MTG Salvation

Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign is one of my new favorites of the legendaries from C18. It has a fairly low CMC, a decent body, a host of evergreen abilities, and a very interesting attack trigger that wants you to build a deck around cards with Odd converted mana costs. What's not to like? At the very least, it looks like something fun to try out, and I am eager to do so.

What kinds of cards are we looking for to add to this build? What kind of strategies or combos could we apply?

I'm sure we could make some Odds and Ends come together.

Let's Brew!

For the sake of card and brewing suggestions, I have a question about Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign’s triggered attack ability: if the revealed card is an odd CMC and you choose not to cast it, then does that revealed card just stay on top of the library, or do you draw it based on the last clause of her ability?

I’m basically trying to figure out where the word “otherwise” applies: otherwise to the cmc or otherwise to the casting/not casting of the card?

Quote from turtlerock »

For the sake of card and brewing suggestions, I have a question about Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign’s triggered attack ability: if the revealed card is an odd CMC and you choose not to cast it, then does that revealed card just stay on top of the library, or do you draw it based on the last clause of her ability?

I’m basically trying to figure out where the word “otherwise” applies: otherwise to the cmc or otherwise to the casting/not casting of the card?

You draw the card if it has an odd CMC and you choose not to cast it.

I'm probably not making Yennett in the immediate future, but I'd have to really fight the impulse to jam it full of 9 drops. I'd for sure have an awful deck that really wanted to flip Grozoth and then Brainstorm other 9 drops back to the top of the deck.

I feel like the better deck uses Yennett as a value engine rather than focusing on cheating costs, with a lighter touch on the big stuff. Focus on a theme that's easier to support and get free value off the general. Something like reanimator with an emphasis on 7 and 9 drops gives you a solid gameplan when the general isn't out, and the general either helps cheat things in or draws you into the stuff you need. It's also a decent draw engine for control decks. You'd probably want to go in more of a tapout direction than a reactive one to better take advantage of Yennett triggers.

Well since the attack trigger goes on the stack and can be responded to, then the three default cards in the deck will be vampiric tutor, mystical tutor, and enlightened tutor. Their slower and/or sorcery speed variants could also be used (imperial seal, personal tutor, etc).

From there just pick what you want the deck to do and find the odd cards. void winnower would be a fair card, but yennett is in the color of twincast, so expropriate seems like the go-to game ender.

Maybe she's a mill legend.

• Academy of Ruins
  
• Sequestered Stash
  
• Unholy Grotto
  
• Volrath's Stronghold

Quote from Macabre »

Well since the attack trigger goes on the stack and can be responded to, then the three default cards in the deck will be vampiric tutor, mystical tutor, and enlightened tutor. Their slower and/or sorcery speed variants could also be used (imperial seal, personal tutor, etc).

From there just pick what you want the deck to do and find the odd cards. void winnower would be a fair card, but yennett is in the color of twincast, so expropriate seems like the go-to game ender.

Don't forget Cruel Tutor. In a similar vein, Lim-Dul's Vault and Diabolic Vision. Also, you probably want all the 1-drop blue card selection:

Sleight of Mind
Portent
Brainstorm
Serum Visions
Ponder
Preordain
Opt

Scroll Rack is solid, and I'm sure there's a new Doomsday stack that you can win with.

I'd imagine it'll be a lightning rod for removal, so you're going to want ways to protect the commander, via counterspells or stuff like:

Diplomatic Immunity
Vanishing
Gift of Immortality
Lightning Greaves
Alexi's Cloak
Cloak and Dagger
General's Kabuto
Mystic Veil
Pemmin's Aura
Protective Bubble
Robe of Mirrors
Spectral Cloak

Last night I started working on a list wherein all the spells are odd CMC, and all the cards have odd collector numbers. After my first pass, I ended up with 139 nonlands that seemed like they could do work in the deck: 23 1-drops, 44 3-drops, 41 5-drops, 21 7-drops, 8 9-drops, and 1 11-drop (Temporal Tresspass). I'll be cutting that down starting tonight.

I've had a Sphinx's Riddle (choices) deck for years now, with Sharuum at the helm. Now, with Yennett, I can cut the artifact subtheme and go full on Riddle Tribal. Brilliant Ultimatum and Expropriate are my go-to's. Swarm Intelligence is also odd, as well as most of the good sphinges and Coat of Arms.

Other things that were auto-includes, beyond those mentioned in previous posts:
In Garruk's Wake + Plague Wind
Memory Lapse
Approach of the Second Sun
Gravitational Switch
Future Sight

Clone Legion and Expropriate would be pretty good with this deck.

Fun triva: a LOT of time-walk effects are odd including Time Warp, Temporal Manipulation, Capture of Jingzhou, Expropriate, Nexus of Fate, Temporal Mastery, Temporal Trespass, and Savor the Moment (notable since Yennett has vigilance).

In Garruk's Wake and Plague Wind are great at clearing the board.

Those are the biggest gorilla spells I can think of, and anything else is going to be less powerful and more conditional - notable "also rans" would be Clone Legion, Rise of the Dark Realms, Iona, Shield of Emeria, Void Winnower, Blazing Archon, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, Brilliant Ultimatum, Cast Through Time, Swarm Intelligence, Blatant Thievery, Engima Sphinx, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Sheoldred, Whispering One, Kindred Dominance (naming "Sphinx" it's basically a backup Plague Wind for a spellslinger or sphinx build), Magister Sphinx, Mass Calcify, Overseer of the Damned. How many and which of these appeal depends on the competitiveness of your deck.

Of course it's totally possibly to just run good stuff at a lower CMC and get just a little value from Yennett. Conveniently Swords to Plowshares, Sol Ring, Wayfarer's Bauble, Chromatic Lantern, Hero's Downfall, Bribery, Path to Exile, Vindicate, Detention Sphere, Tidings - all odd.

Soothsaying and Sensei's Divining Top can be hit off Yennett and stack your deck; Scroll Rack is so powerful I'd run it even though it "only" goes to hand. Getting to rearrange your deck is so strong I'd at least consider Crystal Ball and Thassa, God of the Sea to keep on scrying. As mentioned Mystical Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Personal Tutor, and Vampiric Tutor can also guarantee a hit and also all, conveniently, hit off of Yennett. If you want to be less fun and more cutthroat, I'd also note that Doomsday is odd and you should be able to get some set of triggers that just kills.

For reusing things, with a small enough deck or enough tutors or shuffle effects Mistveil Plains can be very good. Reito Lantern and Junktroller do similarly, but are less powerful imo. You can also easily manage ye 'ol Ghostly Flicker/Mnemonic Wall loop to keep casting things (like time warps), especially if you get a discount on part of the combo with scroll rack or Aminatou, the Fateshifter.

Retreat to Coralhelm is the secret underrated tech that has the potential to be excellent with Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign.

Mystic Speculation is another hidden gem that is worth trying.

Surprised nobody has mentioned Soothsaying yet. It's been very strong in my Rashmi deck, and I think it would be very strong here as well. Really, that should have been reprinted in this year's Esper deck. I consider the fact that it wasn't to be a major fail on the part of WotC and the designers.

Also on the library manipulation front is Sensei's Divining Top and Viscera Seer. Thought Reflection is also odd, and fun withi Brainstorm-type effects. Wait, doesn't Void Winnower cost 9?

You might actually want counterspells to have even numbers, since there's no reason to cast them. You can go either way on removal, but counterspells and boardwipes, there are going to be times I don't want to cast them (and can't cast counters).

You can choose to not cast the card you reveal (and if you choose not to cast it, you draw it, just like if it were even cmc). So the cmc doesn't matter for cards you definitely don't want to cast, or can't cast (like a counterspell).

If you're doing the whole "extra turns" shtick, that does tend to make Planeswalkers better - in particular, Aminatou, the Fateshifter, Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Liliana Vess to stack your deck even more and Karn Liberated as a big threat to hit off of Yennett.

Also I will reiterate - Yennett's ability is a "may" and still draws even cards. She's still the best Ophidian ever no matter what you reveal, so don't feel like you can't run staples like Cyclonic Rift, Snapcaster Mage, Demonic Tutor, Lightning Greaves, Counterspell, and Toxic Deluge just because they're a miss with her or are awkward/uncastable during combat.

Quote from Lithl »

You can choose to not cast the card you reveal (and if you choose not to cast it, you draw it, just like if it were even cmc). So the cmc doesn't matter for cards you definitely don't want to cast, or can't cast (like a counterspell).

Fair enough. (Though the way it's written, it seems like you'd only draw on an even number.) Though a lot of the best counters are even anyway.

But I am still looking for all odd cmc cards. Obviously that would include spellbombs and replicas.

In terms of mana rocks, odd includes Sol Ring, Mana Vault, Burnished Hart, Darksteel Ingot, Coalition Relic, and Gilded Lotus.

Quote from hyalapterouslemur »

Quote from Lithl »

You can choose to not cast the card you reveal (and if you choose not to cast it, you draw it, just like if it were even cmc). So the cmc doesn't matter for cards you definitely don't want to cast, or can't cast (like a counterspell).

Fair enough. (Though the way it's written, it seems like you'd only draw on an even number.) Though a lot of the best counters are even anyway.

You have the option of casting the card if it's odd, and you must draw the card if you don't cast it. This is clarified in the release notes, as well as the very fist Gatherer ruling on her.