enough and there are other enchantments that draw you more cards for the same mana amount (Phyrexian Arena, Rhystic Study, etc.)
The main plan is board control with one of your 5 cards that give you damage/tokens when casting instants and sorceries. You also have Exsanguinate and Torment of Hailfire, as well as some small pillowfort for your Bolas's. Still, the deck doesn't seem to function too well as a spellslinger deck compared to straight Izzet with Mizzix or Melek. Black doesn't really add much here but tutors and removal. I'm getting the feeling that Kess will work better under a more aggressive Grixis build, or at the very least something different that just uses her occasionally for value.
I have been experimenting with a midrange control deck. A little bit of Dredge goes a long way. Stinkweed Imp and Golgari Thug are great rattlesnake cards to keep people from attacking you, and when they do, you dredge them back for added value. Smallpox has performed really well, given that both Stinkweed Imp and Golgari Thug love to come back, and using Smallpox twice is fantastic. Two Smallpox can be crippling on turn 4.
Sorry to double post, but I had another thought about Kess, and another thread seemed silly.
Kess is not a typical blue mage. She likes counterspells, but she doesn't need typical counterspells. When casting from your graveyard on your turn, the only spells that you will be facing are instants. This means spells that are cheaper but aren't full counters are actually good bargains.
I think Kess may want modal counterspells and instant or noncreature counterspells that are mana efficient. I have never played Dispel, since I always felt like having a full counter was a better use of a slot than Dispel. Now I am reconsidering. I may play Dispel.
I do prefer the modal counter spell route, although they are heavy in mana costs. Cards like Insidious Will and Mystic Confluences can be used with other modes while from the graveyard.
An interesting counterspell consideration for Kess is Remand. Being able to remand a spell cast from graveyard back to hand is quite interesting. But I can't find any instance where having this interaction is good. Good for cantrip I suppose?
Or do some weird combo involving Isochron Scepter + Remand + Paradox Engine (and some rocks) to draw the entire deck by remanding your own spell again and again hmm.
Little bit of a thread necro, but I've been running Kess in a discard/wheels deck with Megrim-type effects, and things like Waste Not.
The deck has performed surprisingly well! Generally, I don't bother casting Kess until I have a couple of spells in the yard I want to recur, if I need a blocker, or if I want to set up a big turn by being able to wheel twice. All the self-discard doesn't bother me since she can cast the stuff I'm chucking from the yard.
So far, I think I've played 7 games with her, and won 4. Of the 3 I lost, 2 were due to ongoing graveyard hate via enchantments, so I added more bounce to deal with those effects (nothing feels as good as overloaded Cyclonic Rift followed by a wheel).
Kess allows you to play spells like Exhume and Reanimate multiple times, but a reanimator deck doesn't want to play their commander on turn 4, they ideally want to reanimate a threat.
What I like about Kess, Dissident Mage is you don't have to play her as soon as possible. Frequently from my testing, I like to play her when I have access to 5 mana, that way the same turn I play her, I can cast a spell like Fatal Push, Preordain or Void Snare from my graveyard in the same turn and get immediate value. Alternatively you can play Anger of the Gods/Radiant Flames on turn 3, cast Kess on turn 4 and recast Anger of the Gods on turn 5. She's an amazing midrange/control general that encourages our opponents not to overextend because they know we can reuse our removal spells. It's an incredibly unique ability.
The commander to draw comparisons to would be Dralnu, Lich Lord who costs more mana, has worse stats, doesn't have flying, can't be used the same turn it is played, has a potential backbreaking drawback and doesn't have access to red.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
On this note, the other thing I am realizing with her is that you don't need to run a TON of spells, you can just run the best cantrips/removal/control and then reuse it, since this general effectively doubles your spell count.
Padeem, Consul of Innovation - Artifact value/combo.
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant - Sultai zombie reanimator.
I built a Scarab God deck but despite me liking the card a lot, he required too much work to get going for my taste. I still kinda want him in a deck. My first plan was wheel/reanimator in order to support Locust/Scarab God. The idea sounds fun, just not sure how to go about executing it and if its the best (or even a reliable) non-storm thing I can do. I mean if it's wheels, maybe Nekusaur is better suited for that?
Some silly idea I came up with was to cast exsanguinate for a bunch of mana with Neheb, the Eternal on board. Use the bunch of mana u got with him and re cast exsanguinate with Kess.
I do like getting advantage out of her casting those small draw spells, what im looking for is a consistent way to win. Just not sure if more creatures or more spells is the way to go.
In an ideal reanimation strategy I'm reanimating on turn two or three, setting me up for bigger plays with Kess later. The usual big white targets are fine, but I'm more of a Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur, It That Betrays, or Sire of Insanity (who is truly insane with Kess) kind of guy, and I'll still argue that the easy access to haste is extremely important in a wrath-filled multiplayer format. All three praetors (Jin, Sheoldred, Whispering One, and Urabrask the Hidden) are solid here, and, again, there is no reason you can't be playing value 1 mana spells and wraths, the point of Kess is that she frees up space for you to be able to do so while still running all the bombs you want.
That kind of deck building freedom is nearly unique to her.
As noted above, she has a lot of freedom in deck building so you can do a little bit of everything without scattering her too much. If you want to focus on the two gods then I would say wheels and reanimation are easy inclusions, just back them up with powerful removal and efficient Brainstorm effects and you have yourself a deck.
The deck is very spell efficient, so you can also use stuff like Thraximundar and other big Grixis/Rakdos/Dimir/Izzet threats to beat people down while extracting value out of double casting your spells. The direction I'm going to go in will probably run 25 instants/sorceries, with a focus on the best in class of counterspells/cantrips/removal. The rest of the deck will be pillowfort and big threats, be them planeswalkers or creatures. I also think copying Exsanguinate or Torment of Hailfire for huge X is great.
Padeem, Consul of Innovation - Artifact value/combo.
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant - Sultai zombie reanimator.
Good catch that getting value with a 1-mana spell same turn is a good idea. The 1-mana cantrips should pretty top of the line for that. I will say also that I usually favor Instants for removal, and I think they are still ok for Kess even though they don’t get the same advantages when used on your turn. Pongify and the like have always been pretty solid for me.
The comparison to Dralnu is appropriate also. Dralnu is easier to abuse with things like Hidden Strings, Thousand-Year Elixir and Aphetto Alchemist, but does come on much slower. Access to Red is a big deal also, which in my experience is one of the best colors at finishing the game through spells. That is probably the clincher for me.
One aspect of Red also that I don’t think sees enough love is pump spells. The ones that multiply with forks like Rush of Blood and Fatal Frenzy can end an EDH game quickly. The equip route is possible with Kess and her flying, then from there it’s easy to get off 2x of these spells in a turn for an alpha strike.
On the reanimator discussion, my favorites are cards like Torrent of Souls, Grave Upheaval and Cauldron Dance. Having Red makes it a lot easier to have an immediate impact on the board. For the high-value spells like Unburial Rites, there is always Victimize and Rise of the Dark Realms if you are looking at the top end. Some of the best graveyard filler spells are also in Red, such as Cathartic Reunion, Faithless Looting, Wheel of Fortune, so on.
Padeem, Consul of Innovation - Artifact value/combo.
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant - Sultai zombie reanimator.
I tested it and didn't like it.
Painful Truths draws you 3 cards for 3 mana in one turn. Secrets of the Dead draws you 3 cards over the course of 3 turns assuming Kess is on the battlefield and you have spells to cast from your graveyard. Phyrexian Arena also draws a card every turn, but there isn't a condition to be met.
I do feel Burning Vengeance is playable. Being able to Shock a Birds of Paradise or Oracle of Mul Daya whenever you use Kess's ability seems strong.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
Think you mean Burning Vengeance? Either way its probably not as strong for the same reason Painful Truths is kinda weak. Unless you are running lots of other flashback or cast from graveyard cards, just a straight lightning bolt twice probably better.
Correct, I meant Burning Vengeance.
Painful Truths is not weak. It is one of the best one time draw spells in the format (assuming you are casting it with 3 colors).
Burning Vengeance means when you recast Lightning Bolt from your graveyard late game, you essentially get to Roast a creature instead. Imagine an instance where your opponent has an Arbor Elf, Selvala, Heart of the Wilds and an Oracle of Mul Daya. With Burning Vengeance on the battlefield, you can cast Pryoclasm from your graveyard and you are able to remove all three creatures including Selvala, Heart of the Wilds.
Burning Vengeance (Shock) is really powerful in tandem with other burn spells. It allows us to recast a Flame Slash for R but be able to actually remove Avenger of Zendikar or Sun Titan. Recast a Preordain and force your opponent to sacrifice their Viscera Seer. You can also ping planeswalkers or even players.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
Was it just too slow?
Padeem, Consul of Innovation - Artifact value/combo.
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant - Sultai zombie reanimator.
Although, River Kelpie to me seems strong because of Persist. For more mana you get another of these draw 1 per turn effects after your first one dies, and it gives you a card when it comes back. If you’re in re-animator you double-dip with creatures, and it also counts the spells and creatures other players play from the grave.
I agree that Burning Vengeance seems good if you are using toughness based wipes. There are the Anger of the Gods and Earthquake flavor ones as mentioned above, but also Decree of Pain cycle, Toxic Deluge, Yahenni’s Expertise, etc. Maybe you can kill a creature you couldn’t kill otherwise, or ratchet it down to save one of your own creatures.
The Mimeoplasm || Karador, Ghost Chieftain
Prossh, Skyraider of Kher || Vial Smasher/Tymna Group Slug
Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief || Talrand, Sky Summoner
Yidris - Unblockable Saboteurs || Kiki-Jiki, ETB breaker
Kess, Dissident Mage
It doesn't do enough and there are other enchantments that draw you more cards for the same mana amount (Phyrexian Arena, Rhystic Study, etc.)
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
https://deckbox.org/sets/1774791?s=c&o=a
The main plan is board control with one of your 5 cards that give you damage/tokens when casting instants and sorceries. You also have Exsanguinate and Torment of Hailfire, as well as some small pillowfort for your Bolas's. Still, the deck doesn't seem to function too well as a spellslinger deck compared to straight Izzet with Mizzix or Melek. Black doesn't really add much here but tutors and removal. I'm getting the feeling that Kess will work better under a more aggressive Grixis build, or at the very least something different that just uses her occasionally for value.
Padeem, Consul of Innovation - Artifact value/combo.
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant - Sultai zombie reanimator.
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
That list is the one I plan on building once I get my hands on Kess. It's a High Tide/Muck storm build. Thoughts?
WUBSente: The Politics and Metaphor of Stones
My Vampire Hunter Kit Innistrad Themed Cube!
Kess is not a typical blue mage. She likes counterspells, but she doesn't need typical counterspells. When casting from your graveyard on your turn, the only spells that you will be facing are instants. This means spells that are cheaper but aren't full counters are actually good bargains.
I think Kess may want modal counterspells and instant or noncreature counterspells that are mana efficient. I have never played Dispel, since I always felt like having a full counter was a better use of a slot than Dispel. Now I am reconsidering. I may play Dispel.
WUBSente: The Politics and Metaphor of Stones
My Vampire Hunter Kit Innistrad Themed Cube!
An interesting counterspell consideration for Kess is Remand. Being able to remand a spell cast from graveyard back to hand is quite interesting. But I can't find any instance where having this interaction is good. Good for cantrip I suppose?
Or do some weird combo involving Isochron Scepter + Remand + Paradox Engine (and some rocks) to draw the entire deck by remanding your own spell again and again hmm.
WUBRG Reaper King - Elf Tribal WUBRG | Tribal Fun
WRG Gishath, Sun's Avatar - Dinosaur Tribal WRG | Rawr!!!
WUG Derevi, Empyrial Tactician - Enchantress Tactics WUG | Enchantments Focused
GBG The Gitrog Monster - Land Shenanigans GBG | Lands/Mill Focused
WBW Kambal, Consul of Life Allocation Matters WBW | Life Gain/Loss focused
UBR Kess, Dissident Mage of the Lotus UBR | Spellslinger
BGB Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons - Counters & Tokens BGB | -1/-1 counters focused
The deck has performed surprisingly well! Generally, I don't bother casting Kess until I have a couple of spells in the yard I want to recur, if I need a blocker, or if I want to set up a big turn by being able to wheel twice. All the self-discard doesn't bother me since she can cast the stuff I'm chucking from the yard.
So far, I think I've played 7 games with her, and won 4. Of the 3 I lost, 2 were due to ongoing graveyard hate via enchantments, so I added more bounce to deal with those effects (nothing feels as good as overloaded Cyclonic Rift followed by a wheel).
The decklist isn't fully updated, but will be soon: https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/kess-wheels-of-pain/#c3244609