Alright, here is my third stab at trying to start playing EDH. Again, if I'm making any obvious mistakes, please let me know (Mana Rocks, land count, etc.).7
I guess this is a control list, though it doesn't really look orthodox. All these auras seem a bit bad, but they become awesome with Ramses out.
Ramses Overdark, Avatar of Woe and Visara the Dreadful are all powerful ways to destroy any creature in play just by tapping. They sit at the top of the curve, while the rest keeps around 2-4 cmc. They work well with the untapping effects I included, as well.
I tried to have a strong enchantment theme here. On top of all the auras, I used many of the aura-creatures from Theros, which helps even more.
I'm not too sure about the removal. I went for some mix of stuff. I'm not sure Go for the Throat should make the cut. Or Counterspell (though I feel like I should have some, maybe FoW?)
Infernal Tribute seems a bit hard to cast, so I'm leaving it out for now.
That's fair. I'm a little uncertain about your budget. Underground Sea says "hey, big spender" but the rest of the deck looks pretty low budget. Either way there are many good mana-fixing lands available. I think you'd be well served by adding in a few more.
I already own my Underground Sea (consider them a safe investment), so that part of the deck isn't part of the budget. I have a few more blue and black fetches that I will add. I didn't think I was allowed to have fetch lands that mentioned lands other than the ones of the colours of my commander.
Temple of Deceit seems great, and I already own all the small budget cards you mentioned excpet for Mirage Fetches and River of Tears (I'll most likely get my hands on one). Now that I think about it, I think I'll also add Tainted Isle.
It's a cute list that seems fun to play, but very very heavily reliant on your general who is already CMC 6 to cast. I would run more cards that give your commander hexproof or shroud. Or at least cards like Turn Aside to protect your general. Additionally, I'd run more cards that deter opponents from attacking you, i.e. No Mercy, Propaganda. Thran Golem seems very weak as do some of the bestow cards.
you do know that Crab Umbra does'nt "combo" with ramses, right?
That really depends on what you mean by "combo." Casting Crab Umbra on an opponent's creature with the intention of killing it with Ramses isn't a combo because totem armor. Casting Crab Umbra on Ramses and assassinating more than one thing per turn and keeping him protected is more of a combo. That said, can this deck really deploy auras fast enough to be able to use Ramses's ability more than once per turn?
One other small thing is that I think this deck would benefit slightly from Shizo, Death's Storehouse. Several of the auras and all of the bestow creatures boost power so sneaking through 21 points of human assassin beatdown could be an occasional backdoor win condition. I'm not saying you should dedicate other things to this backup backup plan, just that unless your meta is full of non-basic hate (which admittedly some are) the opportunity cost for running Shizo is almost non-existent.
What's the plan with Control Magic and Hypnotic Siren? Stealing creatures is generically good in EDH so are they just there as good-stuffs? As auras they don't really do what you want in this deck as there's rarely a reason to steal and then assassinate an opponent's creature.
Finally (for now anyway), Honor Basquiat has a point about Ramses being expensive to cast; perhaps more ramp is in order. I'd understand if you're nervous about adding in more rocks since they have a tendency to get swept up incidentally during the course of the game. Here are some cards that let you ramp with basic lands:
you do know that Crab Umbra does'nt "combo" with ramses, right?
I think it combos very well with Ramses, allowing him to destroy multiple creatures per turn on top of protecting him from removal or board wipe. I also wouldn't mind putting it on a Avatar of Woe or a Gorgon.
It's a cute list that seems fun to play, but very very heavily reliant on your general who is already CMC 6 to cast. I would run more cards that give your commander hexproof or shroud. Or at least cards like Turn Aside to protect your general. Additionally, I'd run more cards that deter opponents from attacking you, i.e. No Mercy, Propaganda. Thran Golem seems very weak as do some of the bestow cards.
Thanks for the comment! "Cute" was what I was going for.
There a few ways to protect my commander right now. Lightning Greaves is the most obvious, and there's also Crab Umbra and Pemmin's Aura. I can also play False Demise, Shade's Form, or Fool's Demise in order to prevent it being destroyed. If I already have another "returning" enchantment to play, I wouldn't mind using these to increase the longevity of my general. Do you think I should have more? What would you suggest? Swiftfoot Boots?
What would you think of Dread? I can get behind getting rid of the Golem, though I was looking forward to evaluating how good or bad he was myself. Is he really that weak? What Bestow cards are the worst, in your opinion?
I also have a few board wipes to play, which I think could slow someone down considerably.
One other small thing is that I think this deck would benefit slightly from Shizo, Death's Storehouse. Several of the auras and all of the bestow creatures boost power so sneaking through 21 points of human assassin beatdown could be an occasional backdoor win condition. I'm not saying you should dedicate other things to this backup backup plan, just that unless your meta is full of non-basic hate (which admittedly some are) the opportunity cost for running Shizo is almost non-existent.
What's the plan with Control Magic and Hypnotic Siren? Stealing creatures is generically good in EDH so are they just there as good-stuffs? As auras they don't really do what you want in this deck as there's rarely a reason to steal and then assassinate an opponent's creature.
Finally (for now anyway), Honor Basquiat has a point about Ramses being expensive to cast; perhaps more ramp is in order. I'd understand if you're nervous about adding in more rocks since they have a tendency to get swept up incidentally during the course of the game. Here are some cards that let you ramp with basic lands:
Edit: Oh man! Is this a deck that could actually make use of Abjure?
Thanks for all your great comments!
I don't think the storehouse is really worth the trouble of me looking for one for the effect it has. Ramses could probably get there eventually, but it's really not something I'm interested in doing. If I see one around, I might get it, but I won't be trying too hard.
I think stealing creatures is often better than outright killing them, and these cards will also trigger the many enchantment-relatedcards I have, so I thought they'd be good. Not to mention I can get them back with Chimes later. It just seems like a good fit, even if it's not helping the general do its job.
I currently have seven ramp cards (Solemn is already in the deck). with 38 lands, I would still need more? I bought the pre-con Daretti, Scrap Savant deck and had the chance to play Wayfarer's Bauble, and I never felt good playing it, although it was never terrible. I might try Burnished Hart. What do you think of Coalition Relic?
Why play Abjure when you can play Counterspell? Worse casting cost, but when you calculate that you need to pay for a blue enchantment to sacrifice, and you nee to have the enchantment in the first place, it doesn't seem as practical.
I don't think the storehouse is really worth the trouble of me looking for one for the effect it has. Ramses could probably get there eventually, but it's really not something I'm interested in doing. If I see one around, I might get it, but I won't be trying too hard.
You're not really losing much of anything by not playing it so no big deal. Maybe one in a zillion games it will let you steal a win, but that probably isn't worth tracking down a copy. I keep forgetting that Champions of Kamigawa was 10 years ago...
I currently have seven ramp cards (Solemn is already in the deck). with 38 lands, I would still need more? I bought the pre-con Daretti, Scrap Savant deck and had the chance to play Wayfarer's Bauble, and I never felt good playing it, although it was never terrible. I might try Burnished Hart. What do you think of Coalition Relic?
Guess I missed Robo Jens and most of the other rocks the first time around. Seven ramp spells and 38 lands is probably fine. Coalition Relic is fantastic in general and even better here because it conveniently jumps you from 3 to 6 mana.
Why play Abjure when you can play Counterspell?
Because it's awesome? Abjure is not better than Counterspell just like Ramses isn't really better than Oona or Zur. But how great would it be to have some one packing up their cards going "man, should have played around Abjure"? I only suggested it because it's "cute" and has some vague synergy with the deck. Can't fault you for playing cards that don't suck over it.
Thank you! Your comment and your article were very helpful.
Do you think Fatestitcher is better than Puppeteer? 4 mana seems like a lot to pay, but he has many upsides.
How good exactly is Hakim? Aside from bringing back countered or milled enchantments and Eldrazi Conscription silliness, does he have some sort of combo around him that I'm missing? Seems a bit narrow (or as Hunding said, could be used with Crown of the Ages, but this is so cute that it makes me want to barf).
Herald of Torment just seemed bad to me. a 3/3 flying for 3 just doesn't seem that impressive in EDH. Sure, using it to kill a creature is nice, but seems even clunkier than another aura spell because of the lifeloss and the underwhelming body.
Hunding,
I'll be adding Coalition Relic. You just made me realize how important a 3-mana card that ramps for 2 can be in this deck, since getting to six mana is really important.
How do you find Hakim fits into the deck right now? Do you think it would require more friendly auras?
EDIT: I'm going to try to separate my deck by function, rather than a loose type.
Have you considered Skull of Orm? It costs a bit too much mana for what it does, but look at that art! It also synergizes with Treachery, which is almost always better than Control Magic.
Have you considered Skull of Orm? It costs a bit too much mana for what it does, but look at that art! It also synergizes with Treachery, which is almost always better than Control Magic.
I don't think Skull of Orm is playable. It just costs too much to use the effect. I prefer the 1-use Crystal Chimes.
If ever I get my hands on Treachery, I'll definitely add it in. Control Magic is almost as good, I like the art better, and I already have one.
Hakim, Loreweaver is silly mainly because you can spam his ability multiple times with one upkeep trigger, bringing back multiple enchantments before his previous activations resolve.
I like him to recur all of the 'rancor-type enchantments that might have been countered or discarded. Hakim will likely die very quickly once your opponents see what he is capable of doing, and if he does you (typically) return quite a few useful enchantments to hand, and if he doesn't then you get a scary beat stick of an old crazy man.
What Ramses really fails to is severe card disadvantage, so having a bit of recursion like Hakim or Iridescent Drake, and a little bit of control like rootwater matriarch, makes a world of a difference.
I might add in Hakim if I see that losing my auras is actually a problem. His effect would have been a lot more interesting had he been able to enchant himself with Bestow creatures. I think the Hakim/conscription combo is really good.
Outside of Pemmin's Aura, Thousand-Year Elixir and Minamo, the untap ability cards you are running are too underwhelming. Feast of Dreams is cute and fits with the theme, it's also pretty good here. Parallax Dementia is also cute, not sure if it's as good but it has good synergy with the vows.
Out of the Bestow Creatures, the ones I like the least are Baleful Eidolon, Spiteful Returned, and Nimbus Naiad. All the others have effects that are actually very beneficial. Stealing creatures, drawing cards, allowing me to destroy a creature just by targetting, Deathtouch and massive +x/+x boost. These are all powerful effects. I might think about cutting the three I mentioned, but I'm going to test out all of them for now.
Are 1-for-1 removal spells okay in EDH? I feel like every list I see seems to run some gimmick to squeeze as much value as possible.
FoF is very good. I do need a few more draw spells.
I'll see what I can do for bombs. Aside from stealing my opponents' bombs, I'm sure there are some cool creatures to use. Certainly there will be better stuff than Thran Golem.
I made space for Fatestitcher because he's actually really awesome. I took the time to properly analyze him, and really: he's a ramp spell, a removal spell (tapping down), an untapper, and a Twiddle after he dies. I wouldn't even mind putting a Pemmin's Aura on him to completely lock down a player.
As for the others, Puppeteer seems like the weakest of the bunch, and I think I will end up cutting him. Magewright's Stone might be a bit narrow. I'll see how it plays out.
Alright, I've had the opportunity to tweak the deck massively, goldfish it, and even play a 1v1 match versus an Animar deck.
I've made some pretty big changes, such as removing all the instant-speed-giving stuff like Leyline of Anticipation. I've added more goodstuff creatures and spells to make the deck have some of its own finishers. I've discovered that the strategy is very reliant on ramping into a lot of mana in order to do several things in a turn (as well as getting to 6 mana to cast Ramses). I've also discovered how great stealing creatures is.
First game I ramped very early with Sol Ring and Talisman of Dominance into an early Ramses backed up with Lightning Greaves that just tore his board apart. A well-timed Ætherspouts made sure he couldn't recover. I finished the game attacking with bad creatures made better with Auras.
Second game was much closer, but we both had a slow start. Here the power of Puca's Mischief really showed. I traded my Wall of Putrid Flesh for a 9/9 Animar, Soul of Elements, which I protected with Greaves. Puca's Mischief continued to grab me small creatures and mana rocks throughout the game, making way for attackers and relieving a lot of pressure on my end. My Commander kept getting Bounced or killed, but Animar kept him cheap to play. My Dragon Aura enchanted his Sphinx of Uthuun which I destroyed as soon as it came into play. Stole another beefy creature with Hypnotic Siren (a very strong card), enchanted it with Nighthowler (making it massive). I then played my own Sphinx, which on the following turn I play Rite of Replication with Kicker, drawing a ton of cards and swinging for game afterwards.
The deck feels really good. It doesn't need Ramses to work, although he can really add consistency to the strategy. I say this because Avatar of Woe and Visara the Dreadful are both basically better than Ramses, and there is enough removal and theft that he doesn't always need to be in play to save me.
I feel like I might make good use of more Mana Rocks and maybe an extra land or two... What do you think?
I guess this is a control list, though it doesn't really look orthodox. All these auras seem a bit bad, but they become awesome with Ramses out.
Ramses Overdark, Avatar of Woe and Visara the Dreadful are all powerful ways to destroy any creature in play just by tapping. They sit at the top of the curve, while the rest keeps around 2-4 cmc. They work well with the untapping effects I included, as well.
I tried to have a strong enchantment theme here. On top of all the auras, I used many of the aura-creatures from Theros, which helps even more.
I'm not too sure about the removal. I went for some mix of stuff. I'm not sure Go for the Throat should make the cut. Or Counterspell (though I feel like I should have some, maybe FoW?)
1 Ramses Overdark
Aura Creatures (5)
1 Hypnotic Siren
1 Baleful Eidolon
1 Nighthowler
1 Nimbus Naiad
1 Thassa's Emissary
Recurring Auras (9)
1 Despondency
1 Dragon Shadow
1 Dragon Wings
1 Fallen Ideal
1 Glistening Oil
1 Launch
1 Screams from Within
1 Sleeper's Guile
1 Slow Motion
Creature Theft/Copying (8)
1 False Demise
1 Fool's Demise
1 Shade's Form
1 Unhallowed Pact
1 Rootwater Matriarch
1 Take Possession
1 Puca's Mischief
1 Rite of Replication
Tapping/Untapping (5)
1 Crab Umbra
1 Fatestitcher
1 Thousand-Year Elixir
1 Magewright's Stone
1 Pemmin's Aura
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Torpor Orb
1 Tainted Æther
Removal/Bounce/Mass Removal/Countermagic (11)
1 Counterspell
1 Faerie Trickery
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Blightcaster
1 Consuming Vapors
1 Doomwake Giant
1 Ætherspouts
1 Visara the Dreadful
1 Avatar of Woe
1 Decree of Pain
Draw/Tutor/Recursion (6)
1 Lim-Dûl's Vault
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Crystal Chimes
1 Rhystic Study
1 Bloodgift Demon
Ramp (7)
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Coalition Relic
1 Commander's Sphere
1 Dimir Signet
1 Sol Ring
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Wall of Putrid Flesh
1 Agent of Erebos
1 Baleful Strix
1 Dread
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
Lands (39)
1 Arcane Lighthouse
1 Barren Moor
1 Command Tower
1 Choked Estuary
1 Dimir Guildgate
1 Dismal Backwater
11 Island
1 Jwar Isle Refuge
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Polluted Delta
1 Sunken Hollow
1 Sunken Ruins
10 Swamp
1 Tainted Isle
1 Temple of Deceit
1 Underground River
1 Underground Sea
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Watery Grave
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
Flight of Fancy seems fine, but I'm not sure what to take out for it. Infernal Tribute seems a bit hard to cast, so I'm leaving it out for now.
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
That's fair. I'm a little uncertain about your budget. Underground Sea says "hey, big spender" but the rest of the deck looks pretty low budget. Either way there are many good mana-fixing lands available. I think you'd be well served by adding in a few more.
Big Budget:
Small Budget:
Temple of Deceit seems great, and I already own all the small budget cards you mentioned excpet for Mirage Fetches and River of Tears (I'll most likely get my hands on one). Now that I think about it, I think I'll also add Tainted Isle.
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
That really depends on what you mean by "combo." Casting Crab Umbra on an opponent's creature with the intention of killing it with Ramses isn't a combo because totem armor. Casting Crab Umbra on Ramses and assassinating more than one thing per turn and keeping him protected is more of a combo. That said, can this deck really deploy auras fast enough to be able to use Ramses's ability more than once per turn?
One other small thing is that I think this deck would benefit slightly from Shizo, Death's Storehouse. Several of the auras and all of the bestow creatures boost power so sneaking through 21 points of human assassin beatdown could be an occasional backdoor win condition. I'm not saying you should dedicate other things to this backup backup plan, just that unless your meta is full of non-basic hate (which admittedly some are) the opportunity cost for running Shizo is almost non-existent.
What's the plan with Control Magic and Hypnotic Siren? Stealing creatures is generically good in EDH so are they just there as good-stuffs? As auras they don't really do what you want in this deck as there's rarely a reason to steal and then assassinate an opponent's creature.
Finally (for now anyway), Honor Basquiat has a point about Ramses being expensive to cast; perhaps more ramp is in order. I'd understand if you're nervous about adding in more rocks since they have a tendency to get swept up incidentally during the course of the game. Here are some cards that let you ramp with basic lands:
Edit: Oh man! Is this a deck that could actually make use of Abjure?
I think it combos very well with Ramses, allowing him to destroy multiple creatures per turn on top of protecting him from removal or board wipe. I also wouldn't mind putting it on a Avatar of Woe or a Gorgon.
Thanks for the comment! "Cute" was what I was going for.
There a few ways to protect my commander right now. Lightning Greaves is the most obvious, and there's also Crab Umbra and Pemmin's Aura. I can also play False Demise, Shade's Form, or Fool's Demise in order to prevent it being destroyed. If I already have another "returning" enchantment to play, I wouldn't mind using these to increase the longevity of my general. Do you think I should have more? What would you suggest? Swiftfoot Boots?
What would you think of Dread? I can get behind getting rid of the Golem, though I was looking forward to evaluating how good or bad he was myself. Is he really that weak? What Bestow cards are the worst, in your opinion?
I also have a few board wipes to play, which I think could slow someone down considerably.
Thanks for all your great comments!
I don't think the storehouse is really worth the trouble of me looking for one for the effect it has. Ramses could probably get there eventually, but it's really not something I'm interested in doing. If I see one around, I might get it, but I won't be trying too hard.
I think stealing creatures is often better than outright killing them, and these cards will also trigger the many enchantment-related cards I have, so I thought they'd be good. Not to mention I can get them back with Chimes later. It just seems like a good fit, even if it's not helping the general do its job.
I currently have seven ramp cards (Solemn is already in the deck). with 38 lands, I would still need more? I bought the pre-con Daretti, Scrap Savant deck and had the chance to play Wayfarer's Bauble, and I never felt good playing it, although it was never terrible. I might try Burnished Hart. What do you think of Coalition Relic?
Why play Abjure when you can play Counterspell? Worse casting cost, but when you calculate that you need to pay for a blue enchantment to sacrifice, and you nee to have the enchantment in the first place, it doesn't seem as practical.
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
You're not really losing much of anything by not playing it so no big deal. Maybe one in a zillion games it will let you steal a win, but that probably isn't worth tracking down a copy. I keep forgetting that Champions of Kamigawa was 10 years ago...
Guess I missed Robo Jens and most of the other rocks the first time around. Seven ramp spells and 38 lands is probably fine. Coalition Relic is fantastic in general and even better here because it conveniently jumps you from 3 to 6 mana.
Because it's awesome? Abjure is not better than Counterspell just like Ramses isn't really better than Oona or Zur. But how great would it be to have some one packing up their cards going "man, should have played around Abjure"? I only suggested it because it's "cute" and has some vague synergy with the deck. Can't fault you for playing cards that don't suck over it.
I don't know about the other two, but Hakim looks insane here. Especially if Crown of the Ages gets involved.
Do you think Fatestitcher is better than Puppeteer? 4 mana seems like a lot to pay, but he has many upsides.
How good exactly is Hakim? Aside from bringing back countered or milled enchantments and Eldrazi Conscription silliness, does he have some sort of combo around him that I'm missing? Seems a bit narrow (or as Hunding said, could be used with Crown of the Ages, but this is so cute that it makes me want to barf).
I think I'm going to add Rite of Replication. this just seems so good.
Is private Research any good? Seems a bit clunky.
I'll try the Vows at some point. Thanks!
Herald of Torment just seemed bad to me. a 3/3 flying for 3 just doesn't seem that impressive in EDH. Sure, using it to kill a creature is nice, but seems even clunkier than another aura spell because of the lifeloss and the underwhelming body.
Hunding,
I'll be adding Coalition Relic. You just made me realize how important a 3-mana card that ramps for 2 can be in this deck, since getting to six mana is really important.
How do you find Hakim fits into the deck right now? Do you think it would require more friendly auras?
EDIT: I'm going to try to separate my deck by function, rather than a loose type.
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
I don't think Skull of Orm is playable. It just costs too much to use the effect. I prefer the 1-use Crystal Chimes.
If ever I get my hands on Treachery, I'll definitely add it in. Control Magic is almost as good, I like the art better, and I already have one.
I might add in Hakim if I see that losing my auras is actually a problem. His effect would have been a lot more interesting had he been able to enchant himself with Bestow creatures. I think the Hakim/conscription combo is really good.
What do people think of Increasing Ambition over Demonic Tutor?
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
Outside of Pemmin's Aura, Thousand-Year Elixir and Minamo, the untap ability cards you are running are too underwhelming. Feast of Dreams is cute and fits with the theme, it's also pretty good here. Parallax Dementia is also cute, not sure if it's as good but it has good synergy with the vows.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
Are 1-for-1 removal spells okay in EDH? I feel like every list I see seems to run some gimmick to squeeze as much value as possible.
FoF is very good. I do need a few more draw spells.
I'll see what I can do for bombs. Aside from stealing my opponents' bombs, I'm sure there are some cool creatures to use. Certainly there will be better stuff than Thran Golem.
I made space for Fatestitcher because he's actually really awesome. I took the time to properly analyze him, and really: he's a ramp spell, a removal spell (tapping down), an untapper, and a Twiddle after he dies. I wouldn't even mind putting a Pemmin's Aura on him to completely lock down a player.
As for the others, Puppeteer seems like the weakest of the bunch, and I think I will end up cutting him. Magewright's Stone might be a bit narrow. I'll see how it plays out.
Thanks for the good advice!
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
Alright, I've had the opportunity to tweak the deck massively, goldfish it, and even play a 1v1 match versus an Animar deck.
I've made some pretty big changes, such as removing all the instant-speed-giving stuff like Leyline of Anticipation. I've added more goodstuff creatures and spells to make the deck have some of its own finishers. I've discovered that the strategy is very reliant on ramping into a lot of mana in order to do several things in a turn (as well as getting to 6 mana to cast Ramses). I've also discovered how great stealing creatures is.
My MVPS throughout testing have been Nighthowler, Puca's Mischief, Hypnotic Siren and Rite of Replication. The cards I've been the least happy with are Barrin, Master Wizard, Wall of Putrid Flesh and Dread. Everything else has been working just about how I imagined it would.
Here's the edited list (I've also edited the OP list).
1 Ramses Overdark
Aura Creatures (5)
1 Hypnotic Siren
1 Baleful Eidolon
1 Nighthowler
1 Nimbus Naiad
1 Thassa's Emissary
Recurring Auras (9)
1 Despondency
1 Dragon Shadow
1 Dragon Wings
1 Fallen Ideal
1 Glistening Oil
1 Launch
1 Screams from Within
1 Sleeper's Guile
1 Slow Motion
Creature Theft/Copying (8)
1 False Demise
1 Fool's Demise
1 Shade's Form
1 Unhallowed Pact
1 Rootwater Matriarch
1 Take Possession
1 Puca's Mischief
1 Rite of Replication
Tapping/Untapping (5)
1 Crab Umbra
1 Fatestitcher
1 Thousand-Year Elixir
1 Magewright's Stone
1 Pemmin's Aura
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Torpor Orb
1 Tainted Æther
Removal/Bounce/Mass Removal/Countermagic (11)
1 Counterspell
1 Faerie Trickery
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Blightcaster
1 Consuming Vapors
1 Doomwake Giant
1 Ætherspouts
1 Visara the Dreadful
1 Avatar of Woe
1 Decree of Pain
Draw/Tutor/Recursion (6)
1 Lim-Dûl's Vault
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Crystal Chimes
1 Rhystic Study
1 Bloodgift Demon
Ramp (7)
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Coalition Relic
1 Commander's Sphere
1 Dimir Signet
1 Sol Ring
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Wall of Putrid Flesh
1 Agent of Erebos
1 Baleful Strix
1 Dread
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
Lands (39)
1 Arcane Lighthouse
1 Barren Moor
1 Command Tower
1 Choked Estuary
1 Dimir Guildgate
1 Dismal Backwater
11 Island
1 Jwar Isle Refuge
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Polluted Delta
1 Sunken Hollow
1 Sunken Ruins
10 Swamp
1 Tainted Isle
1 Temple of Deceit
1 Underground River
1 Underground Sea
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Watery Grave
As for my match versus Animar, Soul of Elements, I won 2-0.
First game I ramped very early with Sol Ring and Talisman of Dominance into an early Ramses backed up with Lightning Greaves that just tore his board apart. A well-timed Ætherspouts made sure he couldn't recover. I finished the game attacking with bad creatures made better with Auras.
Second game was much closer, but we both had a slow start. Here the power of Puca's Mischief really showed. I traded my Wall of Putrid Flesh for a 9/9 Animar, Soul of Elements, which I protected with Greaves. Puca's Mischief continued to grab me small creatures and mana rocks throughout the game, making way for attackers and relieving a lot of pressure on my end. My Commander kept getting Bounced or killed, but Animar kept him cheap to play. My Dragon Aura enchanted his Sphinx of Uthuun which I destroyed as soon as it came into play. Stole another beefy creature with Hypnotic Siren (a very strong card), enchanted it with Nighthowler (making it massive). I then played my own Sphinx, which on the following turn I play Rite of Replication with Kicker, drawing a ton of cards and swinging for game afterwards.
The deck feels really good. It doesn't need Ramses to work, although he can really add consistency to the strategy. I say this because Avatar of Woe and Visara the Dreadful are both basically better than Ramses, and there is enough removal and theft that he doesn't always need to be in play to save me.
I feel like I might make good use of more Mana Rocks and maybe an extra land or two... What do you think?
EDIT: -2 Swamp, -1 Spiteful Returned, -1 Crystalline Nautilus, -1 Nyxborn Eidolon, -1 Control Magic, -1 Barrin, Master Wizard, +1 Choked Estuary, +1 Arcane Lighthouse, +1 Tainted Isle, +1 Take Possession, +1 Torpor Orb, +1 Tainted Æther, +1 Faerie Trickery.
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio