I'll take any card in the deck that is CORE or heart of the deck, but other cards that aren't necessarily needed in the deck, I want the alternatives to be equal or under $10.
Okay, so forgive me if the question is dumb (Currently on a mobile, so access is limited), but is there a reason why you don't use Force of Will in this current list?
Sorry for posting so late to these inquiries. Life is rather busy at the moment. XP
@DemonRageX:
The "Core" of the deck is comprised of "Prison" cards and "Denial/Spot Removal" cards (see "Decklist: By Function"). There's some budget options for the ore expensive Denial cards in the "Budget Options" section. I'd start there and then customize according to your own preferences.
@Tokoi:
Just like Pedrin7 said, it's card disadvantage and situational. For further explanation, please refer to the "Why didn't you include ________?" section.
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I hope to have a Journey to Nyx set review finished by the end of the week, so stay posted!
I've been tinkering with a similar deck for a while and notice that you've built in a lot less redundancy than me. I added Hokori and Static Orb, for example. Oblivion ring and Detention Sphere. Propaganda/Ghostly Prison/Sphere of Safety. Treachery/Control Magic/Faith's Fetters. Copy Enchantment to double down on anything I need. Do you think such redundancies are detrimental for the deck?
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"You know that a conjurer gets no credit once he has explained his trick; and if I show you too much of my method of working, you will come to the conclusion that I am a very ordinary individual after all." - Sherlock Holmes
It depends on if the abilities stack. For example, the at-tax-ers (Ghostly Prison, Propaganda, and Sphere of Safety) stack their taxes, so it's good to have more than one on the board. O-Ring and D-Sphere can target different things, making each one useful in it's own time.
Duplicates of Winter Orb effects, like Hokori, Dust Drinker doesn't stack, nor can it select a different target. One truly becomes a dead draw if you already have the other out. It's the same reason I don't go for Kismet/Frozen Aether (that and Blind Obedience is waaaaay cheaper). Plus, Winter Orb takes a lot of skill to use properly in this deck, especially since there are so few mana sources, in general. Is probably not a good move to saturate the deck with risky or situational cards.
As far as how many duplicates to put in the deck, well, that's up to you. My rule of thumb is 2 if you want it, 3 if you need it. Keep in mind, though, that these are enchantments -- you can find them really easily with all the search, but they are quite slow to put out. I really don't like running 4+ CMC enchantments unless they're absolutely necessary and/or for a combo. Otherwise, you can draw them all day, but you can't play them and still hold onto counter/removal mana.
Just finished my list I'll probably post it in the forums soon, I included back to basics and I'm only running 7 ish non basics and color fixing is usually not a problem and BtB really shuts down most other decks in a meta like mine where most people play at least two if not three - 5 colors. I don't really see a down side ever to running more basics in a deck considering it protects you from an early ruination and/or blood moon/magus of the moon. In my mind it is almost superior to something like winter orb because it potentially shuts your opponent out but doesn't limit you at all if you have a heavy basic manabase. Has won some games for me. Also a creature that has been really good for me is baneslayer angel life is relevant and dawn charm has saved my but more than once if someone happens to have one creature that breaks through the prison.
Baneslayer is a house, even against non-member/dragons.
Back to Basics is good for any list that isn't non-basic heavy. I'd run it myself, but there's... Well, frankly, a little of non-basics here You definitely being up the main reason for using it: to shut down everyone but yourself. Exploiting symmetric effects like that is always good!
Will we be seeing any new cards added to the deck with the new set coming out do u think? And just to make sure... is this deck the updated version of the deck? The one you are using? I LOVE this deck. By far my favorite commander deck. Thank you so much!
Hey there, thanks for making this primer! It's been really helpful for me, since I'm starting off my GAA4 decklist.
I've got one question though. Looking at your (hopefully current) decklist, you only run 32 lands and 2 mana rocks. I've playtested your list and constantly get manascrewed or miss the 4th land drop. I'm thinking if I should add in more land and/or 2CMC mana rocks, such as Fellwar Stone and Azorius Signet. What do you think about that?
If you're constantly getting land-screwed, then go ahead and sub cards until you feel comfortable with your mana output. I'm accustomed to working with a minimal amount of mana, but it's hard to pull off a lock like this if you're really used to hitting every land drop. It's just something I never expect to happen, so I'm always strategizing for the worst situation.
Anyways, I'm pretty keen on Talisman of Progress, myself. It can produce 1 no matter what and WorU for a small amount of life. Personally, I'd use it over Azorious Signet, which requires an activation cost (meaning if you're tapped out, you're in trouble). I need to do a little more testing with this deck and the Talisman to see what I can afford for cut, but I think it will make it into the deck fairly soon.
Also, for those of you waiting for the JOU review, it's coming! I just need to find the time to sit own with -t and type everything out. Life is busy, unfortunately... XP
Personally, I've never made a deck with less than 35 lands -- and that's with 8 - 11 mana rocks and accelerants. I like having a land drop up until turn 4/5, and a land drop every other turn after that. In this deck, at the very worst, I want to cast GAA4 on turn 4. With a 2CMC mana rock like Talisman of Progress or Sol Ring, we can cast GAA4 on turn 2/3.
I just hate drawing mana (lands/rocks) mid-late game, which is when this deck wants combo pieces, tutors, and answers. It's irritates me, is all. I'm perfectly fine working on a tight mana-budget; it does, however, require exceptional forethought and play. It can be very unforgiving, but I don't mind it. The only time I feel mana becoming an issue is when I drop Winter Orb, but then, everyone is having mana issues at that point. I can totally understand people wanting more mana, but unless it's a dedicated combo deck, I find it hard to justify putting in more than a few basic mana rocks.
I will give you that I should probably put in the Talisman... maybe I'll cut Yosei, the Morning Star? I like him a lot because 1) he's great counter/removal bait; 2) he can essentially take away someone's turn (preventing a combo or a massive attack phase can buy some time for a more suitable answer); and 3) he is a flying beater. However, Yosei is 6 CMC, so you're dropping him pretty late. I'm really on the fence about taking Yosei out, but Talisman NEEDS to go in. Any ideas/opinions about what to cut for Talisman?
Phew. Now that I'm back in the States and have had a little time to work on MtG decks, I finally found some time to do the JOU set review. I'll get to an M15 review in due time, but for now, I need to catch up with the end of the Theros block.
Also! I've made some much-needed changes to the deck to make things run a little smoother. The announcements will be at the end of the set reviews... feel free to skip directly to them if you want.
Dawnbringer Charioteers: Heroic requires too much build-around-me spellpower (i.e., spells/pumps that target your own creatures). just doesn't fit in with the Judge
Deicide: there's easier ways to get rid of gods... bounce is not something to laugh at. Who really wants to keep casting the same cards, possibly losing them to counters...?
Dictate of Heliod: 5CMC is a little high for the effect, even with Flash. Plus, there aren't a lot of creatures in GAA4. What few there are get pumped by Elesh Norn, who also hoses opponents' creatures. She's just better in this case.
Eagle of the Watch: Not a bad card to draft, but not really helpful in EDH
Eidolon of Rhetoric: Another functional reprint of Arcane Laboratory and Rule of Law. Not using it for the same reasons as I don't/won't use those cards. (Too limiting of my own spellpower and too much work to get it to combo with Erayo)
Font of Vigor: Don't really care about lifegain. I'll pass
Godsend: Any Sword of X and Y is better than this. With how few equipment pieces there are in GAA4 (pretty sure there's only Lightning Greaves), there really just isn't any place for Godsend here
Harvestguard Alseids: ugh... no. What a lame ability: I don't need to prevent damage to a single creature; I need to stop opponents from playing spells! XP
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer: in my meta, anything with a counter on it gets bounced, so all your hard work and spells were for nothing
Launch the Fleet: Pretty good for a token-deck that has access to a lot of mana. GAA4 isn't that kind of deck, though...
Leonin Iconoclast: hyper-limited usage for a high CMC. good draft card, maybe
Mortal Obstinacy: Not really that good unless you're playing a lot of enchantment-based decks. too situational
Quarry Colossus: still worse than Unexpectedly Absent (which you can use in response to fetchlands). I don't run Unexpectedly Absent in this deck, but I'd definitely put it in before I even considered Quarry Colossus
Reprisal: W has better instant-speed removal than this.
Sightless Brawler: *grimace* Am I the only one who's really just not a fan of this whole Bestow ability?
Skybind: Too many restrictions (non-enchantment permanent... c'mon! ) and they come back when this thing dies.
Stonewise Fortifier: ability costs too much to activate an only protects one creature. not worth it
Supply-line Cranes: not useful in EDH... better for Limited when you have nothing else to play
Tethmos High Priest: unfortunately, the recursion only happens when Heroic triggers, which would be pretty much never in GAA4. Otherwise, getting Snapcaster or Erayo back might not be terrible. But still, there's just no synergy with the rest of the deck
Blue
Aerial Formation: ho-hum ability that Strive does little to make better
Battlefield Thaumaturge: clearly meant to make Strive viable... too much build-around required
Cloaked Siren: again, not bad in Limited.. really not good in EDH
Countermand: expensive counter with a lame mill attached. There are better counters out there
Dakra Mystic: not bad if you're desperate for draw, but really, you're playing U. You have access to WAAAAAY better draw spells
Daring Thief: exchanging permanents is a different type of control deck. Gilded Drake is faster (exchanges on the ETB trigger, not the untap trigger) and can be Venser-ed back to your control (for you to steal another creature on the ETB)
Dictate of Kruphix: it's not good to arm your opponents with cards, trust me. they'll draw answers... O.o
Font of Fortunes: While it is Sun Titan-able, it still takes 4 mana, 2 of which must be paid at sorcery-speed. Fact or Fiction is 4 CMC and an instant
Hour of Need: There's better removal in WU; you shouldn't be handing your opponents 4/4 fliers
Hubris: Boomerang is better, since any Auras would go to the graveyard not the hand when you bounced the creature. Plus, Boomerang isn't restricted to bouncing creatures
Hypnotic Siren: Stealing isn't what GAA4 is all about.. this might work better in a Sakashima deck
Kiora's Dismissal: limited to enchantments and is a bounce... there are better ways of dealing with enchantments in GAA4
Pin to the Earth: not worth targeting a single creature with something like this in EDH
Polymorphous Rush: good for aggro decks, not so much for dedicated control
Pull from the Deep: I'd rather have a Snapcaster Mage and try to blink him or bounce him or whatever... instant/sorcery recursion isn't a major issue here, since so many cards do essentially the same thing
Riptide Chimera: hurts your board position and for what? a weak beater with no positive abilities
Rise of Eagles: costs too much and is too slow. plus, who really needs a few tokens...?
Sage of Hours: Heroic makes this guy slow. You have to target him at least 5 times (so, 5 different spells/copies of spells that target him) just to get an extra turn... and then, you have to protect him so he doesn't die/get removed when you try to activate him. Waaaaay too much work.
Triton Shorestalker: better as a 4-of or in Limited; clearly for aggro decks... boo
War-Wing Siren: no.. just, no. Heroic + counters = begging to get removed. get ready for some disappointment
Whitewater Naiads: attacking isn't something GAA4 readily does, so the Naiads' abilities aren't very useful
Artifacts
Honestly, I'm not even gonna try to address these. They are mostly equipment, which isn't terribly helpful in a non-aggro deck, and the few that are not equipment are very "meh"
Updates to the Deck
For full explanations, see the Changelog in the primer.
I have been playing this deck or a build very close to it (tweaked for my local meta) for the best part of a year and am very pleased with it. I am always looking to create more locks or generally frustrate my opponents, for the games recently I have been losing to combos that are forcing loss of life or infinite turns so I have added Platinum Angel and Platinum Imperium these two cards are amazing when I can protect them with Cloud Cover, Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir , or my favorite Enchanted Evening and Greater Auramancy. This bring me two another potential combo I have heard about that might fit in the deck nicely Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir and Knowledge Pool this locks all of your opponents out of the game. "Knowledge Pool instructs players to cast a spell during the resolution of its triggered ability. You can't do anything while an ability is resolving except for what it tells you to. Restrictions trump permissions, and "can only" is a restriction. Even if the particular card your opponent wants to cast is a sorcery, the restriction of "only any time you could cast a sorcery" isn't literal - it's shorthand for "only any time you have priority with an empty stack during your main phase." It may be your opponent's main phase, but the stack won't be empty (the trigger's still there resolving) and that player won't have priority (no one has priority while resolving a thing)."
This is a really small option in the deck and I am thinking about running it for fun and at least keeping the Pool in the SB.. Thoughts is this really to small of a lock or does it have worth main deck?
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Thanks to Argetlam over at Hakai Studios for the Sig!
Have you ever crossed the road, and looked the wrong way? A car's nearly on you? So what do you do? Something very silly. You freeze. Your life doesn't flash before you, 'cause you're too' scared to think - you just freeze and pull a stupid face
BW Midrange | G Legacy Elves | X MUD Weilder |X Affinity | R RDW | UWB Esper Stoneblade | W Death and Taxes | W Mono White Control (Modern) | UWRGeist Midrange (Modern) | UW Heroic | UWGrand Arbiter Augustin IV EDH
The Teferi-Pool combo is definitely tried-and-true. Of course, it works better when Teferi is your general, so you don't have to wait for him. The hardest part of assembling Teferi-Pool in GAA4 is finding Teferi. Knowledge Pool can be searched with Enlightened Tutor. But WU is notoriously bad at searching for creatures, so you can only really use Long-Term Plans.
Also, Knowledge Pool is kinda so-so on its own, so it would really only exist as a combo piece. In other words, it's got limited versatility. If you're confident you can get the two together fairly often, though, you should go for it.
Hello, I loved the primer, I'm about to try it out, so I was wondering if putting some fetches in (like 5) would really put my mana base down.. since I would be cutting some basic lands that I may get with Land Tax or Solemn Sim, and what do you thinkg about adding Wasteland and Rishadan Port in order to land hate, I use them in EDH 1v1, but not sure if it would be that great on FFA. Again thhnx for the primer It was absolutely great!
Fetches would be fine if it were one, maybe two that you cut a basic land for, but anything more than that would decrease your optimal power level, I think. For starters, what land-retrieval there is (like Land Tax and Solemn Simulacrum, as you mentioned) has fewer targets. Also, there's only one Shockland (Hallowed Fountain) in the deck and no Tundra, which further limits the optimal targets for the fetches. I mean, really, who is cracking a fetch for a basic Island/Plains? Anyways, I would just stick to one or two fetches, if you have them, as any more would dilute the power-level of the land base.
If you want to include land-hate, go ahead, but do consider the colour-balance of your mana-sources before you go overboard with colourless-producing utility lands. I'd definitely go for the Wasteland, if I had one, but I'm not terribly convinced about Rishadan Port, as I haven't had any experience with it at all. It's up to personal preference at that point. Either way, targeted LD works well in FFA as long as you have good threat assessment and excellent timing.
Hello all, I wanted to post an updated 100 for comments and suggestions. I have noticed after looking at the list it would appear the deck is slow but in all honesty it is not... Some of the choices such as the platinum's are because of my play group and some of the life loss auto combo's they run. Also instead of running wrath FX's I am running a few things that change the game rules like Solitary Confinement, Peacekeeper, and Dissipation Field. These tend to keep me safe but also make me an unattractive target, I also find the deck has enough card draw not to be impacted by Confinement all that much... I also really like the Consecrated Sphinx with Jace Beleren. I am however looking to add Sphere of Resistance, Aven Mindcensor, Pact of Negation, Orim’s Chant and this may lead me to being able to work the stick back in... The deck is doing well for me I am just looking for addition tweeks, change suggestions and/or comments thanks for the help
Thanks to Argetlam over at Hakai Studios for the Sig!
Have you ever crossed the road, and looked the wrong way? A car's nearly on you? So what do you do? Something very silly. You freeze. Your life doesn't flash before you, 'cause you're too' scared to think - you just freeze and pull a stupid face
BW Midrange | G Legacy Elves | X MUD Weilder |X Affinity | R RDW | UWB Esper Stoneblade | W Death and Taxes | W Mono White Control (Modern) | UWRGeist Midrange (Modern) | UW Heroic | UWGrand Arbiter Augustin IV EDH
I like your inclusion of the Familiars (Sunscape Familiar and Stormscape Familiar). They are good and cheap, though comparatively underpowered, versions of GAA4.
One question: why Vedalkin Orrery over Leyline of Anticipation? Is it because the Orrery requires colourless mana? To me, anyways, the chance to get a Leyline free, however rarely that happens, or for 3 with GAA4 out makes it a little more desirable. What are your thoughts?
I like your inclusion of the Familiars (Sunscape Familiar and Stormscape Familiar). They are good and cheap, though comparatively underpowered, versions of GAA4.
One question: why Vedalkin Orrery over Leyline of Anticipation? Is it because the Orrery requires colourless mana? To me, anyways, the chance to get a Leyline free, however rarely that happens, or for 3 with GAA4 out makes it a little more desirable. What are your thoughts?
Why thank you sir hatter, I have thought many times that I should be removing the familiars in favor of something else but just about the time I am ready to do it they power me thru a game. The are great cheap drops that power me to cheapen my spells more. I think once I am able to include Sphere of Resistance having them to continue the GAA4 reduction of cost to me will be great.
Hmmm well part of the reason I did not play Leyline of Anticipation was that I really never noticed it before... it was printed from a time when I was not playing standard. Now that I know about it, I believe it does warrant consideration for inclusion in the 100. As you said a pro for the Orrery is that it is colorless allowing to fix my mana a little bit more to the way I want it. BUT as you say GAA4 and my familiar will reduce his casting cost which I do like, I think because of this I will need to make that change. I have found myself sitting in games often wish V.O. cost less than 4.
What are your thoughts around Spiritual Asylum I originally had it in there to stop some of my more critical creatures such as the angel and emperium from getting sent to the GY. No it seems to generate threat pulling counters and/or enchantment removal that is no longer used on my more critical pieces. I am really looking for something to cut in favor of sphere...
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Thanks to Argetlam over at Hakai Studios for the Sig!
Have you ever crossed the road, and looked the wrong way? A car's nearly on you? So what do you do? Something very silly. You freeze. Your life doesn't flash before you, 'cause you're too' scared to think - you just freeze and pull a stupid face
BW Midrange | G Legacy Elves | X MUD Weilder |X Affinity | R RDW | UWB Esper Stoneblade | W Death and Taxes | W Mono White Control (Modern) | UWRGeist Midrange (Modern) | UW Heroic | UWGrand Arbiter Augustin IV EDH
I like your inclusion of the Familiars (Sunscape Familiar and Stormscape Familiar). They are good and cheap, though comparatively underpowered, versions of GAA4.
One question: why Vedalkin Orrery over Leyline of Anticipation? Is it because the Orrery requires colourless mana? To me, anyways, the chance to get a Leyline free, however rarely that happens, or for 3 with GAA4 out makes it a little more desirable. What are your thoughts?
Why thank you sir hatter, I have thought many times that I should be removing the familiars in favor of something else but just about the time I am ready to do it they power me thru a game. The are great cheap drops that power me to cheapen my spells more. I think once I am able to include Sphere of Resistance having them to continue the GAA4 reduction of cost to me will be great.
Hmmm well part of the reason I did not play Leyline of Anticipation was that I really never noticed it before... it was printed from a time when I was not playing standard. Now that I know about it, I believe it does warrant consideration for inclusion in the 100. As you said a pro for the Orrery is that it is colorless allowing to fix my mana a little bit more to the way I want it. BUT as you say GAA4 and my familiar will reduce his casting cost which I do like, I think because of this I will need to make that change. I have found myself sitting in games often wish V.O. cost less than 4.
What are your thoughts around Spiritual Asylum I originally had it in there to stop some of my more critical creatures such as the angel and emperium from getting sent to the GY. No it seems to generate threat pulling counters and/or enchantment removal that is no longer used on my more critical pieces. I am really looking for something to cut in favor of sphere...
Personally I like asylum in my 100 it just stops a lot of strategies until you have locked up the board to the point where you don't mind sacrificing it. Some cards that i want to re-open discussion about htat I have found to be good for me because I personally enjoy the complete prison version of this deck with far more prison cards which generally makes my counterspells more powerful and allows me to use things like hindering touch,mana leak, condescend and my personal favorite underrated counterspell rethink- seriously I have never not had this be a hard counter and it only costs 2 with GA and it has light color req. which is the biggest upside for me. I really love the inclusion of dissipation field because it generally stops attacks your way until you have a lock on the game. I think that the deck also needs better draw spells late game to refill the hand so I run sphinx's revelation and Blue Sun's Zenith - braingeyser costs one U less but is sorcery and that's why I chose not to run it. I also like war tax against that one tricky player who creates lots of mana to nullify your ghostly prison and propaganda another card i like to play as a control player is telepathy - so awesome knowing what is coming. Also running more permanent prison cards lets me run nykthos, shrine to nyx which is great with winter orb and a sol ring
*EDIT: My apologies for such a tardy reply, frodo and jedi. I've been busy with my move to Japan (again) and there have been a lot meetings, e-mails, etc. going on that take a lot of time, or otherwise make me incredibly tired. I thank you guys for your dedication towards discussion in this thread and hope that you'll continue to particpate!
I definitely like the protections that Spiritual Asylum offers, especially since many of the creatures in this deck to double-duty as prison wardens as well as blockers. It's nice not to have them get PtE'd right away.
As for the counterspells you bring up, I don't dislike them, but I do much prefer cantrip-style counters that cost 1-2 CMC and have a light colour requirement: Remand, Arcane Denial, Memory Lapse, etc. The first two at least replace themselves in your hand, which is a huge card advantage for a counterspell, and the last one puts your opponent behind in CA. In fact, I've been testing out Remand and Arcane Denial in the deck for a while now, and I far prefer them to some of the other counters I'm running. Once I figure out what I replaces with what, I'll update the decklist...
I just got myself a Sphynx's Revelation (now that it's waaaaaay cheaper, $$$-wise) and have yet to test it myself. I like the possibility of more cards, especially in the late-game, but - as usual - I'm having difficulty trying to see what I should take out to make a spot for it (even for play-testing purposes). Still, by all other reports, the card is pretty damn useful in such a tight control deck, so I recommend it to anyone and everyone who wants to use it.
As for Dissipation Field, I can just see this card backfiring soooo badly... (depending on your playgroup, of course). First, creatures tend to do damage, and in EDH, ETB creatures are king. So basically, if an opponent attacks you with an ETB creature and Dissipation Field returns that creature to its owner's hand, you've just restocked their ammo supply. Granted, with enough prison/tax pieces out, they won't be able to cast that creature again (and the ETB effect won't go off), so that's the upside. It's just (and maybe this is me being paranoid because of the decks I've played against...), aggro/combo decks that abuse ETB creatures are also prepares to rez them from the GY, so even if Dissipation Field loads up an opponent's hand to the extent that they discard, you've just made it easier for them to bring back that creature. And, if you're playing against more combo-oriented decks or other control decks, Dissipation Field seems a bit less effective... IDK, for me, the jury is still out.
War Tax is a great card! My friend played it in his Zur deck for a while, so I'm well aware of its usefulness. I would probably replace either Ghostly Prison or Propaganda with it because 3 anti-attack enchantments is overkill unless you're in a really aggro-oriented meta. (Personally, my meta is orienting itself towards control and combo, though one or two players steadfastly maintain their aggro decks. This is why my GAA4 deck has to be prepared to take on all archetypes )
I wouldn't mind Frozen Aether or its W-cousin, Kismet, so much if they didn't freakin' cost 4 CMC (3 with GAA4). Truly, opponents' lands coming in tapped is an incredibly powerful ability, especially when combo-ed with Winter Orb and/or Static Orb, but casting such a (relatively) high-CMC prison piece leaves you vulnerable in that you have less mana for reactive spells (counters/removal/etc.). I guess it depends on the kind of control deck you want to run, really, and it's hard to find the right balance between spell-power and permanent-power.
Insofar as Telepathy concerned, I'd rather not use it unless I wanted to make the game really, REALLY political. Using it, it's easy to point out to other players the possible threats that could come from your opponents, which is a great protection in itself. However, I find that its ability just doesn't measure up to the power level of the rest of the deck.
I know I repeat this a lot, but it's always worth saying again in discussion, these are just my opinions about particular cards. If you like certain cards over others, by all means use them! Always make the deck that you want to play and will have fun playing!
As for Dissipation Field, I can just see this card backfiring soooo badly... (depending on your playgroup, of course). First, creatures tend to do damage, and in EDH, ETB creatures are king. So basically, if an opponent attacks you with an ETB creature and Dissipation Field returns that creature to its owner's hand, you've just restocked their ammo supply. Granted, with enough prison/tax pieces out, they won't be able to cast that creature again (and the ETB effect won't go off), so that's the upside. It's just (and maybe this is me being paranoid because of the decks I've played against...), aggro/combo decks that abuse ETB creatures are also prepares to rez them from the GY, so even if Dissipation Field loads up an opponent's hand to the extent that they discard, you've just made it easier for them to bring back that creature. And, if you're playing against more combo-oriented decks or other control decks, Dissipation Field seems a bit less effective... IDK, for me, the jury is still out.
War Tax is a great card! My friend played it in his Zur deck for a while, so I'm well aware of its usefulness. I would probably replace either Ghostly Prison or Propaganda with it because 3 anti-attack enchantments is overkill unless you're in a really aggro-oriented meta. (Personally, my meta is orienting itself towards control and combo, though one or two players steadfastly maintain their aggro decks. This is why my GAA4 deck has to be prepared to take on all archetypes )
I wouldn't mind Frozen Aether or its W-cousin, Kismet, so much if they didn't freakin' cost 4 CMC (3 with GAA4). Truly, opponents' lands coming in tapped is an incredibly powerful ability, especially when combo-ed with Winter Orb and/or Static Orb, but casting such a (relatively) high-CMC prison piece leaves you vulnerable in that you have less mana for reactive spells (counters/removal/etc.). I guess it depends on the kind of control deck you want to run, really, and it's hard to find the right balance between spell-power and permanent-power.
My favorite from the 'pillow fort' family of enchantments is Aurification. I'd actually been hoping it'd be reprinted in Theros block, but was disappointed. Still, not sure if it's right for your deck, but unless you have a lot of flickering effects in your meta it can really shut off other decks and make them feel it's not worth attacking you.
Spiritual Asylum[/card] offers, especially since many of the creatures in this deck to double-duty as prison wardens as well as blockers. It's nice not to have them get PtE'd right away.
I need to find away to work this back in, currently it is resting in my SB.
I just got myself a Sphynx's Revelation (now that it's waaaaaay cheaper, $$$-wise) and have yet to test it myself. I like the possibility of more cards, especially in the late-game, but - as usual - I'm having difficulty trying to see what I should take out to make a spot for it (even for play-testing purposes). Still, by all other reports, the card is pretty damn useful in such a tight control deck, so I recommend it to anyone and everyone who wants to use it.
You find this card saving your more than once I actually have used it often and flashed it back several time with Mnemonic wall and Venser combo'ing off each other.
As for Dissipation Field, I can just see this card backfiring soooo badly... (depending on your playgroup, of course). First, creatures tend to do damage, and in EDH, ETB creatures are king. So basically, if an opponent attacks you with an ETB creature and Dissipation Field returns that creature to its owner's hand, you've just restocked their ammo supply. Granted, with enough prison/tax pieces out, they won't be able to cast that creature again (and the ETB effect won't go off), so that's the upside. It's just (and maybe this is me being paranoid because of the decks I've played against...), aggro/combo decks that abuse ETB creatures are also prepares to rez them from the GY, so even if Dissipation Field loads up an opponent's hand to the extent that they discard, you've just made it easier for them to bring back that creature. And, if you're playing against more combo-oriented decks or other control decks, Dissipation Field seems a bit less effective... IDK, for me, the jury is still out.
Lately in my build Dissipation Field has been troubling me. It has been doing exactly what I need it to do keep me from being the target of attacks but it has also backfired as you have said and/or it has forced my opps to build up massive armies against me. I may take this out and put back in the Spiritual Asylum. And lately with the new deck I am facing I am not sure this is the best choice.
I wouldn't mind Frozen Aether or its W-cousin, Kismet, so much if they didn't freakin' cost 4 CMC (3 with GAA4). Truly, opponents' lands coming in tapped is an incredibly powerful ability, especially when combo-ed with Winter Orb and/or Static Orb, but casting such a (relatively) high-CMC prison piece leaves you vulnerable in that you have less mana for reactive spells (counters/removal/etc.).
In this I would have to agree, I really liked Frozen Aether and when I was changing my deck around it was one of the most difficult cuts I had to make BUT the 4 CMC (3 with GAA4 and even less with my familiar's) made it to late in the game to add as much value as some of the other cards do in my build. It would be one of the first cards I add back in in something is to be cut.
Lately in my play group a new deck has shown up and for the first time In long time I am having troubles with an opponent. Now I must say I don't win every EDH game but with this deck I am always competitive and that is what I am looking for so I am asking the readers and especially MadHatter what options do I have to face against Kaalia of the Vast? Almost the exact deck is here Kaalia of The Vast Primer, what options do I have to a deck the gets around my basic prison strategy? My prison is getting blown up regularly by a Steel Hellkite...
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Thanks to Argetlam over at Hakai Studios for the Sig!
Have you ever crossed the road, and looked the wrong way? A car's nearly on you? So what do you do? Something very silly. You freeze. Your life doesn't flash before you, 'cause you're too' scared to think - you just freeze and pull a stupid face
BW Midrange | G Legacy Elves | X MUD Weilder |X Affinity | R RDW | UWB Esper Stoneblade | W Death and Taxes | W Mono White Control (Modern) | UWRGeist Midrange (Modern) | UW Heroic | UWGrand Arbiter Augustin IV EDH
Just wondering, that's all.
@DemonRageX:
The "Core" of the deck is comprised of "Prison" cards and "Denial/Spot Removal" cards (see "Decklist: By Function"). There's some budget options for the ore expensive Denial cards in the "Budget Options" section. I'd start there and then customize according to your own preferences.
@Tokoi:
Just like Pedrin7 said, it's card disadvantage and situational. For further explanation, please refer to the "Why didn't you include ________?" section.
********
I hope to have a Journey to Nyx set review finished by the end of the week, so stay posted!
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
I've been tinkering with a similar deck for a while and notice that you've built in a lot less redundancy than me. I added Hokori and Static Orb, for example. Oblivion ring and Detention Sphere. Propaganda/Ghostly Prison/Sphere of Safety. Treachery/Control Magic/Faith's Fetters. Copy Enchantment to double down on anything I need. Do you think such redundancies are detrimental for the deck?
Duplicates of Winter Orb effects, like Hokori, Dust Drinker doesn't stack, nor can it select a different target. One truly becomes a dead draw if you already have the other out. It's the same reason I don't go for Kismet/Frozen Aether (that and Blind Obedience is waaaaay cheaper). Plus, Winter Orb takes a lot of skill to use properly in this deck, especially since there are so few mana sources, in general. Is probably not a good move to saturate the deck with risky or situational cards.
As far as how many duplicates to put in the deck, well, that's up to you. My rule of thumb is 2 if you want it, 3 if you need it. Keep in mind, though, that these are enchantments -- you can find them really easily with all the search, but they are quite slow to put out. I really don't like running 4+ CMC enchantments unless they're absolutely necessary and/or for a combo. Otherwise, you can draw them all day, but you can't play them and still hold onto counter/removal mana.
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
Back to Basics is good for any list that isn't non-basic heavy. I'd run it myself, but there's... Well, frankly, a little of non-basics here You definitely being up the main reason for using it: to shut down everyone but yourself. Exploiting symmetric effects like that is always good!
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
I've got one question though. Looking at your (hopefully current) decklist, you only run 32 lands and 2 mana rocks. I've playtested your list and constantly get manascrewed or miss the 4th land drop. I'm thinking if I should add in more land and/or 2CMC mana rocks, such as Fellwar Stone and Azorius Signet. What do you think about that?
If you're constantly getting land-screwed, then go ahead and sub cards until you feel comfortable with your mana output. I'm accustomed to working with a minimal amount of mana, but it's hard to pull off a lock like this if you're really used to hitting every land drop. It's just something I never expect to happen, so I'm always strategizing for the worst situation.
Anyways, I'm pretty keen on Talisman of Progress, myself. It can produce 1 no matter what and WorU for a small amount of life. Personally, I'd use it over Azorious Signet, which requires an activation cost (meaning if you're tapped out, you're in trouble). I need to do a little more testing with this deck and the Talisman to see what I can afford for cut, but I think it will make it into the deck fairly soon.
Also, for those of you waiting for the JOU review, it's coming! I just need to find the time to sit own with -t and type everything out. Life is busy, unfortunately... XP
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
Besides, all of my good mana rocks (Mana Crypt, Mox Opal, Chrome Mox, etc.) are in Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind because it likes lots of fast mana early on. I wouldn't use most of those in GAA4 anyways.
I will give you that I should probably put in the Talisman... maybe I'll cut Yosei, the Morning Star? I like him a lot because 1) he's great counter/removal bait; 2) he can essentially take away someone's turn (preventing a combo or a massive attack phase can buy some time for a more suitable answer); and 3) he is a flying beater. However, Yosei is 6 CMC, so you're dropping him pretty late. I'm really on the fence about taking Yosei out, but Talisman NEEDS to go in. Any ideas/opinions about what to cut for Talisman?
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
Also! I've made some much-needed changes to the deck to make things run a little smoother. The announcements will be at the end of the set reviews... feel free to skip directly to them if you want.
OK. Let's do this.
JOU
White
Aegis of the Gods: as a creature, it's subject to removal... Witchbane Orb or Leyline of Sanctity is more durable in savvy metas
Ajani's Presence: Strive is awful... no.
Akroan Mastiff: CMC and ability (a tap ability, no less. boo!) make this really slow.
Armament of Nyx: not right for this deck. Enchantments are good in GAA4, but enchantment creatures are pretty much non-existent.
Banishing Light: another O-ring, which is still worse than Detention Sphere..
Dawnbringer Charioteers: Heroic requires too much build-around-me spellpower (i.e., spells/pumps that target your own creatures). just doesn't fit in with the Judge
Deicide: there's easier ways to get rid of gods... bounce is not something to laugh at. Who really wants to keep casting the same cards, possibly losing them to counters...?
Dictate of Heliod: 5CMC is a little high for the effect, even with Flash. Plus, there aren't a lot of creatures in GAA4. What few there are get pumped by Elesh Norn, who also hoses opponents' creatures. She's just better in this case.
Eagle of the Watch: Not a bad card to draft, but not really helpful in EDH
Eidolon of Rhetoric: Another functional reprint of Arcane Laboratory and Rule of Law. Not using it for the same reasons as I don't/won't use those cards. (Too limiting of my own spellpower and too much work to get it to combo with Erayo)
Font of Vigor: Don't really care about lifegain. I'll pass
Godsend: Any Sword of X and Y is better than this. With how few equipment pieces there are in GAA4 (pretty sure there's only Lightning Greaves), there really just isn't any place for Godsend here
Harvestguard Alseids: ugh... no. What a lame ability: I don't need to prevent damage to a single creature; I need to stop opponents from playing spells! XP
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer: in my meta, anything with a counter on it gets bounced, so all your hard work and spells were for nothing
Launch the Fleet: Pretty good for a token-deck that has access to a lot of mana. GAA4 isn't that kind of deck, though...
Leonin Iconoclast: hyper-limited usage for a high CMC. good draft card, maybe
Mortal Obstinacy: Not really that good unless you're playing a lot of enchantment-based decks. too situational
Nyx-Fleece Ram: good as a 4-of
Oppressive Rays: unfortunate that it only targets one creature... :/
Oreskos Swiftclaw: vanilla creature is vanilla
Phalanx Formation: yet more aggro-love.. not good for control
Quarry Colossus: still worse than Unexpectedly Absent (which you can use in response to fetchlands). I don't run Unexpectedly Absent in this deck, but I'd definitely put it in before I even considered Quarry Colossus
Reprisal: W has better instant-speed removal than this.
Sightless Brawler: *grimace* Am I the only one who's really just not a fan of this whole Bestow ability?
Skybind: Too many restrictions (non-enchantment permanent... c'mon! ) and they come back when this thing dies.
Skyspear Cavalry: not a control creature
Stonewise Fortifier: ability costs too much to activate an only protects one creature. not worth it
Supply-line Cranes: not useful in EDH... better for Limited when you have nothing else to play
Tethmos High Priest: unfortunately, the recursion only happens when Heroic triggers, which would be pretty much never in GAA4. Otherwise, getting Snapcaster or Erayo back might not be terrible. But still, there's just no synergy with the rest of the deck
Blue
Aerial Formation: ho-hum ability that Strive does little to make better
Battlefield Thaumaturge: clearly meant to make Strive viable... too much build-around required
Cloaked Siren: again, not bad in Limited.. really not good in EDH
Countermand: expensive counter with a lame mill attached. There are better counters out there
Crystalline Nautilus: siiiiigh. requires creatures and GAA4 is creature-light
Dakra Mystic: not bad if you're desperate for draw, but really, you're playing U. You have access to WAAAAAY better draw spells
Daring Thief: exchanging permanents is a different type of control deck. Gilded Drake is faster (exchanges on the ETB trigger, not the untap trigger) and can be Venser-ed back to your control (for you to steal another creature on the ETB)
Dictate of Kruphix: it's not good to arm your opponents with cards, trust me. they'll draw answers... O.o
Font of Fortunes: While it is Sun Titan-able, it still takes 4 mana, 2 of which must be paid at sorcery-speed. Fact or Fiction is 4 CMC and an instant
Godhunter Octopus: so restricted in its abilities...
Hour of Need: There's better removal in WU; you shouldn't be handing your opponents 4/4 fliers
Hubris: Boomerang is better, since any Auras would go to the graveyard not the hand when you bounced the creature. Plus, Boomerang isn't restricted to bouncing creatures
Hypnotic Siren: Stealing isn't what GAA4 is all about.. this might work better in a Sakashima deck
Interpret the Signs: costs too much and is sorcery-speed
Kiora's Dismissal: limited to enchantments and is a bounce... there are better ways of dealing with enchantments in GAA4
Pin to the Earth: not worth targeting a single creature with something like this in EDH
Polymorphous Rush: good for aggro decks, not so much for dedicated control
Pull from the Deep: I'd rather have a Snapcaster Mage and try to blink him or bounce him or whatever... instant/sorcery recursion isn't a major issue here, since so many cards do essentially the same thing
Riptide Chimera: hurts your board position and for what? a weak beater with no positive abilities
Rise of Eagles: costs too much and is too slow. plus, who really needs a few tokens...?
Sage of Hours: Heroic makes this guy slow. You have to target him at least 5 times (so, 5 different spells/copies of spells that target him) just to get an extra turn... and then, you have to protect him so he doesn't die/get removed when you try to activate him. Waaaaay too much work.
Scourge of Fleets: better in a mono-U deck, where Islands matter
Sigiled Starfish: good in formats where you can run multiples of it; too small of an effect in EDH
Thassa's Devourer: this is not a mill deck... >_<
Thassa's Ire: only hits 1 target for every 4 mana. not worth the activation cost
Triton Cavalry: soooo sick of bad Heroic abilities..
Triton Shorestalker: better as a 4-of or in Limited; clearly for aggro decks... boo
War-Wing Siren: no.. just, no. Heroic + counters = begging to get removed. get ready for some disappointment
Whitewater Naiads: attacking isn't something GAA4 readily does, so the Naiads' abilities aren't very useful
Artifacts
Honestly, I'm not even gonna try to address these. They are mostly equipment, which isn't terribly helpful in a non-aggro deck, and the few that are not equipment are very "meh"
Updates to the Deck
For full explanations, see the Changelog in the primer.
+ Taliman of Progress; - Yosei, the Morning Star
+ Remand; - Gideon Jura
+ Arcane Denial; - Rewind
+ Temporal Mastery; - Dissipate
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
This is a really small option in the deck and I am thinking about running it for fun and at least keeping the Pool in the SB.. Thoughts is this really to small of a lock or does it have worth main deck?
The Teferi-Pool combo is definitely tried-and-true. Of course, it works better when Teferi is your general, so you don't have to wait for him. The hardest part of assembling Teferi-Pool in GAA4 is finding Teferi. Knowledge Pool can be searched with Enlightened Tutor. But WU is notoriously bad at searching for creatures, so you can only really use Long-Term Plans.
Also, Knowledge Pool is kinda so-so on its own, so it would really only exist as a combo piece. In other words, it's got limited versatility. If you're confident you can get the two together fairly often, though, you should go for it.
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
Fetches would be fine if it were one, maybe two that you cut a basic land for, but anything more than that would decrease your optimal power level, I think. For starters, what land-retrieval there is (like Land Tax and Solemn Simulacrum, as you mentioned) has fewer targets. Also, there's only one Shockland (Hallowed Fountain) in the deck and no Tundra, which further limits the optimal targets for the fetches. I mean, really, who is cracking a fetch for a basic Island/Plains? Anyways, I would just stick to one or two fetches, if you have them, as any more would dilute the power-level of the land base.
If you want to include land-hate, go ahead, but do consider the colour-balance of your mana-sources before you go overboard with colourless-producing utility lands. I'd definitely go for the Wasteland, if I had one, but I'm not terribly convinced about Rishadan Port, as I haven't had any experience with it at all. It's up to personal preference at that point. Either way, targeted LD works well in FFA as long as you have good threat assessment and excellent timing.
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
4 Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
Mana Fixing/Acceleration - 4
1 Sol Ring
2 Sunscape Familiar
2 Stormscape Familiar
4 Vedalken Orrery
Prison - 13
2 Blind Obedience
2 Grand Abolisher
3 Ghostly Prison
3 Propaganda
3 Detention Sphere
3 Solitary Confinement
3 Rhystic Study
3 Aura of Silence
3 Peacekeeper
4 Spiritual Asylum
4 Dissipation Field
4 Cloud Cover
5 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
Denial – 13
1 Syncopate
2 Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
2 Hindering Light
2 Counterspell
3 Dissolve
2 Absorb
3 Dissipate
3 Hinder
3 Render Silent
3 Spell Crumple
4 Glen Elendra Archmage
4 Venser, Shaper Savant
4 Cryptic Command
1 Condemn
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Rapid Hybridization
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Echoing Truth
Tutors/Draw/Card Advantage - 14
1 Brainstorm
1 Sage of Epityr
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
3 Sphinx’s Revelation
3 Thassa, God of the Sea
3 Long-Term Plans
3 Dream Cache
4 Replenish
4 Academy Rector
5 Mnemonic Wall
5 Tunnel Vision
6 Ethereal Usher
6 Arcanis, the Omnipotent
Utility Creatures - 2
4 Solemn Simulacrum
3 Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer
Beaters/Enforcers - 5
6 Consecrated Sphinx
6 Frost Titan
7 Platinum Angel
8 Platinum Emperion
12 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
Combo - 6
2 Greater Auramancy
3 Cleansing Meditation
4 Aura Thief
4 Academy Rector
5 Enchanted Evening
10 Omniscience
4 Jace Beleren
5 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
5 Venser, the Sojourner
Lands - 34
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Azorius Chancery
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Command Tower
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Mystic Gate
1 Nimbus Maze
1 Soldevi Excavations
1 Tolaria West
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 High Market
1 Maze of Ith
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Strip Mine
1 Forbidding Watchtower
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 Secluded Steppe
9 Island
7 Plains
One question: why Vedalkin Orrery over Leyline of Anticipation? Is it because the Orrery requires colourless mana? To me, anyways, the chance to get a Leyline free, however rarely that happens, or for 3 with GAA4 out makes it a little more desirable. What are your thoughts?
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
Why thank you sir hatter, I have thought many times that I should be removing the familiars in favor of something else but just about the time I am ready to do it they power me thru a game. The are great cheap drops that power me to cheapen my spells more. I think once I am able to include Sphere of Resistance having them to continue the GAA4 reduction of cost to me will be great.
Hmmm well part of the reason I did not play Leyline of Anticipation was that I really never noticed it before... it was printed from a time when I was not playing standard. Now that I know about it, I believe it does warrant consideration for inclusion in the 100. As you said a pro for the Orrery is that it is colorless allowing to fix my mana a little bit more to the way I want it. BUT as you say GAA4 and my familiar will reduce his casting cost which I do like, I think because of this I will need to make that change. I have found myself sitting in games often wish V.O. cost less than 4.
What are your thoughts around Spiritual Asylum I originally had it in there to stop some of my more critical creatures such as the angel and emperium from getting sent to the GY. No it seems to generate threat pulling counters and/or enchantment removal that is no longer used on my more critical pieces. I am really looking for something to cut in favor of sphere...
Personally I like asylum in my 100 it just stops a lot of strategies until you have locked up the board to the point where you don't mind sacrificing it. Some cards that i want to re-open discussion about htat I have found to be good for me because I personally enjoy the complete prison version of this deck with far more prison cards which generally makes my counterspells more powerful and allows me to use things like hindering touch,mana leak, condescend and my personal favorite underrated counterspell rethink- seriously I have never not had this be a hard counter and it only costs 2 with GA and it has light color req. which is the biggest upside for me. I really love the inclusion of dissipation field because it generally stops attacks your way until you have a lock on the game. I think that the deck also needs better draw spells late game to refill the hand so I run sphinx's revelation and Blue Sun's Zenith - braingeyser costs one U less but is sorcery and that's why I chose not to run it. I also like war tax against that one tricky player who creates lots of mana to nullify your ghostly prison and propaganda another card i like to play as a control player is telepathy - so awesome knowing what is coming. Also running more permanent prison cards lets me run nykthos, shrine to nyx which is great with winter orb and a sol ring
Edit - Frozen Aether is a house
I definitely like the protections that Spiritual Asylum offers, especially since many of the creatures in this deck to double-duty as prison wardens as well as blockers. It's nice not to have them get PtE'd right away.
As for the counterspells you bring up, I don't dislike them, but I do much prefer cantrip-style counters that cost 1-2 CMC and have a light colour requirement: Remand, Arcane Denial, Memory Lapse, etc. The first two at least replace themselves in your hand, which is a huge card advantage for a counterspell, and the last one puts your opponent behind in CA. In fact, I've been testing out Remand and Arcane Denial in the deck for a while now, and I far prefer them to some of the other counters I'm running. Once I figure out what I replaces with what, I'll update the decklist...
I just got myself a Sphynx's Revelation (now that it's waaaaaay cheaper, $$$-wise) and have yet to test it myself. I like the possibility of more cards, especially in the late-game, but - as usual - I'm having difficulty trying to see what I should take out to make a spot for it (even for play-testing purposes). Still, by all other reports, the card is pretty damn useful in such a tight control deck, so I recommend it to anyone and everyone who wants to use it.
As for Dissipation Field, I can just see this card backfiring soooo badly... (depending on your playgroup, of course). First, creatures tend to do damage, and in EDH, ETB creatures are king. So basically, if an opponent attacks you with an ETB creature and Dissipation Field returns that creature to its owner's hand, you've just restocked their ammo supply. Granted, with enough prison/tax pieces out, they won't be able to cast that creature again (and the ETB effect won't go off), so that's the upside. It's just (and maybe this is me being paranoid because of the decks I've played against...), aggro/combo decks that abuse ETB creatures are also prepares to rez them from the GY, so even if Dissipation Field loads up an opponent's hand to the extent that they discard, you've just made it easier for them to bring back that creature. And, if you're playing against more combo-oriented decks or other control decks, Dissipation Field seems a bit less effective... IDK, for me, the jury is still out.
War Tax is a great card! My friend played it in his Zur deck for a while, so I'm well aware of its usefulness. I would probably replace either Ghostly Prison or Propaganda with it because 3 anti-attack enchantments is overkill unless you're in a really aggro-oriented meta. (Personally, my meta is orienting itself towards control and combo, though one or two players steadfastly maintain their aggro decks. This is why my GAA4 deck has to be prepared to take on all archetypes )
I wouldn't mind Frozen Aether or its W-cousin, Kismet, so much if they didn't freakin' cost 4 CMC (3 with GAA4). Truly, opponents' lands coming in tapped is an incredibly powerful ability, especially when combo-ed with Winter Orb and/or Static Orb, but casting such a (relatively) high-CMC prison piece leaves you vulnerable in that you have less mana for reactive spells (counters/removal/etc.). I guess it depends on the kind of control deck you want to run, really, and it's hard to find the right balance between spell-power and permanent-power.
Insofar as Telepathy concerned, I'd rather not use it unless I wanted to make the game really, REALLY political. Using it, it's easy to point out to other players the possible threats that could come from your opponents, which is a great protection in itself. However, I find that its ability just doesn't measure up to the power level of the rest of the deck.
I know I repeat this a lot, but it's always worth saying again in discussion, these are just my opinions about particular cards. If you like certain cards over others, by all means use them! Always make the deck that you want to play and will have fun playing!
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
My favorite from the 'pillow fort' family of enchantments is Aurification. I'd actually been hoping it'd be reprinted in Theros block, but was disappointed. Still, not sure if it's right for your deck, but unless you have a lot of flickering effects in your meta it can really shut off other decks and make them feel it's not worth attacking you.
I need to find away to work this back in, currently it is resting in my SB.
You find this card saving your more than once I actually have used it often and flashed it back several time with Mnemonic wall and Venser combo'ing off each other.
Lately in my build Dissipation Field has been troubling me. It has been doing exactly what I need it to do keep me from being the target of attacks but it has also backfired as you have said and/or it has forced my opps to build up massive armies against me. I may take this out and put back in the Spiritual Asylum. And lately with the new deck I am facing I am not sure this is the best choice.
In this I would have to agree, I really liked Frozen Aether and when I was changing my deck around it was one of the most difficult cuts I had to make BUT the 4 CMC (3 with GAA4 and even less with my familiar's) made it to late in the game to add as much value as some of the other cards do in my build. It would be one of the first cards I add back in in something is to be cut.
Lately in my play group a new deck has shown up and for the first time In long time I am having troubles with an opponent. Now I must say I don't win every EDH game but with this deck I am always competitive and that is what I am looking for so I am asking the readers and especially MadHatter what options do I have to face against Kaalia of the Vast? Almost the exact deck is here Kaalia of The Vast Primer, what options do I have to a deck the gets around my basic prison strategy? My prison is getting blown up regularly by a Steel Hellkite...