__________________________________________________________________________________________________
A couple years ago, Sheldon put out the call for playable decks based on literature, specifically mentioning Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. This deck is my answer to the challenge.
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before… 1 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
'Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore! Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!' 1 Ashes to Ashes 1 Council's Judgment 1 Anguished Unmaking 1 Swords to Plowshares 1 Revoke Existence
And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door; And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming, And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; 1 Swan Song
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted - 1 Nevermore
I'd considered the Guild Master initially, but without evasion…
Obviously, flavor is very important to me, but I'm looking for cards that balance playability with flavor, like Enchanted Evening or Browse. The deck's theme is 'never.MORE' not random cards with ravens on them.
In 4-player and 3-player games, never.MORE has either won or come in second more than 75% of the time (out of half a dozen games so far). The funniest and most satisfying flavorful win came from removing all of an opponent's answers (and library) with Neverending Torment!
ADDED
Strip Mine (much cheaper to use than Caustic Rain)
Hushwing Gryff (Torpor Orb 2.0? Sounds good to me!)
Fact or Fiction (great card, and gets around Spirit of the Labyrinth)
Fountain Watch (see below)
Spiritual Asylum (see above)
Energy Field (combos nicely with Planar Void & Co.)
Browse (gets around Spirit of the Labyrinth)
Sphere of Safety (see below)
Enchanted Evening (see above)
Angel of the Dire Hour (wanted more mass removal)
REMOVED
Plains (have plenty of white mana sources)
Caustic Rain (cute, but expensive to cast)
Morningtide (want more than just 1-shot effects)
Eidolon of Rhetoric (two Rule of Law effects has been sufficient)
Hokori, Dust Drinker (expensive to cast and not as hardy as Rising Waters)
Ward of Bones (not as effective as Portcullis)
Nirkana Revenant (expensive to cast)
Sphere of Resistance (does little in late game)
Utter End (expensive to cast)
Sadistic Sacrament (might come back in; sick card, especially late game)
never.MORE's still coming in first or second in most games! Epic wins and close losses abound. I'm so in love with what Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts does for the deck, I still have thoughts of designing an never.MORE variant with her at the helm.
Speaking of helms, Helm of Obedience is one of the deck's win conditions. If there's any chance you think might use it as the path to victory, save some removal for the deck's own Stony Silence. Silence is too good not to run and so is Helm, so it is what it is.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
There are no divisions: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. -Galatians 3:28
REMOVED
Elspeth, Sun's Champion (the tokens can be irrelevant with Portcullis on the 'field, the wipe doesn't exile, and this deck doesn't care about the creature anthem)
This didn't take much thought. Narset's "grave and stern" countenance is a better fit for the deck and it's relatively easy to activate the ultimate in a deck packing so much creature hate including:
Just the thought of pairing Narset's emblem with Portcullis makes me shiver with anticipation. Land Tax synergizes nicely with Narset as well, improving the probability of revealing noncreature, nonland cards. I'm most looking forward to rebounding Identity Crisis, though.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
There are no divisions: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. -Galatians 3:28
to (continue to) do something different than all the players now flocking to the Triplets 'cos of Rule #4's abolition
to flavorfully prepare for Shadows Over Innistrad with a return to one of my darkest decks
Just won a game on the back of Narset's emblem, Karn Liberated, Crumbling Sanctuary, and the ever epic Neverending Torment. The remaining player didn't even realize they'd already lost for several turns. (They had no way to affect my life total thanks to Sanctuary and Karn took care of creature threats since they couldn't cast any other kind of spells.) So, I just kept stripping their library laughing to myself over its complete lack of wincons due to the board state.
Not sure yet if the deck wants any new cards from recent sets. Will pore over the spoilers a bit more.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
There are no divisions: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. -Galatians 3:28
ADDED
Sol Ring (to speed things up)
Mana Vault (see above)
Grim Monolith (see above)
Chromatic Lantern (to fix mana)
City of Brass (see above)
Adarkar Wastes (see above)
Caves of Koilos (see above)
Underground River (see above)
REMOVED
Agent of Erebos (have plenty of ways to keep 'yards empty already)
False Prophet (nonbo with Rest In Peace)
Gideon, Champion of Justice (much too slow)
Silent Arbiter (have plenty of ways to hinder creature combat already)
basic lands
I'm looking to Spike this up over time, at least staying within the mechanical theme if not the flavor theme.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
There are no divisions: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. -Galatians 3:28
ADDED
Jace, Unraveler of Secrets (in many ways, a better Thassa, God of the Sea for the purposes of this deck)
Tezzeret the Seeker (tutors without going to graveyard like Fabricate, thereby maintaining Energy Field)
Liliana Vess (see above)
Jace, Memory Adept (great with Rest In Peace effects)
REMOVED
Crawlspace (have plenty of lockdown for creatures as is)
Angel of the Dire Hour (see above)
Thassa, God of the Sea (doesn't do enough)
Plains (mana's fine, even better with recent updates)
The deck's ability to lockdown the board, creatures in particular, makes planeswalkers quite strong in this list. I've also got my eye on Sorin, Grim Nemesis.
The curve's been fine when I draw one of the deck's many disruptive enchantments. They often allow me to set the pace of the game. Planar Void, Rest In Peace, and Leyline of the Void have been wonderful against graveyard strategies. If combo hasn't gone off by turn five, I often have a couple lock pieces on the board that hinder combos reducing how much I actually need to interact with opponents.
Anguished Unmaking, with its cheap mana cost, is much more appealing to me than Utter End. I hadn't updated this list in a year, so I'm still exploring good fits from recent sets. I will try to make room for this and other recent goodies.
Stony Silence does make me hesitate to add more rocks, especially since I'm not trying to go for a turn five or earlier win. If more testing sees me struggling to disrupt decks that are trying to win early, then I'll revisit this.
ADDED
Sorin, Grim Nemesis (this is a phenomenal wincon when the board's locked down!!!)
Ob Nixilis Reignited (drawing into answers or removing threats is good)
REMOVED
Crumbling Sanctuary (I still love this card, but it's too conditional)
Portcullis (see above)
I'm still considering adding countermagic and/or Anguished Unmaking. Given the sheer amount of hate the deck packs, I'm quite satisfied at the moment to focus on drawing rather than tutoring. If I change my mind after more testing, I'll slot in Demonic Tutor. For now, I'm happy with the work the 'walkers are doing.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
There are no divisions: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. -Galatians 3:28
ADDED
Anguished Unmaking (still getting around to adding cards from new sets)
Forbid (if I'm only going to run one other counter…)
Chromatic Lantern (fixes mana)
Gilded Lotus (great with Teferi, Temporal Archmage and theorbs)
REMOVED
Jet Medallion (meh)
Pearl Medallion (see above)
Ob Nixilis Reignited (see above)
Jace, Memory Adept (see above)
I'm starting to lean more toward adding Demonic Tutor. More testing will tell…
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
There are no divisions: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. -Galatians 3:28
Is there any way that you could post a guide for how to pilot this deck? I would like to invest the money into building it because it looks like a fun deck to mess around with, but I have no idea how I would pilot it.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
never.MORE
- STARRING SEN TRIPLETS -
A couple years ago, Sheldon put out the call for playable decks based on literature, specifically mentioning Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. This deck is my answer to the challenge.
1 Sen Triplets
Once upon a midnight dreary…
1 Enchanted Evening
…while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore
1 Browse
1 Necropotence
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Lim-Dûl's Vault
While I nodded, nearly napping…
1 Torpor Orb
1 Hushwing Gryff
1 Static Orb
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December…
1 Winter Orb
1 Rising Waters
Vainly I had sought to borrow…
1 Helm of Obedience
…surcease of sorrow
1 Embargo
1 Mist of Stagnation
1 Energy Field
1 Sphere of Safety
1 Web of Inertia
1 Forbid
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before…
1 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
…so that now, to still the beating of my heart
1 Arcane Laboratory
1 Rule of Law
1 Spirit of the Labyrinth
1 Aven Mindcensor
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer…
1 Crypt Ghast
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Grim Monolith
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Grim Monolith
1 Cursed Totem
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Stony Silence
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance…
1 Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
1 Karn Liberated
1 Narset Transcendent
1 Teferi, Temporal Archmage
1 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Liliana Vess
1 Sorin, Grim Nemesis
…unmerciful disaster followed fast and followed faster
1 Merciless Eviction
1 Final Judgment
…that melancholy burden bore
1 Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
…with the lamp-light gloating o'er,
1 Flickering Ward
1 Fountain Watch
1 Spiritual Asylum
Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!'
1 Leyline of the Void
1 Planar Void
1 Rest in Peace
1 Identity Crisis
…this home by horror haunted
1 Descent into Madness
…within the distant Aidenn
1 Land Tax
…our sign of parting
1 Neverending Torment
'Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'
1 Ashes to Ashes
1 Council's Judgment
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Revoke Existence
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
1 Swan Song
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted -
1 Nevermore
This desert land enchanted…
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Caves of Koilos
1 City of Brass
1 Command Tower
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Fetid Heath
1 Flooded Strand
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 High Market
3 Island
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Maze of Ith
1 Mystic Gate
6 Plains
1 Polluted Delta
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Strip Mine
1 Sunken Ruins
6 Swamp
1 Underground River
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Watery Grave
BY CARD TYPE
1x Sen Triplets
Creature (8)
1x Aven Mindcensor
1x Crypt Ghast
1x Fountain Watch
1x Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
1x Hushwing Gryff
1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1x Spirit of the Labyrinth
1x Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
Enchantment (20)
1x Arcane Laboratory
1x Browse
1x Descent into Madness
1x Embargo
1x Enchanted Evening
1x Energy Field
1x Flickering Ward
1x Land Tax
1x Leyline of the Void
1x Mist of Stagnation
1x Necropotence
1x Nevermore
1x Planar Void
1x Rest in Peace
1x Rising Waters
1x Rule of Law
1x Sphere of Safety
1x Spiritual Asylum
1x Stony Silence
1x Web of Inertia
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Cursed Totem
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Grim Monolith
1x Helm of Obedience
1x Mana Vault
1x Sol Ring
1x Static Orb
1x Torpor Orb
1x Winter Orb
Planeswalker (8)
1x Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1x Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1x Karn Liberated
1x Liliana Vess
1x Narset Transcendent
1x Sorin, Grim Nemesis
1x Teferi, Temporal Archmage
1x Tezzeret the Seeker
Instant (7)
1x Anguished Unmaking
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Forbid
1x Lim-Dul's Vault
1x Swan Song
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Vampiric Tutor
Sorcery (7)
1x Ashes to Ashes
1x Council's Judgment
1x Final Judgment
1x Identity Crisis
1x Merciless Eviction
1x Neverending Torment
1x Revoke Existence
1x Adarkar Wastes
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Cabal Coffers
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Caves of Koilos
1x City of Brass
1x Command Tower
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Fetid Heath
1x Flooded Strand
1x Glacial Fortress
1x Godless Shrine
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x High Market
3x Island
1x Isolated Chapel
1x Maze of Ith
1x Mystic Gate
6x Plains
1x Polluted Delta
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Strip Mine
1x Sunken Ruins
6x Swamp
1x Underground River
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Watery Grave
1x Nevermore
1x Identity Crisis
1x Leyline of the Void
1x Planar Void
1x Rest in Peace
1x Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1x Neverending Torment
1x Revoke Existence
1x Council's Judgment
1x Anguished Unmaking
1x Karn Liberated
1x Ashes to Ashes
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Final Judgment
1x Merciless Eviction
1x Descent into Madness
never more (than one, two, or four)
1x Arcane Laboratory
1x Rule of Law
1x Rising Waters
1x Winter Orb
1x Static Orb
1x Aven Mindcensor
never. (going to activate, trigger, untap, target our stuff, mass wipe, attack us)
1x Cursed Totem
1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1x Stony Silence
1x Hushwing Gryff
1x Torpor Orb
1x Embargo
1x Mist of Stagnation
1x Fountain Watch
1x Spiritual Asylum
1x Enchanted Evening
1x Energy Field
1x Sphere of Safety
1x Web of Inertia
MORE. (taxes)
1x Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
more for me (mana, creatures, card advantage)
1x Crypt Ghast
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Vault
1x Grim Monolith
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Teferi, Temporal Archmage
1x Browse
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Land Tax
1x Lim-Dul's Vault
1x Necropotence
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Narset Transcendent
1x Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1x Tezzeret the Seeker
1x Liliana Vess
1x Sorin, Grim Nemesis
less for you (blocking options, answers, creatures)
1x Flickering Ward
1x Swan Song
1x Forbid
1x Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
Change Log
1x Strip Mine
1x Hushwing Gryff
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Fountain Watch
1x Spiritual Asylum
1x Energy Field
1x Browse
1x Sphere of Safety
1x Enchanted Evening
1x Narset Transcendent
1x Mist of Stagnation
1x Grim Monolith
1x Mana Vault
1x Sol Ring
1x Adarkar Wastes
1x Caves of Koilos
1x City of Brass
1x Underground River
1x Teferi, Temporal Archmage
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Glacial Fortress
1x Isolated Chapel
1x Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1x Tezzeret the Seeker
1x Liliana Vess
1x Sorin, Grim Nemesis
1x Anguished Unmaking
1x Forbid
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Plains
1x Caustic Rain
1x Morningtide
1x Eidolon of Rhetoric
1x Hokori, Dust Drinker
1x Ward of Bones
1x Nirkana Revenant
1x Sphere of Resistance
1x Utter End
1x Sadistic Sacrament
1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1x Soul Snare
1x Agent of Erebos
1x False Prophet
1x Gideon, Champion of Justice
1x Silent Arbiter
1x Plains
1x Plains
1x Island
1x Swamp
1x Plains
1x Plains
1x Island
1x Swamp
1x Crawlspace
1x Thassa, God of the Sea
1x Plains
1x Crumbling Sanctuary
1x Portcullis
1x Jet Medallion
1x Pearl Medallion
Also: "Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer swung by Seraphim ..."
Obviously, flavor is very important to me, but I'm looking for cards that balance playability with flavor, like Enchanted Evening or Browse. The deck's theme is 'never.MORE' not random cards with ravens on them.
In 4-player and 3-player games, never.MORE has either won or come in second more than 75% of the time (out of half a dozen games so far). The funniest and most satisfying flavorful win came from removing all of an opponent's answers (and library) with Neverending Torment!
ADDED
Strip Mine (much cheaper to use than Caustic Rain)
Hushwing Gryff (Torpor Orb 2.0? Sounds good to me!)
Fact or Fiction (great card, and gets around Spirit of the Labyrinth)
Fountain Watch (see below)
Spiritual Asylum (see above)
Energy Field (combos nicely with Planar Void & Co.)
Browse (gets around Spirit of the Labyrinth)
Sphere of Safety (see below)
Enchanted Evening (see above)
Angel of the Dire Hour (wanted more mass removal)
REMOVED
Plains (have plenty of white mana sources)
Caustic Rain (cute, but expensive to cast)
Morningtide (want more than just 1-shot effects)
Eidolon of Rhetoric (two Rule of Law effects has been sufficient)
Hokori, Dust Drinker (expensive to cast and not as hardy as Rising Waters)
Ward of Bones (not as effective as Portcullis)
Nirkana Revenant (expensive to cast)
Sphere of Resistance (does little in late game)
Utter End (expensive to cast)
Sadistic Sacrament (might come back in; sick card, especially late game)
Speaking of helms, Helm of Obedience is one of the deck's win conditions. If there's any chance you think might use it as the path to victory, save some removal for the deck's own Stony Silence. Silence is too good not to run and so is Helm, so it is what it is.
Narset Transcendent (do you have to ask?)
REMOVED
Elspeth, Sun's Champion (the tokens can be irrelevant with Portcullis on the 'field, the wipe doesn't exile, and this deck doesn't care about the creature anthem)
This didn't take much thought. Narset's "grave and stern" countenance is a better fit for the deck and it's relatively easy to activate the ultimate in a deck packing so much creature hate including:
- Silent Arbiter
- Embargo
- Sphere of Safety
- Maze of Ith
Just the thought of pairing Narset's emblem with Portcullis makes me shiver with anticipation. Land Tax synergizes nicely with Narset as well, improving the probability of revealing noncreature, nonland cards. I'm most looking forward to rebounding Identity Crisis, though.ADDED
Mist of Stagnation (might add some additional support for this)
REMOVED
Soul Snare (probably won't make it back in, but never say, "never more")
Not sure yet if the deck wants any new cards from recent sets. Will pore over the spoilers a bit more.
ADDED
Sol Ring (to speed things up)
Mana Vault (see above)
Grim Monolith (see above)
Chromatic Lantern (to fix mana)
City of Brass (see above)
Adarkar Wastes (see above)
Caves of Koilos (see above)
Underground River (see above)
REMOVED
Agent of Erebos (have plenty of ways to keep 'yards empty already)
False Prophet (nonbo with Rest In Peace)
Gideon, Champion of Justice (much too slow)
Silent Arbiter (have plenty of ways to hinder creature combat already)
basic lands
I'm looking to Spike this up over time, at least staying within the mechanical theme if not the flavor theme.
Jace, Unraveler of Secrets (in many ways, a better Thassa, God of the Sea for the purposes of this deck)
Tezzeret the Seeker (tutors without going to graveyard like Fabricate, thereby maintaining Energy Field)
Liliana Vess (see above)
Jace, Memory Adept (great with Rest In Peace effects)
REMOVED
Crawlspace (have plenty of lockdown for creatures as is)
Angel of the Dire Hour (see above)
Thassa, God of the Sea (doesn't do enough)
Plains (mana's fine, even better with recent updates)
The deck's ability to lockdown the board, creatures in particular, makes planeswalkers quite strong in this list. I've also got my eye on Sorin, Grim Nemesis.
The curve's been fine when I draw one of the deck's many disruptive enchantments. They often allow me to set the pace of the game. Planar Void, Rest In Peace, and Leyline of the Void have been wonderful against graveyard strategies. If combo hasn't gone off by turn five, I often have a couple lock pieces on the board that hinder combos reducing how much I actually need to interact with opponents.
Right now, I'm pretty happy with the deck's enchantments. Of course, I'm continuing to make edits as I test it more. I think the deck's strongest lockdown enchantments are Arcane Laboratory/Rule of Law, Embargo/Mist of Stagnation, and Spirit of the Labyrinth. However, all of the deck's enchantments have been pulling their weight, with several having synergies, like Spiritual Asylum combined with Fountain Watch.
Adding more countermagic is something I am considering. I'm specifically looking at Void Shatter, Dissipate, and Faerie Trickery.
Anguished Unmaking, with its cheap mana cost, is much more appealing to me than Utter End. I hadn't updated this list in a year, so I'm still exploring good fits from recent sets. I will try to make room for this and other recent goodies.
Stony Silence does make me hesitate to add more rocks, especially since I'm not trying to go for a turn five or earlier win. If more testing sees me struggling to disrupt decks that are trying to win early, then I'll revisit this.
ADDED
Sorin, Grim Nemesis (this is a phenomenal wincon when the board's locked down!!!)
Ob Nixilis Reignited (drawing into answers or removing threats is good)
REMOVED
Crumbling Sanctuary (I still love this card, but it's too conditional)
Portcullis (see above)
I'm still considering adding countermagic and/or Anguished Unmaking. Given the sheer amount of hate the deck packs, I'm quite satisfied at the moment to focus on drawing rather than tutoring. If I change my mind after more testing, I'll slot in Demonic Tutor. For now, I'm happy with the work the 'walkers are doing.
ADDED
Anguished Unmaking (still getting around to adding cards from new sets)
Forbid (if I'm only going to run one other counter…)
Chromatic Lantern (fixes mana)
Gilded Lotus (great with Teferi, Temporal Archmage and the orbs)
REMOVED
Jet Medallion (meh)
Pearl Medallion (see above)
Ob Nixilis Reignited (see above)
Jace, Memory Adept (see above)
I'm starting to lean more toward adding Demonic Tutor. More testing will tell…
Thoughts on preemptive tappers?
Avatar by Numotflame96 of Maelstrom Graphics
Sig banner thanks to DarkNightCavalier of Heroes of the Plane Studios!