This deck originally started as a duel format deck using the French bans over a year ago, but that has died down greatly in my area. Our playgroup recently decided to try a more competitive version of EDH where we can field our better decks. Because of this change, I've decided to revamp my favorite card of all time to something that can dominate the playing field. Mono-blue is a very strong color. Not only are you playing with some of the most powerful control elements in the game, but you're also playing with a plethora of game-winning combos that can go off at any second. If that wasn't enough, you have Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir as your commander. With Teferi on the field, anything and everything you cast on your turn will go off. That is an absolute certainty.
As for myself, I've been playing magic since M11 standard. Before Magic, I played Pokemon, Yugioh and WoW TCG very competitively. I'm not a stranger to the tournament scene and I've been a States-winning sponsored player since my earliest days of Pokemon. Due to my competitive playstyle, I've been a blue player since I started with the hobby. As a natural Tuner Spike, my first instinct was to go for tempo-based deck featuring Lord of the Unreal before it quickly transitioned into full-on UW and UB Control. My favorite deck to this day is my UW Control deck featuring Venser, the Sojourner, Stonehorn Dignitary, and Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. My last venture in standard was with UWb Control, playing in M13 with the likes of Terminus and Obzedat, Ghost Council. I wouldn't say that my competitive T2 days are over, but I'm having more fun playing EDH for now. If I need my competitive fix, I can always go back to my UW Tempo Modern deck utilizing Vendilion Clique and Restoration Angel.
Thank you for reading and please enjoy the deck.
The General
He is a legendary Human Wizard with a CMC of 2UUU.
Has Flash, comes in as a 3/4 body.
Has two very important rules associated with him:
Creature cards you own that aren't on the battlefield have flash.
Each opponent can cast spells only any time he or she could cast a sorcery.
Why are these two rules important? Because the first allows you to play creatures on your opponents' turn as an Instant. This unlocks a huge repertoire of different combos and card interactions vs. what normally happens during a game. The true potential of this will be revealed as we proceed through the primer.
The second rule that Teferi brings defies the rules of normal Magic. By limiting your opponent's spells to only sorceries, he can only play spells during his main phase(s), and only when nothing else is on the stack. This means that when you travel through the phases and sub-phases of the game, you do so unhindered and unopposed. This also means you can do whatever you want during your turn. For this reason, Teferi is also a master duelist vs. other blue generals.
Teferi, in many ways, is the true blue master in the game. He makes the impossible, possible and for your opponents, the possible, impossible.
Reasons you would enjoy this deck:
You like blue and everything it stands for: Permission, Control, Bounce and Draw.
You love control and everything about it: countermagic, controlling the stack, and dictating what your opponents can or cannot play.
You love explosive game-winning combos with multiple win conditions.
You are a very reactionary player.
You like competitive play.
Reasons you might not enjoy this deck:
You hate the color blue and everything that it stands for.
You would rather turn creatures sideways as your primary win condition.
You find combos to be too difficult to execute or explain, or you don't really care.
You want to play a deck with more than one color.
You like being on the play instead of draw-go.
Alternative Generals
While this deck is designed to work around Teferi, it can also work with other mono-blue generals. A lot of the infinite mana and time travel combos are the same, the only difference is that Teferi allows you to do them unhindered on your turn. This is the key reason to play Teferi over the other blue generals, but there are other generals out there that I like.
I will introduce you to two of my favorites:
Azami, Lady of Scrolls is one of my favorite Teferi replacements. While she doesn't guarantee a win the same way Teferi does, she is much more reliable in later game. Her draw advantage is massive because she likes to play with a lot of wizards in her deck and she can tap them down for free cards. Azami decks typically don't run as many mana rocks as Teferi because you're not looking for that explosive combo. Instead, you're looking for that consistent and unparalleled card advantage that can continuously dig for answers and combo pieces. In many ways, Azami plays more like a true control deck that's focused on denying your opponents' plays while drawing cards at the same time.
Here is how you mod your deck for Azami:
Cut some of the mana rocks and sorceries for a good mount of wizards. You want 20 or so of them.
Kira, Great Glass-Spinner is a very fun general if you like blue creatures. Unlike Azami's explosive card draw or Teferi's instant wins, Kira can actually fuel a well-protected blue army and beat your opponents down with them. You will still run the standard mono-blue stuff of mana-doublers like Gauntlet of Power and Caged Sun, but the +1/+1 effects will help your bigger blue creatures dominate the battlefield. Since Kira supplies all your creatures with a counterspell shield, you can rely on less permission cards and focus on dropping creatures that can potentially ruin your opponents day. While Kira can't instantly win the game like Azami or Teferi, she can protect your high-value creatures while they attack and do damage.
Here is how you mod your deck for Kira:
Think of some blue fatties that have awesome effects and put them into the deck. You want around 20 solid creatures.
You want a good mount of mana rocks so you can get these fatties out and start stomping face under Kira's spellshield.
Kira supplies a lot of protection for your creatures already, so you can do with less permission than most blue decks.
Your mana curve will be higher with Kira, but that's expected because you'll be playing with the best creatures blue has to offer.
Aside from going infinite mana or turns, your third win condition is straight up pummeling your opponents. It's a rare day when blue wins with creatures.
Since this is a mono-blue deck, there are 4 key pillars that every blue player should know: Permission, Control, Bounce and Draw.
Permission. You have a healthy amount of raw counterspells with many other utility creatures that can bounce and destroy spells. While this might seem like an good amount in EDH, I assure you that this is not. You have to choose very carefully which spells you want to stop and which ones to let go. On top of this, since this is multiplayer and there'll be politics involved, being too trigger happy on permission cards will just get you killed. Most of the time you will be playing spells on your turn and permission will be a secondary focus. Always keep in mind that there's multiple people in a game and you can't stop every spell that hits the board. You have to be very selective about which spells get through and this is the true power of this deck. Once you have secured a foothold in the game, you can build up your combo pieces and end the game.
Bounce. While bounce is a great way to play tempo and slow down the game in 1v1, it is rather weak in multiplayer unless your deck is built for it. This particular deck is not built for bounce but for combo. The only bounce spells in this deck have a very specific purpose: Capsize because of the buyback and outright ends games and Venser, Shaper Savant because it double-ups as a counterspell.
Control. This term is a bit vague when it comes to playing a mono-blue deck because everything can be considered control-centric. At its core, Teferi is the most control-heavy card in this deck. It simply does not allow players from casting spells outside their main phase and only under a specific clause. Other cards like Arcane Laboratory or Back to Basics can be considered control-heavy, but I don't run those cards because of fear they might slow me down. The control elements definitely irradiate from the fact I have many permission-based cards and I run a hard lockdown combo in the form of Knowledge Pool.
Draw. While draw is essential for just about every blue deck, the ability to dig for answers without discard is key. Tutor cards are infinitely more useful in this format than any other because there's a hundred cards in every deck. No matter what the probability is, getting the card you want when you want it is the best of all. This is why on top of draw cards like Blue Sun's Zenith, I also run cards like Merchant Scroll so I can get the card I want right away. Cards that double-up like Muddle the Mixture and Tolaria West are also fantastic cards due its flexibility. When you absolutely need a specific card, there's no better card in blue than Long-Term Plans.
While blue doesn't have standard forms of ramp like green has, it has something much more powerful. This deck utilizes several extra turn cards such as Temporal Manipulation, Temporal Mastery and Time Warp to get ahead in the game. Not only does this buy you a little bit of draw and a little bit of ramp, but it can be game-winning as well since you're also attacking and setting up combos.
Early-Mid Game
The way you start off the game is pretty simple. You want to establish a solid mana foundation so you power your way through the early game with mana rocks and solid land drops. Power your way through more expensive spells by utilizing time travel and copycats.
Cards like Copy Artifact and Sculpting Steel are there so you can ramp as hard as your opponents if they put out things like Sol Ring and Gilded Lotus. Be mindful that you're not overcommitting these cards too early because they can be absolutely deadly if you manage to copy your own Caged Sun. Use your time-manipulating spells like Temporal Mastery and Time Walk to get ahead of your opponents by setting extra land and mana pieces.
You do not want to counter early plays. There are several reasons for this but one of the more apparent one is that you don't want to get knocked out early. Playing a mono-blue deck by itself will generate a lot of aggro, playing a mono-blue deck that's rigorously tuned to instantly win without your opponents' being able to respond is hate central. My best advice to you here is to tread lightly and make informed decisions. Be political with your opponents and understand that they're also trying to get their own game-winning pieces in place. You can let some of these resolve, but be vigilant over condition of the battlefield and don't let finishers resolve.
One of the strongest aspects of this deck is that you have multiple win conditions. Not only are there multiple ways to win, but when you win, you win hard. It's fast, vicious and forces the entire board to scoop rather than killing people over the course of several turns. It just happens to be that most of your win conditions happen instantaneously, and there's absolutely nothing anyone can do if Teferi is in play. Like I said, passing the turn into End Phase can mean sudden death if you have the right pieces in your hand. You must search for these pieces carefully, using cards like Treasure Mage, Fabricate, Long-Term Plans, and Mystical Tutor.
Once you have Teferi in play, don't be surprised if all aggro shifts to you. While you're essentially invulnerable from enemy spells on your turn, people can still respond to you and play instants on their Main Phase. Don't be afraid if Teferi dies, or even gets tucked into your library. As long as you have a solid mana base, your combo pieces in hand, and permission backup, you should try to end it when you can. If worst comes to worst and most of your combo pieces are gone, you can still play a solid game with Memnarch and an abundance of mana via Caged Sun.
Show's Over
When you have an established board with a good mana base, it's time to concentrate on how you can win the game. This is the late game portion of the deck and it's one of the most difficult positions to reach. The reason why is because you have no way to gain health and you're bound to draw aggro from your opponents. When you look at the cards section below, you'll see that everything is designed with a specific purpose in mind.
To reach this late in the game means that you've played a solid game. You have successfully denied your opponent's game-winning combos so now they've exhausted their options and you're still going strong. This is where your tutors come in handy because you'll need a few cards to get the job done. The most important card you need here is Palinchron. I'm going to be honest: He's the linchpin of your deck and your quickest way to victory. Since you can pretty much combo anything off him, he's your key to reaching infinite mana and ending the game quickly. The best way to pull him out in decent time is Long-Term Plans. If he dies, your chances of victory will drop significantly so it's in your best interest to back him up with counterspells and bounce options just in case Teferi is not on the board. If Teferi is in play and you have Palinchron in hand, your chances of winning goes up dramatically. In fact, it's almost assured as long as you understand your board position and pilot your permission cards correctly.
Should Palinchron die, you should immediately look at your options for Infinite Turns or playing a solid control game with Memnarch. Don't forget that while this deck has the capability to win instantly, it can also play a prolonged control game where you just starve your opponents out and steal their permanents with Memnarch. You can also recycle Memnarch with Academy Ruins, but most of the time a successful Cyclonic Rift will be enough to reset the board in your favor for the rest of the game. Should you establish a way to recycle Cyclonic Rift say in the form of Archaeomancer and Riptitde Laboratory, the scoop will surely come soon.
When to Pool
If you have the ability to lockdown the field, it should be when the board is empty of creatures. You either want to trigger it towards the beginning of the game, or after a full clear with Cyclonic Rift. The more creatures your opponents have on the battlefield, the more difficult it will be to secure victory. Locking people out of their hands is good, but having to deal with beefier generals like Kaalia of the Vast or Thraximundar can be extremely bad for you. In this case, you want to clear the board with cards like Evacuation or utilize some way to bounce the troublesome commanders into people's hands. Remember, just because you lockdown the field doesn't mean the game is yours. If anything, it will just piss everyone off and you'll be looking at a 3v1. Most of the time, this only happens if people are running beefier commanders. Otherwise, they just scoop to save time.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The key thing to take away from all this is that you want to play to your strengths and around your weaknesses. Understand that your deck is not the fastest deck out there but it's very stable. You have very explosive win conditions that are infinite and absolute. At the same time, the deck is also fairly vulnerable to damage and people ganging up on you. Mitigate this weakness by playing the politics game: If you're the only one playing counterspells and Progenitus is going to hit the field, leverage with your opponents and explain the current board state. While you're playing in a competitive metagame, don't forget what the point of EDH is to begin with. Be social with the people you play with, talk about the game, the politics, and have fun playing together.
The main strength of this deck is that it flat out ignores a lot of other deck archetypes out there:
Prison? Not a problem because you're going to do much attacking.
Storm? Teferi shuts it down just by being on the board.
Stax? It really depends on the Stax but the type that draws you cards is actually quite helpful to you. Just make sure you stop the pesky Winter Orb/Static Orb-type decks and you'll be fine. Every combo deck suffers from the ability not being able to combo, and you need your mana-supply in order to do that. High-threat generals that need to be onboard to play a threat are also easy matchups.
Tron? If you run into a Tron player rocking a solo general like Rafiq of the Many, you can make him very upset by countering, bouncing or controlling his general. The hardest competition here is Zur the Enchanter and that's because he carries a lot of permission and auto-fetches for good stuff when he attacks. With good play and a solid understanding of spacing and counter warfare, you should be just fine.
Combo? You run a good amount of permission cards and as long as you stop one piece of the puzzle, you should be fine. This one is completely reliant on your ability to read combos and analyze which game-winning pieces your opponents still need.
Control? You are the master of blue and no one can do anything on your turn and in between phases as long as you're present. Teferi has no problem winning battles vs. control simply because his board presence is enough to shut down any counterwar. There is no amount of permission your opponents can play that can interrupt any of your combos as long as Teferi is in play.
Like every deck in competitive Magic, there are weaknesses:
The biggest one in competitive multiplayer EDH that you have to worry about is reputation. You are playing with what has been historically, Magic's strongest color. Not only that, but your combos are fast, efficient and utterly lethal when they get out. Worst of all, when they do come out, they do so unhindered in most cases. I assure you this: Once you have won your first couple of games with this deck, your opponents will be very keen on knocking you out of the game early.
Aggro decks can be a problem. They know that as long as you live, they live under the constant threat of having their entire board Capsize'd without a moment's notice. This is why turbo-damage decks like Kaalia of the Vast can be very problematic if she sneaks onto the field. You must be ready to Hinder her every chance you get.
Beefier generals is another thing that's a problem for Teferi. The reason why is because this is one of the ways to get around your Knowledge Pool lock. When you have generals like Rafiq of the Many, Thraximundar or Prossh, Skyraider of Kher, you're looking at generals who can potentially kill you just by swinging. Since they can cast these guys from their command zones, it gets around the pool and your Teferi is not going to be able to save the game by himself.
Another key weakness to this deck is anything that limits mana or spells. This control normally comes in the way of lands being unable to tap, anything that limits your mana supply, and only being to cast one card a turn. Winter Orb can be a huge problem as is Grand Abolisher or Arcane Laboratory, but one of the most frustrating will be enemy copycats. Because of the new legendary ruling, if someone sneaks a copycat onto the board targeting your Teferi, a lot of trouble can arise. The first one is that you'll be unable to respond out of your main phase, which seems to speak volumes to how powerful this ability actually is. Without the ability to do so, you will not be able to flash in game-winning combos during your opponents turn and it will force you to be even more defensive as you already are. Thankfully, people tend to target the copycat more often than not because as the deck general, you'll be able to find yourself back to the command zone some way or another. Use your politics to aid you in that respect, but if all else fails, you can just counterspell the damn thing.
The Cards Explained
Artifacts Explained
Basalt Monolith - Grants you quite a bit of mana when tapped. I would normally use this to drastically boost through a spell that you really want. Basalt Monolith like Grim Monolith are one-pump chumps until you can recover them later in the game. Only use it when you need it.
Caged Sun - Doubles your mana use for easier combos. Can be tutored via Treasure Mage and is one of the better pieces of mana-doublers because it doesn't benefit your opponents. This is more on the expensive side, but can be brought out early with superior mana boosters like Grim Monolith or Mana Vault.
Fellwar Stone - Just another mana rock that allows me to net some blue mana if that's islands are being played at the table. Most chances than not, there's always another player at least splashing blue.
Gauntlet of Power - This doubles your mana but can also benefit your opponents' basic lands. The one thing to take away from this is that while it can benefit your opponents' lands, it's cheaper to cast than Caged Sun and allows you to hop into combos faster. Just like Caged Sun, this is a prime target for artifact copycats like Sculpting Steel and Copy Artifact.
Grim Monolith - A great mana-booster that can used to jumpstart a good combo. Just like its bigger brother Basalt Monolith, you should use this to jumpstart combos and explode into things like Knowledge Pool or Caged Sun.
Knowledge Pool - One of Teferi's chief combo pieces. Hard locks everyone from casting their spells if Teferi is also on the board. Once you have the pool in play, keep in mind that you can play spells from any of the exiled cards, including your opponents'. It's a lot to keep track of, but it greatly increases the amount of spell diversity in your favor when playing defensively. Trust me, with the amount of you'll generate, you'll need it.
Mana Crypt - This is one of the most powerful mana-enhancers in EDH. The life loss is random and negligible compared to the benefits of 2 extra mana per turn. Since you can toss this out for free, I like to hold onto it until you're ready to explode into a combo. Only drop this out if you plan on making a play on your opponents' turn such as flashing in Teferi.
Mana Vault - A solid mana rock that should be treated as a lesser Sol Ring. Like its bigger brothers Grim Monolith and Basalt Monolith, anything that needs some work to get it online again needs thought and pre-planning to be used well. Don't break this out to cast something like Sol Ring, use it to surprise Knowledge Pool instead. Remember, explosive, big plays that leave your opponents' reeling.
Sapphire Medallion - You are playing a mono-blue deck and you will see much mileage out of this artifact.
Scroll Rack - Allows you to dig deep for combo pieces if you have enough cards to replace. This is especially helpful if you cast a huge draw card on your opponents' end step like Blue Sun's Zenith. You will draw a huge amount of cards and if you don't have the combo pieces in hand, just get rid of all of them except for the ones that you need. It's the best dig engine in the game.
Sculpting Steel - Copies any artifact on the field, including your own. I like to use this card to copy early momentum as well as ensuring late game success. If your opponents' put out cards like Sol Ring and ramp into Gilded Lotus, you can always copy their Gilded Lotus to stay at the same speed as them. When you start dropping bombs like Caged Sun, this copycat becomes absolutely ridiculous.
Sensei's Divining Top - Greatly increases your draw consistency and allows you to dig 3 every turn. This works very well with Long-Term Plans because you can immediately move the desired card into a draw spot. I use this to improve my mana curve in addition to securing combos. It's cheap, effective and you can't really ask for more.
Sol Ring - Power staple card and jumpstarts just about any deck. I will go as far as Copy Artifact on an early Sol Ring because it's that powerful.
Thran Dynamo - Helps boost your mana supply by a significant amount. Makes for a good copycat target earlier in the game and you don't have better targets.
Worn Powerstone - Another mana rock that allows you to cast more spells. It comes in tapped and you won't have immediate mileage out of this, but it's still strong enough to be worth considering.
Creatures Explained
Archaeomancer - One of your infinite combo pieces with Time Warp and helps bring back any sorcery or instant. Don't be afraid to cycle your counterspell cards early if your opponents are comboing hard. Just because he's part of a game-ending combo, it doesn't mean anything if you can't stop your opponents from winning first.
Deadeye Navigator - Another combo piece that allows you to bounce, recycle, save and deny enemy plays. Later on, you'll find that this card can combo with just about any creature in your deck: Archaeomancer is a popular target to recycle Time Warp, Palinchron gives you infinite mana, and Venser, Shaper Savant ensures that all your opponents' permanents disappear.
Drift of Phantasms - This is a great tutor for game-ending cards like Fabricate, Capsize or Blue Sun's Zenith. Other than being a fantastic tutor, it can also be used at deterring enemy damage early on. A 0/5 flying wall is no joke if that's enough to prevent you from taking significant aggro damage.
Glen Elendra Archmage - Helps sit on the battlefield and act as a counterspell shield. Can be recycled with bounce and be used at least twice. One of the strongest things about Glen Elendra Archmage is that it allows you to win spell duels if your oppoenents are playing around Teferi.
Memnarch - One of your win pieces that can be tutored by either Fabricate or Treasure Mage. One of the strongest creatures you can field once you have secured a foothold in the mana department. Memnarch is a very dangerous creature in late games because he can win the game by himself. Treat with respect.
Palinchron - Between him and Deadeye Navigator, this is one of your most important combo pieces because he allows for infinite mana. The applications for this creature are boundless and he's your quickest way to victory outside of Knowledge Pool. One of the only downsides is that he's hard to tutor for, so drawing cards and pushing Long-Term Plans is your best bet at getting him out. Once you have him, comboing off infinite mana is a joke: Any mana-doubler with enough lands, Deadeye Navigator, Phantasmal Image and High Tide are all likely scenarios.
Phantasmal Image - Comes in as a copycat of Palinchron, but can be used to copy any other power creature on the battlefield. Keep in mind that he dies to a swift breeze if he's targeted at all, so he should only be used when you need it. His cost means you can keep him in your hand and look for an opportunity like copying a Rune-Scarred Demon for Palinchron.
Phyrexian Metamorph - Absolutely fantastic utility creature that can copy any artifact or creature. I normally count him to be one of the most flexible copycats in the game because he can copy your Gauntlet of Power. In that sense, he becomes functionally the same thing as Sculpting Steel.
Snapcaster Mage - Recycles every single one of your devastating spells. Can be recycled or bounced to get more use, but normally one game-breaking reuse is enough. Typically, I look for cards that have insane replay value like Mana Drain or Cyclonic Rift.
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir - The master of blue himself needs no introduction. Once Teferi enters the fray, the entire game will literally revolve around you.
Trinket Mage - Fetches you either Sol Ring, Sensei's Divining Top or Mana Vault. All of these are very good, but I would probably grab the Sol Ring first if I'm going for faster setup, or Top if I want more consistency. Some players like to put silver bullets like Pithing Needle in their deck as well, so that's another helpful target.
Venser, Shaper Savant - Power creature that acts as a hard counter or bounce. Combos very well with Deadeye Navigator and can be used to effectively set someone back at turn if they tap out. Remember that you can use Venser against spells that cannot be countered since it bounces the spell back to their hand.
Enchantments Explained
Copy Artifact - Gives you the ability to ramp and keep up with other high-value artifacts on the battlefield. It's cheaper than Sculpting Steel and has the same applications. Great card.
Instants Explained
Blue Sun's Zenith - Can be used to draw a lot of cards or instantly kill someone with infinite mana. The biggest boon for this card is netting you an enormous amount of cards under the protection of Teferi during the end step. When you draw something like 20 cards because of double-mana, it's hard to lose the game.
Brainstorm - Cheap dig that replenishes itself at instant speed. Since you're running a combo-heavy deck, you want to be able to dig quickly, cheaply and effectively. Most importantly, you want to run dig cards that doesn't force you to discard. There's just too many good combo cards that you can't afford to get pitched into the graveyard.
Capsize - One of your game-enders that can be used to bounce anything on the battlefield. When you start drooling with an insane amount of mana, you can get pretty annoying because of Buyback. Be careful not to toss this around too much if other players are running counters. There's nothing that sucks more than having Capsize countered a turn before you reach infinite mana.
Counterspell - The OG blue counter is still good over all these years. There's very few things that is better than a 2-CMC hard counter in competitive magic.
Cyclonic Rift - Possibly the strongest blue instant card in EDH since it basically resets everyone but you. Once you reset everyone, it's pretty much over because recovery after that is long and painful.
Delay - Another cheap blue counter that can permanently exile a spell if Teferi is also on the board. The trick here is that you want to use this as a counter-counter. While exiling the card with Teferi is one thing, but being able to fizzle out a spell entirely is just godsend.
Evacuation - Clears the entire field at instant speed in case things get too hairy for you. This can also be used to save your own creatures from certain destruction if the board state calls for it. Losing a vital card like Memnarch or Palinchron when you have an established board is very worrisome, especially if you can't outright counter it because it's Supreme Verdict.
Force of Will - Loathed and loved by players in equal measure, the fact remains that you can never truly stop blue. Since Teferi already protects most of your valuable combos from going off, one has to wonder what's actually going to protect him while he's making his way out of the ether.
High Tide - One of your combo-enablers that lets you pull off big plays when least expected. With a single card, you can go infinite with Palinchron and end the game if you have the right pieces. The best part about this card is that it can be easily tutored via Mystical Tutor or Merchant Scroll.
Hinder - One of your tuck counters that can make troublesome generals disappear. This is the highest CMC counterspell in the deck but it's here for good reason. I like it better than Spell Crumple because you can recycle it via Snapcaster Mage or Archaeomancer if you need it. You can either choose to reset their turn by putting the card on top, or send their general straight to the bottom of their deck.
Impulse - A great little card that allows you to dig deep without having to discard. Cheap, instant speed dig is the best kind for a deck like this. You want to be able to find the pieces you need without having to discard.
Long-Term Plans - When you're missing the last piece of a great play, there's no better card to fetch it at instant speed. Works beautiful with Sensei's Divining Top and can be used to pull out a win if you already have the right pieces in hand. There's no better tutor to fetch anything you're looking for at instant speed.
Mana Drain - Possibly the strongest counterspell in the game. Not only is this card a 2-CMC hard counter, but it gives you insane advantage thanks to its generous boost in mana. Stopping an opponents' 6 CMC spell translates directly into a free Knowledge Pool or Caged Sun. This kind of advantage is unheard of and there's no better target to recur with Snapcaster Mage if you have a good play in hand.
Mana Leak - A weaker counterspell due to the fact it's a soft counter rather than hard, but the 2CMC speed here is what matters. When you need something to trip up your opponents and you don't feel like running Arcane Denial, this is the card you want. While there are plenty of other 3CMC hard counters out there, it might be too slow depending on your meta.
Memory Lapse - This basically resets your opponent's turn when used to counter their big spell. I personally love hard counters that topdecks your opponent because it literally forces them a step back. This is especially important in a competitive game because you can possibly win before he has a chance to play again.
Muddle the Mixture - A great tutor for Cyclonic Rift and doubles up as a permission for instant and sorceries. Since this card is not a hard counter, in desperate situations you can also tutor for Mana Drain if you really need it. The 2-CMC allows you to find anything from mana boosters such as Grim Monolith to combo-tutors like Merchant Scroll.
Mystical Tutor - Another solid tutor that can be cast at instant speed for game-winning plays. If you can get your mana up fast enough, the best target early game would be something like Bribery. Being able to setup Palinchron by endstepping for High Tide is another example of the flexibility of this tutor. Among other things, you can always take another free turn with Temporal Mastery or instill some fear by revealing a Force of Will.
Negate - Hard counter for non-creature spells. Most combos in competitive multiplayer starts with non-creature spells and ends with your Negate on the stack. Since you can rarely afford to have someone combo off faster than you, you want to dedicate as many cards at stopping those game-winning plays as possible.
Pact of Negation - The other free counter in your deck that comes out when you're tapped out to make people angry. Most players know that the biggest of blue is tapping out and leaving themselves vulnerable. Eliminate that assurance and it will never happen again. You can also tutor this out with Tolaria West and just having this in your hand will make people feel uneasy.
Remand - A great cantrip counter that sends the spell back their hand. Can also be used to save one of your spells in a counter duel and that's always important. The fact that it replaces itself, acts as a hard counter and costs dirt cheap makes this a fantastic card to have in your arsenal.
Stifle - Allows you to shut down any paid trigger that might have slipped onto the board. Shuts down most colorless removal because most of them needs to be activated. There are some things that you can let resolve because you have Stifle in hand, and this saves you a good amount of mana. It's really one of those cards that changed the way the game is played and for good reason: Just when you think you're in a good position because your spell resolved, it really isn't.
Stroke of Genius - Essentially the same thing as Blue Sun's Zenith but it can be recycled since it goes to gave. This allows you to possibly kill two players with one stone if you happen to have Snapcaster Mage in hand. Or, if you manage to get this off at the end of your opponent's turn, draw into infinite mana next turn, and use it again with some kind of spell recursion to kill them off on your turn.
Swan Song - Versatile and cheap permission card that gives your countered opponent a bird. Who cares. No really, any kind of 1-cost hard counter needs to be considered in this deck. The coverage that this card has over other candidates like Dispel is mind-boggling.
Trickbind - There are so many applications for this card it's not even funny. Most infinite combos can be stopped by this because you also disable it from activating for the rest of the turn. You know a card is good when they put two cards; Stifle and Interdict on one card and made it cost one generic mana more and give it Split Second.
Sorceries Explained
Bribery - Find the biggest, baddest creature in an opponents' deck and put it out early. Watch out for Homeward Path and eliminate that land as soon as possible with Strip Mine and Wasteland. You can find more info on this specific card below.
Capture of Jingzhou - The rarest Time Warp equivalent is a damn good card. Aside from the price, what really makes this card standout from Time Warp itself is that it cannot be redirected to someone else. This makes it a stronger card overall.
Fabricate - One of your best tutor cards for finding game-winner such as Knowledge Pool or Memnarch. Since Fabricate allows you to tutor for any artifact in your deck, it's completely logical to search for mana boosters like Grim Monolith or power stones like Sol Ring. It all depends on what you need at the time.
Merchant Scroll - Finds Capsize to end the game once you have infinite mana, or puts a free counter in your hand to deter enemy actions. Not only does this card tutors directly into your hand, but it also plays a lot of mind games with your opponents if you fetch out a Force of Will or Mana Drain. One of the few ways to directly covert Palinchron to infinite with High Tide if you have enough lands.
Recurring Insight - A blue bomb that draws you an enormous amount of cards in the right conditions. This is one of those spells that once resolved, you've pretty much sailed far past your opponents in terms of card advantage. Not only does it draw a huge amount of cards, but it does it twice. That kind of advantage is game-wining by itself and you can get it off fairly early with mana boosters. You might want Reliquary Tower in hand before you do, or you might be lucky enough to draw into one.
Temporal Manipulation - A more expensive version of Time Warp that does the same thing. The only difference is that it cannot be redirected to another player by a random, out of nowhere Misdirection.
Temporal Mastery - The miracle version of an extra turn, but the downside is that it cannot be reused. An extra turn can be great at setting up mana combos once you have some doublers on the field. You can tutor this out with Mystical Tutor and set yourself up for a guaranteed Time Walk next turn.
Time Warp - A solid card that can be considered a staple in most blue decks, but even more so when you can infinite with Archaeomancer.
Time Spiral - This allows me to recycle lost combos while receiving full benefits from mana-doublers. When you've had a pretty eventful game and you've exhausted most of your win conditions, using this card can essentially reset the game in your favor. Since it doesn't reset the board, any of your mana rocks, boosters and doublers on the field will still be in effect. This can immediately jump you forward while you reset everyone's hands and ruin their combos.
Transmute Artifact - There's nothing more frustrating than a surprise Knowledge Pool or Memnarch combo. The best use of this is by replacing a mana booster like Grim Monolith or Basalt Monolith. You cast this using blue mana, then boost, then morph it into something more desirable like Caged Sun. It's the quickest way to gain an immediate advantage with very little mana.
Lands Explained
Academy Ruins - Retrieves the artifacts that you might have lost earlier in the match. The most popular targets that I shoot for is Memnarch and Caged Sun. These are going to be the most dangerous artifacts you can have on the field if the game goes long and your opponents know this. Being able to get these back is absolutely mandatory.
Cavern of Souls - Designate "wizard" for the largest coverage of creatures in this deck. There will be times where I declare another target like "spirit" for Deadeye Navigator, but that's only if I draw it late and I have the creature in hand.
Halimar Depths - A good turn one land that helps dig up that lucky Sol Ring. This card becomes slightly weaker in mid-game when you want to have mana open for answers, but it always manages to repay itself because its free dig.
Reliquary Tower - Allows you to keep your extra cards. If you know you're going to be drawing an enormous amount of cards per turn, do NOT play a land card before you play it. That way, if you draw into Reliquary Tower, you can drop it afterwards and keep all the cards.
Riptide Laboratory - One of the best land cards in this deck because it's loaded with great wizards. I primarily use this to save my Teferi just in case my opponents cast a kill spell on their main phase.
Strip Mine - Destroy enemy lands that might be causing issues. Primary targets are Homeward Path if you know you're going to Bribery, or Reliquary Tower if your opponents have a ton of cards in hand.
Tolaria West - Helps tutor for a land card that you really need, but it can also fetch out the dreaded Pact of Negation. If you need it, Mana Crypt is also a fine target to grab for the extra mana per turn.
Wasteland - Destroy more enemy lands. Functions the same as Strip Mine but costs a lot more and can't hit basics.
Combos and Synergy
Hard Lock
How does it work? When Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir is on the field, opponents can only play spells any time they could play a sorcery. That means the stack must be empty and it must be during one of their main phases. With Knowledge Pool, whenever an opponent casts a spell, it is exiled, and they get to choose a new one from the pool to cast at instant speed. With Teferi in play, the second card can't be cast and both cards remain exiled.
How to pull it off? Have Teferi on the board and Knowledge Pool in hand. There are many ways to find Knowledge Pool; from using your draw/dig spells, to Fabricate, instant speed Treasure Mage, or good old fashion luck. Conveniently, Teferi curves directly into Knowledge Pool and there's absolutely nothing your opponent can do once Teferi is on the board and the turn passes back to you. Once the combo pieces are in play, your opponent is locked out of any spells cast from their hand. Keep in mind the can still play their generals, but if you manage to bounce them back into their hands, they're pretty much dead.
This is one of the most entertaining ways to combo and win with blue. Palinchron is the man of the hour and everyone must fear and respect him. With Teferi out on the board, Palinchron gains flash. This means that he can randomly come out of nowhere on your opponent's turn and combo him to death with just about anything. The safest way to get Palinchron out is by having Teferi in play, and in one of the phases your opponent can't touch you in.
Once Palinchron hits the field and you have either Caged Sun, High Tide, or any of the copycats, you can recycle-cast himself for infinite blue mana. With infinite mana, you can choose to Capsize your opponents' entire field into the ground, take everything with Memnarch, or just have him draw his entire library. The beauty of having Palinchron is that he is never a dead card. His abilities are amazing and he can pretty much save himself from anything.
The scariest thing about all this is that all of these combos are guaranteed if Teferi is on the board. There's just nothing your opponents can do when the turn passes back to you, or even during someone's declare attackers step. You can pretty much instantly kill everyone in the game once you have the pieces you need.
Special Mention
Caged Sun = While some people might think this is too slow for a combo-deck, this one item has won me many games. When you have a ton of mana in a mono-blue deck, things start to get out of control. Memnarch starts to get really ridiculous, Capsize can be spammed, and Stroke of Genius can net an unimaginable amount of cards. Not only that, but you can copy it with spells like Sculpting Steel and Copy Artifact.
Bribery = If you're going to cast this card, make sure you cast it early. The sooner this card hits the field, the more impact it will have on the game and the less chances your opponents will have Homeward Path. You want to look for the biggest, baddest creature that has either layers of protection, or a game-shaking EtB (Enter the Battlefield) effect. Popular creatures you should be looking for would be something like Terastodon or Iona, Shield of Emeria.
Trickbind/Wipe Away/Time Stop = While only Trickbind is currently in the deck, the rest of these cards can be used to stop the crazy things your opponents can do that can end the game. If you Wipe Away a key combo piece before your opponent can trigger its ability, or Trickbind an potentially game-ending enter the battlefield effect, then the card has paid for itself many times over. Time Stop is a ender of all classical disputes. If a conversation about an infinite combo ever carries over a few seconds, feel free to play this card and just call 'next'.
Riptide Laboratory = The amount of creatures that you can recycle and bounce with this is staggering. Almost all of your chief utility pieces are Wizards. Being able to rescue them and bounce them for reuse is one of the strongest reasons to include this card in your deck. If anything, you can always tutor this out with Tolaria West if you're setting up for the Time Warp infinite. I would tutor for this land as soon as I can. It has absolutely enormous synergy with Snapcaster Mage, Glen Elendra Archmage and Venser, Shaper Savant.
Academy Ruins = Just in case any of your high-value artifact cards die, you can always bring them back with this land. Sometimes you just can't afford to lose your win cards, Memnarch is just too strong of a card to lose and he can single-handily swing the game by himself.
Deck Garage
Changelog
5/8/14
Very minor change since I've been really busy with work.
I cut 4 lands and readjusted some permission cards to suit a faster metagame. You can see that in place of 4 lands, I have added some really powerful artifact cards such as Mana Crypt, Mana Vault and Gauntlet of Power. I even cut Lightning Greaves because I just didn't find the time to cast the spell and I felt like casting mana rocks to speed up my game is always better. For the same reason, I cut some of the slower land cards like Maze of Ith simply because it didn't give me any mana. Seat of the Synod didn't work with Gauntlet of Power so it was cut. Halimar Depths was kept because the ability to dig 3 deep in early game is game-changing. Dissipate and his brother Faerie Trickery was dropped for the faster Swan Song and Stifle, and Negate was added for extra protection. Hinder stayed in the deck because it can be re-used with Snapcaster Mage and Archaeomancer. Last, but certainly not least, I decided to break out my beautiful Capture of Jingzhou to aid in tempo creation and overall deck speed.
3/2/14
I added Time Spiral and took out Walk the Aeons to add versatility while keeping my average CMC the same. I've been playtesting a lot over the last couple of days and this is a good way to recycle the cards that I've lost throughout the game while getting a fresh hand. Works really well after a Cyclonic Rift and with High Tide/Caged Sun as I'm able to reap the full mana benefits.
3/1/14
I made significant changes to the deck to improve mana efficiency, ramp potential and speed. In order to do this, I had to reduce most of the higher cost counterspells, cut down on the amount of permission in general, and add in more Time Warp cards. It was my personal decision to keep Caged Sun in the deck because it literally gives me another win condition should I have Memnarch available.
These changes should also give me a little more play consistency and allow me to ramp harder.
2/27/14 Faerie Trickery > Counterspell so I can fit Wipe Away into the deck. My reasoning is that I needed another bounce piece that can stifle enemy combos from taking off. I also see RFG counterspells as much more powerful than a standard send to grave. For just a slight price increase over the standard Counterspell you can stop future recursion from ever happening. This is a very small price to pay.
Tidespout Tyrant - This card has the potential to be devastating, but I need to have the right cards in my hand to take maximum potential. Countering one card or casting one spell a turn is hardly enough to get a lot of of him. I would need Palinchron in my hand to make this truly worthwhile, but I can see him ending games immediately by himself if both are in my hand at the same time (due to Storm). Is that asking too much?
Back to Basics - I'm running 30 basic lands and there's probably nothing more infuriating than soft-locking all non-basic lands in play. I would be willing to give this card a try, but it's very difficult to make the cuts right now.
Thassa, God of the Sea - The only thing that I enjoy a lot about this creature is the Scry 1 Indestructible. I don't really see her as a creature really because there's very little creatures that can set her off. If I do bring in the more powerful creatures, I could probably already win with an infinite combo rather than straight up beating face. She also doesn't help my alternative win conditions because she doesn't provide extra mana or help Memnarch take more permanents or anything.
Don't you think this deck is way too slow for Duel Commander rules (aka French Rules)? Or is it just a 1v1 deck using the Multiplayer rules?
I wouldn't say the deck is slow. It's essentially a massive toolbox that deals with a multitude of deck types out there. Previously to running Teferi, the deck was a Vendilion Clique deck. Imagine this deck but with virtually no creatures, artifacts, sorceries or enchantments, and add in all bounce spells and more counterspells.
The deck evolved quite a bit form that playstyle as I found it quite stale and non-imaginative. Teferi, on the other hand, wins by countering the spells that absolutely needs to be countered, letting other spells resolve simply because he doesn't care, and getting off one of his combos before bouncing/stealing everything back. As with most blue generals, you only find success when you're precise with what you want to counter. You will never have enough counterspells for everything, so the player must know what spells are game-changing and which ones can be let through.
He is definitely viable for 1v1 using the Duel Commander rules. That isn't to say he is without weakness. With 18 permission cards not including Venser, this deck stays true to the ideology of a true blue deck while adding multiple wincons that's difficult/impossible to stop once Teferi resolves.
So far, what's your report for each game? Any strength or weaknesses?
The weakness of this deck is when a general throws out a lot of smaller, mediocre threats, most of the time being creatures. At that point, I need to CS the ones that'll cause the most damage and focus on getting some kind of control on the battlefield. Sometimes, this doesn't go my way and take too much damage before I can lockdown the field. Iona, Shield of Emeria is also a card that absolutely destroys mono-blue if she ever hits the field. Thankfully, she doesn't most of the time unless I misplay or get greedy.
The strength of the deck is when there is a over-encompassing strategy that Teferi can focus on stopping. Kaalia, Voltron, ramping fatties, any deck that focuses on one key aspect. Against other decks with blue, this deck does just fine because of its superior number of permission cards. The key is to get into a counterspell battle you can win, and once Teferi is on the field, counterspells are no longer a concern for him on your turn. This allows you to setup your combos and focus on your wincons.
Having played ~100 or so games on cockatrice using both standard EDH banlists and french duel rules, I'd say the only real problem is Gaddock Teeg. That guy just ruins my day most of the time.
I'm curious that you have a lot of counter spells. You don't use some obscene cheap cards like Spell Snare. As simple as Unsummon can messed up someone.
Cards like Long Term Plans doesn't cut it. It's too... slow for me imo.
What about your matchup against Talrand, Sky Summoner, Geist and even Maelstrom Pulse? You have a good advantage over them?
I'm curious that you have a lot of counter spells. You don't use some obscene cheap cards like Spell Snare. As simple as Unsummon can messed up someone.
Cards like Long Term Plans doesn't cut it. It's too... slow for me imo.
What about your matchup against Talrand, Sky Summoner, Geist and even Maelstrom Pulse? You have a good advantage over them?
I've only played against Talrand once so far, and Geist like 2-3 times.
However, I also played vs. Grand Arbiter and Zur.
Vs. Talrand, it felt like a counter war until Teferi resolves. Once he does, Talrand's power level goes down a lot because he can't play spells on my turn, so no pseudo haste attackers for him on his turn. Once a Teferi sets up, it's pretty hard for him to get back up since he can't cast anything to negate my actions. However, I have not played a Talrand running a crazy amount of bounce yet.
Geist is easier to handle than Talrand or Vendilion imo. The same applies for Zur. The reason why is because in place of single target snipe cards, enchantments or board wipes, I have counterspells in its place. I always feel like I have the permission advantage, and Teferi's 3/4 Flash body comes in handy a lot more times than I want to admit.
Grand Arbiter is almost always stax, and this is based off of the two games I've played vs. him. Most of his stax doesn't concern me, and once again I had permission advantage. The thing about almost every matchup vs. mixed blue generals is that unless I'm fighting Talrand or Clique (mono-blue), I always feel safer than he does when casting my spells. Once Teferi resolves, it should be smooth sailing provided he doesn't bounce too hard. Even if he does, I feel that Teferi is a lot safer in my hand than in my command zone due to the cost he comes out at. Keeping me at stock cmc only delays the inevitable.
Not to say those matchups are easy by any means, but like any blue vs. blue games, it's all about patience and bit of luck.
Cards like Long Term Plans doesn't cut it. It's too... slow for me imo.
I was thinking that too. What other draw spell would you recommend? Maybe even Preordain? I will admit that in a combo-based deck, I get pretty excited whenever I see a tutor.
Even another bounce or cheap counter (such as Spell Snare, Force Spike or even Remove Soul) would do better justice.
Having played ~100 or so games on cockatrice using both standard EDH banlists and french duel rules, I'd say the only real problem is Gaddock Teeg. That guy just ruins my day most of the time.
Then, sounds like your doing just fine except Teeg. I apologize that I glimpse over that Cockatrice statement.
What do you usually do that Teeg manage to escape your Counterspells?
Teeg is a real pain once he hates the field. Especially if they manage to tutor for Thalia. If they both resolve, it's bad times for me. You have to dig hard for a bounce, a copycat so you can make him pop, or some some way to get him off the field.
However, since Teeg only prevents most of my bigger counterspells and bigger things from resolving, I'm just going to have to switch to more creature based tactics. This means your WinCons switch priorities to Palinchron/Caged Sun/High Tide. If you manage to get a fast High Tide into Jin, you might be OK.
Teeg is really the worst matchup for us because he stops:
Knowledge Pool
Stroke of Genius
Most of my CMC4+ counterspells, Bribery, Treachery, Evacuation
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
..etc
All while crapping out beaters who are mediocre at best.. but he has enough of them to drown out the counterspells that matter.
I almost added Declaration of Naught for him alone. In fact, I'm thinking about it since it can really hinder other top casters such as Zur and Geist from setting up as well.
I'm curious why you don't have Gitaxian Probe? Another good removal is that annoying Pongify.., it works Thrax, it works with Tef.
Vapor Snag/Unsummon is another a good card to use as well. If it work with Tarland (against me from time to time), it should work well with you. Echoing of Truth too. I think those are blue removal that bypass Thalia+Teeg combo.
I'm new to EDH but I am a hardcore control player (it was true in YGO, it remains true in MTG.) Blue is Beautiful. Subtlety, trickery, and intellect are beautiful. I am making a few changes (a couple of things I don't have/can't afford, some others I like better.)
Jace, the Mind Sculptor ($$$). Going to use Jace, Beleren, but I might sub in Psychosis Crawler since we should easily be able to make ourselves draw 40+ cards and win. Whatever is left, I'm pretty sure a 40/40 creature will kill before much can be done if I cast him with Flash...
EDIT: Vendilion Clique ($$$) is being replaced with Peek. Seems ot me that Peek + Tunnel Vision = GG since if it is in their hand in EDH, it isn't in their deck. Clairvoyance is also good here.
Nvm, they have to find the card for it to work, hence Vendilion Clique. Misread the effect of Tunnel Vision.
I'm new to EDH but I am a hardcore control player (it was true in YGO, it remains true in MTG.) Blue is Beautiful. Subtlety, trickery, and intellect are beautiful. I am making a few changes (a couple of things I don't have/can't afford, some others I like better.)
Vendilion Clique ($$$) is being replaced with Peek. Seems ot me that Peek + Tunnel Vision = GG since if it is in their hand in EDH, it isn't in their deck. Clairvoyance is also good here.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor ($$$). Going to use Jace, Beleren, but I might sub in Psychosis Crawler since we should easily be able to make ourselves draw 40+ cards and win. Whatever is left, I'm pretty sure a 40/40 creature will kill before much can be done if I cast him with Flash...
Good point with BSZ. I originally had Stroke of Genius in there due to flexibility with casting with different mana constraints, but I've noticed I never pull the trigger on Stroke unless I have loads of mana already. Otherwise, it's just a weaker Jace's Ingenuity.
As for Merchant Scroll, what would you search for? I guess my highest priorities will be Force of Will and High Tide. To a certain degree, maybe BSZ, but that's if I have a wincon ready to be setup. I thought about Isoceptor for a very, very long time, but decided not to due to deck constraints. There's just so much room you can afford, even in a hundred-card deck!
I do love the card, although I am worried about the meta having some kind of blue. It's insane vs. the likes of Kaalia and the likes, but worthless against 90% of my meta since everyone has some kind of blue in their commander. It does help vs. a lot of the smaller support creatures though.
I can't say I like tapping out on 4 to play the card though. Blue likes to be very reactionary and thus have mana open at all times. That's why the majority of my deck are instants, mind the creatures which can be made instant by Teferi, and gaming-winning sorceries such as Tunnel Vision, Bribery, or Treachery.
Merchant finds a lot of stuff, and cheaply. It just seems too good to me.
I agree, and it does, but whenever I have it in hand, I think to myself: Is this worth tapping out 2 mana for? Most importantly, it also takes up a slot in the deck. That spot can be filled with another bounce spell or something of that sort. I would rather have another Wipe Away, Rushing River, or Snap.
Snap: Pays for itself bounce creature (can also allow you to untap any two lands, which might matter.)
Boomerang: Return permanent. Can hit a land. Do you need to hit a land?
Into the Roil: Non-land permanent, but possible draw.
Echoing Truth: Non-land permanent and all others with the same name. Deals with Rite of Replication and any other card that might generate a bunch of the same kind of thing.
I like Echoing Truth because a semi-Wrath effect for the cost of a regular bounce that hits non-land permanents and not just creatures seems ok.
I am torn between Into the Roil and Boomerang. Its the whole Bounce any permanent vs. being able to kick for draw. Is 2 mana draw, 2 mana bounce non-land perm better? I don't know enough about EDH to make an informed decision, but my tendency is to say that Roil is the generally better card, but there will be moments where you while be very sad to not have Boomerang.
Snap is probably fourth after these. Yes, it is a "free" creature bounce (pays-for-itself can be pretty awesome as you know if you have played Burning-Tree Emissary in Standard), but I think I like the "permanent" flexibility for artifacts and enchantments causing me grief more.
Graveyard to the Bottom: Junktroller (0/6 Defender, can do it every turn, just tap) Reito Lantern (Can do it every turn, 3 mana to activate) Vessel of the Endless Rest (ETB, but also gives additional mana.)
Fateseal: Mesmeric Sliver (Creature, so flashes with Teferi out, fateseal 1...) Precognition (Good against any player, any time, maybe a better multi-player option??) Ransack (kinda meh except you can hamstring one player's draw for a bit) Spin Into Myth (Deals with a creature at Instant speed, Fateseal 2 means if you do it to a Commander you can still put something on the bottom.)
Since I can't afford Jace and VC, I'll probably go Precognition or Reito Lantern in place of Jace and Spin into Myth or Mesmeric Sliver for VC (only reason I am trying to decide is simply that the Sliver might have Teferi out and thus be flashed, otherwise I would go with SiM.)
Took out Turnabout, Faerie Trickery, Muddle the Mixture, and Overwhelming Intellect for Daze, Force Spike, Spell Snare, and Into the Roil. Essentially trading 3 for 3 permission cards and adding another bounce over utility. Turnabout never really saw play and I always wish I had something else in my hand. Mainly, I wish I had an answer to a previous problem. Overall, I dropped the CMC of my counterspell engine to hit more targets at lower cost. I never really tutored for anything using Muddle the Mixture come to think of it. Another card I'm eyeing is Delay over Spell Snare... so both will be in test.
Since I am using your template to build something more multi-player friendly, I am tinkering with the counters and tending towards stuff that provides board management. Those seem like good choices for 1v1 though. I'm waiting on the rest of my cards and then I'll test next weekend. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks LKHERO, this has been a real help for an EDH n00b.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Standard
Tempo Modern
Eldrazi and Staxes
Whir Prison Legacy
5c Humans
DnT
"I'm a lead farmer... !" Quote ruined due to policy.
97 cards. 3 Slots undecided. I think most of my choices went towards multi-player utility, like Psychosis Crawler. Clone adds a third way to copy big things and kill Legendary creatures i.e. Commanders.
Note that 1, 2 and 4 add Wrath effects, and 2 and 4 are potentially re-usable, but slower than N-Disk. Gauntlets gives a Lord effect for all U, and doubles mana when you tap a basic Blue. Sadly, it extends the effect to every other player using U... Rhystic Study is awesome draw in multi-player for as long as it stays alive.
I will probably choose Rhystic, and 2 Wrath. I think Gauntlets is too risky in multiplayer, but I would like suggestions.
1x
1x
1x
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Standard
Tempo Modern
Eldrazi and Staxes
Whir Prison Legacy
5c Humans
DnT
"I'm a lead farmer... !" Quote ruined due to policy.
Explanation:
When you look at this cut, you guys are probably thinking that I'm losing my mind. The truth actually, is far from it! After another score of games online and in person, I've decided that these changes are for the better. In duel format, the pace is extremely quick and I need answers a lot faster than average play. While combo pieces such as Deadeye Navigator and Memnarch are amazing once you have significant mana, the fact remains that you need all the right pieces in play for that to happen. Everytime I see Deadeye or Memnarch in my opening hand, I always mulligan them out. Even seeing them in the first couple of turns aggravates me because I'd rather draw answers. Cards such as High Tide are always welcome, but drawing a Memnarch when you're at 4 mana does absolutely nothing.
The wincon of having Tunnel Vision, Hinder, Spell Crumple is good, but realistically it's a 2-piece combo that relies on inefficient counterspells. Where Hinder is a great tuck card in the multiplayer format, it's actually quite weak in the duel format where the general can never get tucked. This automatically makes it weaker than say... Dissipate, or even Delay when playing with Teferi. Tunnel Vision is great in theory, but the times I've drawn this card in combination with a tuck counter were very slim. Desertion is also a a fan-favorite, but it was cut due to its speed and the fact it has zero effect in early game. I'd rather have something like Mental Misstep which hits things like Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares for free out of no where.
Most of my wins come with Knowledge Pool, or just beating someone in with Bribery, Treachery or my creatures themselves. After much needed playtesting, I decided to cut down on the amount of 3-drop counterspells for more cost efficient ones such as Annul, Essence Scatter, Remove Soul, Mental Misstep, and Spell Snare. This is in combination to the recent addition of Daze. To further increase the speed and recon of the deck, I've added Gitaxian Probe and Preordain. For this reason, I'm also thinking about adding Condescend due to Scry2. Scry is just an immensely helpful ability in control decks as it allows me to bypass the cards I don't need, and look for answers. There's a saying in StarCraft, "when ahead, stay ahead". As a Tuner Spike, I'm a firm supporter of this.
As you guys can see, I've also added Kira, Great Glass-Spinner to main deck. The reason behind this is that once Teferi is out on the board, the only real way to get rid of him is a kill spell/board wipe in the main phase, or with some outrageous creature ability such as Fiend Hunter. With 100 cards in a deck, the chances to draw answers that can take care of Teferi is very small. This is further reduced by the fact he's only really answerable by counterspells (when he arrives) and a Doom Blade on main phase. Kira can come in Flash safely on Draw phase when Teferi is on the board, forming a counterspell wall on the Main Phase. The best part of it all is that she further wastes opponent's attempts at getting rid of Teferi, and effectively doubles the amount of effort needed to remove him. This, in combination with your already formidable array of counterspell makes further attempts rather futile, and gives you immense card advantage should they continue to commit to remove either of them.
I miss my Memnarch and Deadeye Navigator but I feel the changes I made are good. Palinchron barely makes the cut but the fact that he pays for himself, unlocks infinite mana with the right cards and saves himself when needed, while at the same time, being a 4/5 flying beater saves him a spot. I also kept in Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur simply because he has an immediate effect on the board when he enters, and ends games by himself due to the outrageous card advantage he provides me, and the insane card disadvantage he forces on my opponents. Transmute Artifact stays as well due to the surprise factor associated with it despite only have 4 artifacts in the deck, but having it transmute my Sapphire Medallion or Vedalken Shackles out of nowhere for instant lockdown/win is a must. There's also been times I've won by transmuting to Caged Sun/Palinchron instead of going for the Knowledge Pool lockdown. In most ways, Transmute Artifact acts as a better artifact tutor.
So is your deck for Duel or just regular 1v1? I'm curious how often do you empty your hand (not counting Jin).
With Jin still in place, I'm curious how fast you get him in play.
Jin can come into play if you have him in hand, get to 6 mana and then draw/search for High-Tide. That combo curves on 6, right after Teferi on 5. The results are quite devastating, and most of the time they cannot recover from such a thing. Else, you can just get him out normally if you reach 10 lands, or if you have a mana-doubler or Palinchron combo.
The deck is meant to be played in 1v1 Duel format, with French bans.
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
Master of Blue, Time and All in Between
Introduction
The General
Alternative Generals
The Deck [Updated 5/8/2014]
Competitive Multiplayer EDH, TappedOut subject to Rapid Hybridization.
Deck Strategy
The Cards Explained
Combos and Synergy
Deck Garage
EDH: Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
I wouldn't say the deck is slow. It's essentially a massive toolbox that deals with a multitude of deck types out there. Previously to running Teferi, the deck was a Vendilion Clique deck. Imagine this deck but with virtually no creatures, artifacts, sorceries or enchantments, and add in all bounce spells and more counterspells.
The deck evolved quite a bit form that playstyle as I found it quite stale and non-imaginative. Teferi, on the other hand, wins by countering the spells that absolutely needs to be countered, letting other spells resolve simply because he doesn't care, and getting off one of his combos before bouncing/stealing everything back. As with most blue generals, you only find success when you're precise with what you want to counter. You will never have enough counterspells for everything, so the player must know what spells are game-changing and which ones can be let through.
He is definitely viable for 1v1 using the Duel Commander rules. That isn't to say he is without weakness. With 18 permission cards not including Venser, this deck stays true to the ideology of a true blue deck while adding multiple wincons that's difficult/impossible to stop once Teferi resolves.
The weakness of this deck is when a general throws out a lot of smaller, mediocre threats, most of the time being creatures. At that point, I need to CS the ones that'll cause the most damage and focus on getting some kind of control on the battlefield. Sometimes, this doesn't go my way and take too much damage before I can lockdown the field. Iona, Shield of Emeria is also a card that absolutely destroys mono-blue if she ever hits the field. Thankfully, she doesn't most of the time unless I misplay or get greedy.
The strength of the deck is when there is a over-encompassing strategy that Teferi can focus on stopping. Kaalia, Voltron, ramping fatties, any deck that focuses on one key aspect. Against other decks with blue, this deck does just fine because of its superior number of permission cards. The key is to get into a counterspell battle you can win, and once Teferi is on the field, counterspells are no longer a concern for him on your turn. This allows you to setup your combos and focus on your wincons.
Having played ~100 or so games on cockatrice using both standard EDH banlists and french duel rules, I'd say the only real problem is Gaddock Teeg. That guy just ruins my day most of the time.
EDH: Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
Cards like Long Term Plans doesn't cut it. It's too... slow for me imo.
What about your matchup against Talrand, Sky Summoner, Geist and even Maelstrom Pulse? You have a good advantage over them?
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
I've only played against Talrand once so far, and Geist like 2-3 times.
However, I also played vs. Grand Arbiter and Zur.
Vs. Talrand, it felt like a counter war until Teferi resolves. Once he does, Talrand's power level goes down a lot because he can't play spells on my turn, so no pseudo haste attackers for him on his turn. Once a Teferi sets up, it's pretty hard for him to get back up since he can't cast anything to negate my actions. However, I have not played a Talrand running a crazy amount of bounce yet.
Geist is easier to handle than Talrand or Vendilion imo. The same applies for Zur. The reason why is because in place of single target snipe cards, enchantments or board wipes, I have counterspells in its place. I always feel like I have the permission advantage, and Teferi's 3/4 Flash body comes in handy a lot more times than I want to admit.
Grand Arbiter is almost always stax, and this is based off of the two games I've played vs. him. Most of his stax doesn't concern me, and once again I had permission advantage. The thing about almost every matchup vs. mixed blue generals is that unless I'm fighting Talrand or Clique (mono-blue), I always feel safer than he does when casting my spells. Once Teferi resolves, it should be smooth sailing provided he doesn't bounce too hard. Even if he does, I feel that Teferi is a lot safer in my hand than in my command zone due to the cost he comes out at. Keeping me at stock cmc only delays the inevitable.
Not to say those matchups are easy by any means, but like any blue vs. blue games, it's all about patience and bit of luck.
I was thinking that too. What other draw spell would you recommend? Maybe even Preordain? I will admit that in a combo-based deck, I get pretty excited whenever I see a tutor.
Even another bounce or cheap counter (such as Spell Snare, Force Spike or even Remove Soul) would do better justice.
EDH: Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
Yes, yes I have.
EDH: Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
What do you usually do that Teeg manage to escape your Counterspells?
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
Teeg is a real pain once he hates the field. Especially if they manage to tutor for Thalia. If they both resolve, it's bad times for me. You have to dig hard for a bounce, a copycat so you can make him pop, or some some way to get him off the field.
However, since Teeg only prevents most of my bigger counterspells and bigger things from resolving, I'm just going to have to switch to more creature based tactics. This means your WinCons switch priorities to Palinchron/Caged Sun/High Tide. If you manage to get a fast High Tide into Jin, you might be OK.
Teeg is really the worst matchup for us because he stops:
Knowledge Pool
Stroke of Genius
Most of my CMC4+ counterspells, Bribery, Treachery, Evacuation
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
..etc
All while crapping out beaters who are mediocre at best.. but he has enough of them to drown out the counterspells that matter.
I almost added Declaration of Naught for him alone. In fact, I'm thinking about it since it can really hinder other top casters such as Zur and Geist from setting up as well.
EDH: Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
I'm curious why you don't have Gitaxian Probe? Another good removal is that annoying Pongify.., it works Thrax, it works with Tef.
Vapor Snag/Unsummon is another a good card to use as well. If it work with Tarland (against me from time to time), it should work well with you. Echoing of Truth too. I think those are blue removal that bypass Thalia+Teeg combo.
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
Cryptic Command is awesome, but too expensive. I'm replacing it with Devastation Tide.
Force of Will is also too expensive, "replacing" it with Dismiss so at least I can get some draw, but I will trade for this ASAP.
Misdirection ($$$) is getting replaced by Redirect.
Pact of Negation ($$$) is getting replaced by Abjure.
Remand ($$$) replaced by Stoic Rebuttal. I'll try and trade for it.
Stroke of Genius replaced with Blue sun's Zenith because BSZ does the same thing and recycles into my deck to be used again.
Wasteland ($$$) is being replaced with Tectonic Edge.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor ($$$). Going to use Jace, Beleren, but I might sub in Psychosis Crawler since we should easily be able to make ourselves draw 40+ cards and win. Whatever is left, I'm pretty sure a 40/40 creature will kill before much can be done if I cast him with Flash...
Isochron Scepter plus some removal (Pongify, Rapid Hybridization, Cyclonic Rift, etc.) works, never mind that many of the cards work with Scepter.
I'm also using Merchant Scroll, Arcanis the Omnipotent, and Nevinyrral's Disk, though what I am swapping out yet I am not certain.
EDIT:
Vendilion Clique ($$$) is being replaced with Peek. Seems ot me that Peek + Tunnel Vision = GG since if it is in their hand in EDH, it isn't in their deck. Clairvoyance is also good here.
Nvm, they have to find the card for it to work, hence Vendilion Clique. Misread the effect of Tunnel Vision.
Tempo
Modern
Eldrazi and Staxes
Whir Prison
Legacy
5c Humans
DnT
"I'm a lead farmer... !" Quote ruined due to policy.
Good point with BSZ. I originally had Stroke of Genius in there due to flexibility with casting with different mana constraints, but I've noticed I never pull the trigger on Stroke unless I have loads of mana already. Otherwise, it's just a weaker Jace's Ingenuity.
As for Pongify and Rapid Hybridization, I'm thinking about dropping Delay and something else for +2 bounce spells. I have yet to decide what those are yet, but I'm thinking Into the Roil and Boomerang.
As for Merchant Scroll, what would you search for? I guess my highest priorities will be Force of Will and High Tide. To a certain degree, maybe BSZ, but that's if I have a wincon ready to be setup. I thought about Isoceptor for a very, very long time, but decided not to due to deck constraints. There's just so much room you can afford, even in a hundred-card deck!
EDH: Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
Merchant finds a lot of stuff, and cheaply. It just seems too good to me.
I do love your deck though!
EDIT:
@Dobes
Invoke Prejudice seems delicious and indecent. I am creeped out by the ghostly KKK members though... Seriously, WTF is that?
Tempo
Modern
Eldrazi and Staxes
Whir Prison
Legacy
5c Humans
DnT
"I'm a lead farmer... !" Quote ruined due to policy.
I do love the card, although I am worried about the meta having some kind of blue. It's insane vs. the likes of Kaalia and the likes, but worthless against 90% of my meta since everyone has some kind of blue in their commander. It does help vs. a lot of the smaller support creatures though.
I can't say I like tapping out on 4 to play the card though. Blue likes to be very reactionary and thus have mana open at all times. That's why the majority of my deck are instants, mind the creatures which can be made instant by Teferi, and gaming-winning sorceries such as Tunnel Vision, Bribery, or Treachery.
I agree, and it does, but whenever I have it in hand, I think to myself: Is this worth tapping out 2 mana for? Most importantly, it also takes up a slot in the deck. That spot can be filled with another bounce spell or something of that sort. I would rather have another Wipe Away, Rushing River, or Snap.
Here's a question for you guys. Pick 2 from these 4:
Snap, Boomerang, Into the Roil, and Echoing Truth.
EDH: Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
Snap: Pays for itself bounce creature (can also allow you to untap any two lands, which might matter.)
Boomerang: Return permanent. Can hit a land. Do you need to hit a land?
Into the Roil: Non-land permanent, but possible draw.
Echoing Truth: Non-land permanent and all others with the same name. Deals with Rite of Replication and any other card that might generate a bunch of the same kind of thing.
I like Echoing Truth because a semi-Wrath effect for the cost of a regular bounce that hits non-land permanents and not just creatures seems ok.
I am torn between Into the Roil and Boomerang. Its the whole Bounce any permanent vs. being able to kick for draw. Is 2 mana draw, 2 mana bounce non-land perm better? I don't know enough about EDH to make an informed decision, but my tendency is to say that Roil is the generally better card, but there will be moments where you while be very sad to not have Boomerang.
Snap is probably fourth after these. Yes, it is a "free" creature bounce (pays-for-itself can be pretty awesome as you know if you have played Burning-Tree Emissary in Standard), but I think I like the "permanent" flexibility for artifacts and enchantments causing me grief more.
Hinder, Spell Crumple makes sense now, as does JAce, Mind Sculptor. Any alternatives to Jace and Vendilion Clique?
Graveyard to the Bottom:
Junktroller (0/6 Defender, can do it every turn, just tap)
Reito Lantern (Can do it every turn, 3 mana to activate)
Vessel of the Endless Rest (ETB, but also gives additional mana.)
Fateseal:
Mesmeric Sliver (Creature, so flashes with Teferi out, fateseal 1...)
Precognition (Good against any player, any time, maybe a better multi-player option??)
Ransack (kinda meh except you can hamstring one player's draw for a bit)
Spin Into Myth (Deals with a creature at Instant speed, Fateseal 2 means if you do it to a Commander you can still put something on the bottom.)
Since I can't afford Jace and VC, I'll probably go Precognition or Reito Lantern in place of Jace and Spin into Myth or Mesmeric Sliver for VC (only reason I am trying to decide is simply that the Sliver might have Teferi out and thus be flashed, otherwise I would go with SiM.)
Tempo
Modern
Eldrazi and Staxes
Whir Prison
Legacy
5c Humans
DnT
"I'm a lead farmer... !" Quote ruined due to policy.
I would recommend running more creature kill cards like Pongify and Rapid Hybridization.
Definitely more bounce options too.
EDH: Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
EDH: Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
Thanks LKHERO, this has been a real help for an EDH n00b.
Tempo
Modern
Eldrazi and Staxes
Whir Prison
Legacy
5c Humans
DnT
"I'm a lead farmer... !" Quote ruined due to policy.
If you don't mind, can I see your list for the multiplayer take? I uploaded my take earlier.
EDH: Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1x Blue Sun's Zenith
1x Brainstorm
1x Capsize
1x Counterspell
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Desertion
1x Dissipate
1x Echoing Truth
1x Evacuation
1x Fact or Fiction
1x High Tide
1x Hinder
1x Impulse
1x Into the Roil
1x Jace's Ingenuity
1x Lat-Nam's Legacy
1x Mindbreak Trap
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Negate
1x Rewind
1x Spell Crumple
1x Stifle
1x Telling Time
1x Think Twice
1x Thirst for Knowledge
1x Dismiss
1x Merchant Scroll
1x Redirect
1x Spin into Myth
Land (40)
1x Academy Ruins
1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Ghost Quarter
1x Halimar Depths
1x High Market
1x Maze of Ith
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Riptide Laboratory
1x Seat of the Synod
28x Snow-Covered Island
1x Tolaria West
1x Wasteland
Artifact 5
1x Caged Sun
1x Extraplanar Lens
1x Knowledge Pool
1x Sapphire Medallion
1x Vedalken Shackles
1x Treachery
1x Precognition
Creature 13
1x Deadeye Navigator
1x Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
1x Memnarch
1x Palinchron
1x Phantasmal Image
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Snapcaster Mage
1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1x Treasure Mage
1x Venser, Shaper Savant
1x Clone
1x Memseric Sliver
1x Psychosis Crawler
Sorcery 7
1x Ancestral Vision
1x Bribery
1x Fabricate
1x Ponder
1x Transmute Artifact
1x Tunnel Vision
1x Devastation Tide
97 cards. 3 Slots undecided. I think most of my choices went towards multi-player utility, like Psychosis Crawler. Clone adds a third way to copy big things and kill Legendary creatures i.e. Commanders.
Here are my options for the three open slots in order I am interested:
Nevinyrral's Disk
Oblivion Stone
Gauntlets of Power
Kederekt Leviathan
Rhystic Study
Note that 1, 2 and 4 add Wrath effects, and 2 and 4 are potentially re-usable, but slower than N-Disk. Gauntlets gives a Lord effect for all U, and doubles mana when you tap a basic Blue. Sadly, it extends the effect to every other player using U... Rhystic Study is awesome draw in multi-player for as long as it stays alive.
I will probably choose Rhystic, and 2 Wrath. I think Gauntlets is too risky in multiplayer, but I would like suggestions.
1x
1x
1x
Tempo
Modern
Eldrazi and Staxes
Whir Prison
Legacy
5c Humans
DnT
"I'm a lead farmer... !" Quote ruined due to policy.
I would cut these for Guile and Kira, Great Glass-Spinner. Consecrated Sphinx comes to mind immediately in multiplayer, and I would run that over Guile if you don't have room. They're just better creatures to use in multiplayer imo. Also in multi, I would get Trinket Mage and complete that with a package of Sol Ring, Sensei's Divining Top, and possibly Expedition Map.
Rhystic is definitely a must have, but in Multi, so is Recurring Insight. I agree on the Gaunts, cut them. Your board wipe choices are fine as well.
EDH: Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
Cards cut:
-Deadeye Navigator
-Memnarch
-Tunnel Vision
-Extraplanar Lens
-Spell Crumple
-Hinder
-Lat-Nam's Legacy
-Desertion
Cards added:
+Annul
+Essence Scatter
+Remove Soul
+Mental Misstep
+Spell Snare
+Gitaxian Probe
+Preordain
+Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
Explanation:
When you look at this cut, you guys are probably thinking that I'm losing my mind. The truth actually, is far from it! After another score of games online and in person, I've decided that these changes are for the better. In duel format, the pace is extremely quick and I need answers a lot faster than average play. While combo pieces such as Deadeye Navigator and Memnarch are amazing once you have significant mana, the fact remains that you need all the right pieces in play for that to happen. Everytime I see Deadeye or Memnarch in my opening hand, I always mulligan them out. Even seeing them in the first couple of turns aggravates me because I'd rather draw answers. Cards such as High Tide are always welcome, but drawing a Memnarch when you're at 4 mana does absolutely nothing.
The wincon of having Tunnel Vision, Hinder, Spell Crumple is good, but realistically it's a 2-piece combo that relies on inefficient counterspells. Where Hinder is a great tuck card in the multiplayer format, it's actually quite weak in the duel format where the general can never get tucked. This automatically makes it weaker than say... Dissipate, or even Delay when playing with Teferi. Tunnel Vision is great in theory, but the times I've drawn this card in combination with a tuck counter were very slim. Desertion is also a a fan-favorite, but it was cut due to its speed and the fact it has zero effect in early game. I'd rather have something like Mental Misstep which hits things like Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares for free out of no where.
Most of my wins come with Knowledge Pool, or just beating someone in with Bribery, Treachery or my creatures themselves. After much needed playtesting, I decided to cut down on the amount of 3-drop counterspells for more cost efficient ones such as Annul, Essence Scatter, Remove Soul, Mental Misstep, and Spell Snare. This is in combination to the recent addition of Daze. To further increase the speed and recon of the deck, I've added Gitaxian Probe and Preordain. For this reason, I'm also thinking about adding Condescend due to Scry2. Scry is just an immensely helpful ability in control decks as it allows me to bypass the cards I don't need, and look for answers. There's a saying in StarCraft, "when ahead, stay ahead". As a Tuner Spike, I'm a firm supporter of this.
As you guys can see, I've also added Kira, Great Glass-Spinner to main deck. The reason behind this is that once Teferi is out on the board, the only real way to get rid of him is a kill spell/board wipe in the main phase, or with some outrageous creature ability such as Fiend Hunter. With 100 cards in a deck, the chances to draw answers that can take care of Teferi is very small. This is further reduced by the fact he's only really answerable by counterspells (when he arrives) and a Doom Blade on main phase. Kira can come in Flash safely on Draw phase when Teferi is on the board, forming a counterspell wall on the Main Phase. The best part of it all is that she further wastes opponent's attempts at getting rid of Teferi, and effectively doubles the amount of effort needed to remove him. This, in combination with your already formidable array of counterspell makes further attempts rather futile, and gives you immense card advantage should they continue to commit to remove either of them.
I miss my Memnarch and Deadeye Navigator but I feel the changes I made are good. Palinchron barely makes the cut but the fact that he pays for himself, unlocks infinite mana with the right cards and saves himself when needed, while at the same time, being a 4/5 flying beater saves him a spot. I also kept in Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur simply because he has an immediate effect on the board when he enters, and ends games by himself due to the outrageous card advantage he provides me, and the insane card disadvantage he forces on my opponents. Transmute Artifact stays as well due to the surprise factor associated with it despite only have 4 artifacts in the deck, but having it transmute my Sapphire Medallion or Vedalken Shackles out of nowhere for instant lockdown/win is a must. There's also been times I've won by transmuting to Caged Sun/Palinchron instead of going for the Knowledge Pool lockdown. In most ways, Transmute Artifact acts as a better artifact tutor.
TLDR: Improved speed of the deck in 1v1 format.
EDH: Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
With Jin still in place, I'm curious how fast you get him in play.
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
Jin can come into play if you have him in hand, get to 6 mana and then draw/search for High-Tide. That combo curves on 6, right after Teferi on 5. The results are quite devastating, and most of the time they cannot recover from such a thing. Else, you can just get him out normally if you reach 10 lands, or if you have a mana-doubler or Palinchron combo.
The deck is meant to be played in 1v1 Duel format, with French bans.
EDH: Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir