I don't use Nissa, Vital Force for the pseudo-Regrowth, I try to get her Ult off. There's a piece of wisdom a player noted and it has stuck with me since: he hadn't seen a player lose if they resolved Nissa's Ult which is pretty easy to do.
The deck feels very tight, I can't find any room for any of your suggested cards. Hell, if anything I'm thinking of adding Geode Golem, as I had to cast Asmadi earlier today for 16!
I was thinking on how the deck needed a Wrath but I couldn't think of what to cut. Aggravated Assault has been lacklustre a few times, so I axed it favour of a Wrath that Asmadi can cheat in. I think running Assault profitably requires using infinites, such as the Savage Ventmaw or Bear Umbra.
With the dissolution of my Brago, I've freed up pieces for various decks. Phyrexian Arena is the slowest, most awkward draw in the deck so it gets axed for Sensei's Top which should help stack ridiculous top decks or Asmadi triggers.
My midrange is being preyed upon by fast artifice and enchantment nonsense, so I've put in two cards I rather not be playing. With the alternative being telling someone to stop playing all of their Mana Crypts and the like, I guess I should just routinely punish them for outclassing me. The nonbasics were removed because I couldn't tutor for them outside of Pir's Whim, which is unlikely, or Circuitous Route which can fetch Basics. This way I'll have something to grab if I resolve a Wave.
That's six ramp spells that don't come into play when Asmadi reveals them. So while they're great, they cause problems for my deck not smoothing it out. In their place, I've put in 6 permanents that will ramp me.
Etali felt like he made me play badly, I would try so hard to get Etali into play and swing. I would overcommit, be bullheaded and just play badly. Another problem I had is that while the deck was fine fighting a table for two to three rounds, eventually I would lose the battle of attrition. I would be nuking one of their permanents a turn, but they would then play another problem permanent. So, I would stalemate in the hopes that I eventually outvalued them. I lost that fight a lot, so I'm putting in Painful Quandary as a way to drain resources from my opponent.
Dragonmaster Outcast had too many hoops to jump through; in its place goes another permanent that will give me a lot more options with Stolen Strategy.
Helm of Possession didn't often let me grab what I wanted so it's not quite fulfilling the 'sac for value' that the deck is trying to do. In its place, Sylvan Library goes which is great on its own and it synergizes amazingly with my Commander.
I was afraid of blowing up my own lands, as that would be something I frequently only had a target for. I decide to add the 'self-destruction lands' package to the deck:
There have been a few times when I was lacking the correct colours but I am unwilling to go to back to ETBT Lands, so I'm using the Battlebond Lands and Mana Confluence to bump up Asmadi's mana base. Miren and Shizo were artifacts of when the deck was Kresh-based, they can do better in different decks.
I noticed a few opportunities to cast Painful Quandary and it wouldn't have done much aside from turn my opponent's attention to myself. I decided to add draw instead of trying to run my opponents out of resources. I think the Armasaur is undervalued right now, there's so many effects that cause this to draw you cards. It easily pays for itself. It comes down early and it doesn't make me feel bad if I decide to feed it to Asmadi's attack trigger.
One strategy i find useful for Vaevictis is not to select the most valuable targets for each player every time you attack. When you do that, you're just pissing off 3 players at once (assuming a 4 player game) and thus have to deal with 3 players worth of hate.
When i attack with Vaevictis, i usually check if any player has anything combo-ish or threatening on board. If there isn't, i would let my opponents choose their own permanent to be sacrificed. Even if they don't flip anything useful, they are less likely to blame you for it.
And if there is a troublesome permanent and you remove it while allowing the other 2 players to choose, you're only drawing hate from one player. In fact, the other two players may even be grateful to you for doing so.
One strategy i find useful for Vaevictis is not to select the most valuable targets for each player every time you attack. When you do that, you're just pissing off 3 players at once (assuming a 4 player game) and thus have to deal with 3 players worth of hate.
When i attack with Vaevictis, i usually check if any player has anything combo-ish or threatening on board. If there isn't, i would let my opponents choose their own permanent to be sacrificed. Even if they don't flip anything useful, they are less likely to blame you for it.
And if there is a troublesome permanent and you remove it while allowing the other 2 players to choose, you're only drawing hate from one player. In fact, the other two players may even be grateful to you for doing so.
Interesting idea, I'll keep it in mind. I do like to see if I can survive archenemy, but it means I don't win too often. This is interesting advice.
I'm trying out Theater of Horrors. The idea is that it is an additional draw source and the deck has a lot of open mana frequently, so this will give me something to do on an end step. Exsanguinate is a non-permanent which can screw me up at times. I put in Exsanguinate as a way to win outside of combat and gain life. I haven't really had a problem with life between Kokusho, the Evening Star, Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Primeval Bounty, Twilight Prophet and Scavenging Ooze, especially with the way I can recycle my Creatures. Theater of Horrors is a permanent that Asmadi can cheat in, it's a draw engine and it gives me a way to win outside of combat. We'll see how it works.
Cindervines is a permanent and can do incidental damage to an opponent, which is sometimes needed, plus it can Shock players when I Disenchant something. I do like Beast Within's flexibility but it isn't a permanent and I don't want the feelsbadman.jpg of flipping one with Asmadi's trigger. Any nonpermanents need to be worth it and while I like the flexibility of Beast Within, I don't want to risk it especially since Asmadi already is a scalpel for problem permanents.
Mana Vault just ramps Asmadi, it isn't that good because hard ramp doesn't do anything when he dies and he dies quite frequently. I've added Broken Fall as a way to protect Asmadi and if I don't want to sac any permanents to his trigger, I can get around that with Broken Fall's cost. Anything that makes Asmadi more difficult to answer is great for him.
Revel in Riches makes me play stupidly, I've got to get rid of cards that make me greedy. Sidisi will help the deck by tutoring for whatever I currently need and with the amount of tokens the deck makes means I probably won't need to Sac a good critter.
A friend is a very good player, so when I lent him Asmadi for an evening and asked for notes, he said that I need Signets. Asmadi needs to get into play as fast as possible. When I asked about why he recommends cutting Thran Dynamo, he said the mana gained from the Signet is more important than the Dynamo's. He also pointed out that feeding the Dynamo to Asmadi would feel bad but a Signet isn't and it isn't me resorting to feeding him Lands. I went through the deck to find another cut and I realized that Perilous Forays demands far too much for what it offers. A Signet goes in its place.
Too many times the deck would stall out due to lack of draw. Frequently, what would happen is that I could get one swing out of Vaevictis before he got killed, I'd have to hit one of my Lands. Suddenly, I would be drawing all of these high cost cards that I could not cast due to being short on mana, I wasn't drawing out of this mess and I couldn't recast Vaevictis.
I cut Grave Titan because the deck is more land focused and he's a large drop that doesn't synergize with the rest of the deck. He's damned good but I just need more draw. Nissa hasn't Ulted in a long time, the deck doesn't put up enough blockers to stop people from stopping her Ult. I counted her as a Draw piece but she hasn't drawn me cards in a long time. Broken Fall is cute but I rather get a draw engine going. I am most conflicted by Vona's Hunter but I wanted to lower my permanent count further and this is the most cuttable piece out of my Instants and Sorceries.
Lifecrafter's Bestiary digs me deeper each turn with Scry, doesn't care about colour and becomes a draw engine if I get a little ahead, affording to pay G to each Creature cast. Phyrexian Arena comes down early, the double black may be a problem but this can draw me out of situations and I won't be sad if I have to feed it to Asmadi. I've liked Theater of Horrors, so I'm trying Outpost Siege again. I'm using it to help to churn through my deck. Sunbird's Invocation is expensive but I think worth it for the amount of utility and value it brings to the table.
Blood Crypt goes in to help with early Phyrexian Arena and other double black pips. I think I can lean away from Green, I still need Red with the amount of Red I'm adding with this update and Green I've cut.
With the culling of a few sacred cows in the previous update, I looked at other cards that I considered 'must haves' with new eyes. Dragon Broodmother's Triple Red is too difficult for this deck to reliably pull off, I can remember a few times where she sat in my hand uncastable. In her place comes the Ogre Slumlord, who will protect my board with the Deathtouch Rats. The Rat's 1/1 nature also means I can feed them to Skullclamp without any problems, plus the rest of the Sac Outlets. Broodmother's token creation was linear while the Slumlord's scales with the board.
Seasons Past is an amazing recursion piece but it is a non-permanent which hurts Asmadi. I believe this is an artifact of when the deck had Kresh at the helm. I have a variety of ways to put Creatures or Lands back into play from the Graveyard, so while I might be cut off from recurring Enchantments and Artifacts, I think I can risk that with minimal cost. I put Asceticism in Past's place as that is an ultimate way to protect Asmadi and my board; best case, I cheat it in and have 2 mana open to protect Asmadi. Worst case, I tap out to play it and force an opponent's Wrath.
Sandwurm was great to protect Kresh's face and made sizeable bodies. Asmadi flies and brings other fliers along as well. Courser will let me dig deeper for those Land Drops, the life gain will probably not be insignificant and seeing what is on top will help my decisions for Asmadi when I swing.
I like the direction you have taken the deck, I am a huge fan of the land recursion package for Vaevictis. I was wondering about your opinion on Seedborn Muse and Nullmage Shepherd. How do you find these perform in your deck? Have you tried more haste enablers in the list?
With your recent revaluation of the different cards in the deck, have you looked at Lifecrafter's Bestiary? While the scry 1 on upkeep is good for vaevictis, the cast trigger seems less synergistic with your commander. Similarly, Sunbird's Invocation and Primeval Bounty won't trigger on attacks with vaevictis.
I like the direction you have taken the deck, I am a huge fan of the land recursion package for Vaevictis. I was wondering about your opinion on Seedborn Muse and Nullmage Shepherd. How do you find these perform in your deck? Have you tried more haste enablers in the list?
With your recent revaluation of the different cards in the deck, have you looked at Lifecrafter's Bestiary? While the scry 1 on upkeep is good for vaevictis, the cast trigger seems less synergistic with your commander. Similarly, Sunbird's Invocation and Primeval Bounty won't trigger on attacks with vaevictis.
Thanks! Nullmage is OK, it just gives me something to do on an end step. As for Seedborn Muse, it is silly as it almost always is. A lot of this deck uses activated abilities, whether that's making making Kobolds, draw cards or Ramp and that's just the Lands. So, a Seedborn Muse at the very minimum gives me pseudo-Vigilance but on the higher end, it lets me get really far ahead between all of my Activated abilities between all of my permanents.
One Haste enabler that I've toyed with using is Dragon Breath. Gives Vaevictis Firebreathing so he can count to 21 faster, it repeatedly reattaches whenever he hits the field and also gives him something can could Sac 'for free'. I don't really have room for that; perhaps I should also figure out a way to get Anger in my yard but I'm pretty happy with the Haste situation with the deck. Since I've added all of those Signets, I'm getting Asmadi out far faster than most opponents can deal with.
The Scry of Lifecrafter's Bestiary is useful to help me dig. I know I won't get anything when a Creature hits play, but if gives me something to do with the excess mana on my turn to dig deeper. It might be the weaker of my draw engines but since I recently added it, it still needs testing. As for Sunbird's Invocation or Primeval Bounty, they're just absurdly good value pieces that if left uncontested will win me the game.
On the haste enablers you should checkout Rhythm of the wild (great for protecting vaevictis when you cast him AND gives him haste) and Xenagos, god of revels. I have been eyeing Dragon Breath but can't find a slot for it to take,however, I am also trying out Arlinn Kord/Arlinn, embraced by the moon for some new spice atm(haste enabler, token generator, and removal/board pump if you flip her).
I guess I can understand the value cards, however, same could be said for the Nissa, Vital Force you removed. YMMV but I have Birthing Pod and Haunted Crossroads and both have won me games if not removed in a couple turns (and they synergize well with what vaevictis wants to do)
Dragon Breath sounds really good on paper, but it hasn't been working well for me. Mainly because you need to find a way to pitch it before Vaevictis is summoned; which is difficult unless you have a source of card filtering or you have a way to easily sacrifice one of your early drops. Else you'd need to cast Vaevictis at 8 mana for the initial haste. It does get stupidly broken after the 2nd cast though.
On the haste enablers you should checkout Rhythm of the wild (great for protecting vaevictis when you cast him AND gives him haste) and Xenagos, god of revels. I have been eyeing Dragon Breath but can't find a slot for it to take,however, I am also trying out Arlinn Kord/Arlinn, embraced by the moon for some new spice atm(haste enabler, token generator, and removal/board pump if you flip her).
I guess I can understand the value cards, however, same could be said for the Nissa, Vital Force you removed. YMMV but I have Birthing Pod and Haunted Crossroads and both have won me games if not removed in a couple turns (and they synergize well with what vaevictis wants to do)
I cut Birthing Pod because I don't have a curve that can support it, the deck mostly poops out tokens for fodder instead of Creatures. I tried Haunted Crossroads but I didn't like it. To be fair, I got lucky and have a Volrath's Stronghold in the deck which is a fairly low opportunity cost way of getting the same effect. I am pretty happy with how Hasty Asmadi is in my list. The only thing I can think of is to perhaps add Oblivion Stone as another Wrath.
Dragon Breath sounds really good on paper, but it hasn't been working well for me. Mainly because you need to find a way to pitch it before Vaevictis is summoned; which is difficult unless you have a source of card filtering or you have a way to easily sacrifice one of your early drops. Else you'd need to cast Vaevictis at 8 mana for the initial haste. It does get stupidly broken after the 2nd cast though.
Guardian Project does work, huh? I don't think I run too many actual Creatures; I make plenty of tokens, so I am not certain if it would be effective. Harvester of Souls actually sounds like a great idea, though it is pushing the mana curve upwards.
Noted on Dragon Breath. Here I thought the player was a genius when I stumbled across it, but if I recall their build was more Discard oriented with the idea to run Enchantments that hit hands while Asmadi hits the board. So, that's probably what made it so absurdly good in that list.
Oh yeah, your advice above on negotiating targets has really worked wonders. It doesn't immediately put me into Archenemy, I can instead peck away at the player in the lead and then pivot when I think I'm far enough ahead.
The Slumlord didn't really impress me, a lot of the things that died were Commanders, noncreatures or tokens that I fed to Asmadi. I decided to put in a five drop that will draw me cards no matter if it is a token or cast with Garruk's Packleader.
Lifecrafter's OK but it can do better in a different deck which is the real reason I am shuffling it. With the Packleader taking up a draw spot, I decided to fill this with utility in the form of Aggravated Assault. We'll see how it'll play out now that the deck is much more aggressive.
Luxury Suite isn't fetchable so a City of Brss goes in to fix my colours further.
On the haste enablers you should checkout Rhythm of the wild (great for protecting vaevictis when you cast him AND gives him haste) and Xenagos, god of revels. I have been eyeing Dragon Breath but can't find a slot for it to take,however, I am also trying out Arlinn Kord/Arlinn, embraced by the moon for some new spice atm(haste enabler, token generator, and removal/board pump if you flip her).
I cut Birthing Pod because I don't have a curve that can support it, the deck mostly poops out tokens for fodder instead of Creatures. I tried Haunted Crossroads but I didn't like it. To be fair, I got lucky and have a Volrath's Stronghold in the deck which is a fairly low opportunity cost way of getting the same effect. I am pretty happy with how Hasty Asmadi is in my list. The only thing I can think of is to perhaps add Oblivion Stone as another Wrath.
You are right about the Oblivion stone. I am playing an all-permanents build now and have been feeling like I needed more ways to wipe the board.
One card that I miss which works really good with the lands package is crop rotation. It gives you the ability of instant speed: grave hate, regeneration, recur a creature to top of your deck, ramp(with land that taps for more than 2), or color fixing at it's worst.
On the haste enablers you should checkout Rhythm of the wild (great for protecting vaevictis when you cast him AND gives him haste) and Xenagos, god of revels. I have been eyeing Dragon Breath but can't find a slot for it to take,however, I am also trying out Arlinn Kord/Arlinn, embraced by the moon for some new spice atm(haste enabler, token generator, and removal/board pump if you flip her).
I cut Birthing Pod because I don't have a curve that can support it, the deck mostly poops out tokens for fodder instead of Creatures. I tried Haunted Crossroads but I didn't like it. To be fair, I got lucky and have a Volrath's Stronghold in the deck which is a fairly low opportunity cost way of getting the same effect. I am pretty happy with how Hasty Asmadi is in my list. The only thing I can think of is to perhaps add Oblivion Stone as another Wrath.
You are right about the Oblivion stone. I am playing an all-permanents build now and have been feeling like I needed more ways to wipe the board.
One card that I miss which works really good with the lands package is crop rotation. It gives you the ability of instant speed: grave hate, regeneration, recur a creature to top of your deck, ramp(with land that taps for more than 2), or color fixing at it's worst.
I'm probably going to go more permanent based as well. Latest changes:
Curse is a permanent and will let me negotiate better with other players, if they attack the Cursed player I can eat their Gold so they don't need to worry about losing permanents. Negotiating with players has drastically increased the deck's win rate, as I don't immediately go into Archenemy but can use my Commander as a scalpel against the perceived threat.
Trying Guardian Project out, cutting Outpost Siege because I don't like that I may have a card get Exiled with an untimely trigger.
Terrain Generator can Ramp me more than Temple of the False God. Also, I considered Temple to be a Ramp piece instead of a Land, so in a fashion I gained a Land.
I realized that the only way I could fetch duals is with Wood Elves who cannot grab the Blood Crypt. After looking through my pips, I decided to cut for a Forest.
Aggravated Assault and Sunbird's are amazing value pieces but they aren't helping me win the game which is what I want to do now. Speedng up my clock would be great.
It That Betrays will help me finish the game; hell, it could assemble a combo based off of all of my opponent's permanents. Rubblehulk is to surprise Bloodrush someone to death.
Courser was a draw piece, allowing me to play Lands off of the top, so that I could setup a more impressive Asmadi trigger. It's decent. Scroll Rack, in comparison, is insane. This deck has a few shuffling effects, allowing me to throw away chaff and draw a new set. It sets up Asmadi and is all around amazing. I also have a sneaking suspicion that it will astronomically spike soon, so it was pretty much now or never.
Rubblehulk helps me end the game but is garbage if it ever gets cheated into play. Xenagos turns Asmadi into a Two Turn Clock, gives Haste to speed that up, perfectly curves into Asmadi as a five to six drop, is resilient to removal and is cheaper if I do want to cast it compared to Rubblehulk. The swap is practically night and day.
Journey to Eternity was probably the most hoops I would need to jump through to get some value; with my desire to improve my end game, Aggravated Assault seems like a much better way to spend my hoop jumping. I'm adding the infinite with the Sword and Umbra.
With the pinpoint removal the deck packs, Dictate's indiscriminate matter doesn't go well. It also completely hoses my chance of using the diplomatic approach. Hour of Promise is probably the best Ramp spell in the game but it is a Sorcery when this deck likes Permanents. Bear Umbra will act as pseudo-Ramp, so I'll just have to take consolation in that and it protects my Commander with the Totem Armour. I think I will somehow manage.
The deck feels very tight, I can't find any room for any of your suggested cards. Hell, if anything I'm thinking of adding Geode Golem, as I had to cast Asmadi earlier today for 16!
Needed a Wrath:
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Aggravated Assault
1 Phyrexian Arena
With the dissolution of my Brago, I've freed up pieces for various decks. Phyrexian Arena is the slowest, most awkward draw in the deck so it gets axed for Sensei's Top which should help stack ridiculous top decks or Asmadi triggers.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Yavimaya Hollow
1 Snow-Covered Forest
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Vandalblast
1 Wave of Vitriol
2 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
1 Grim Feast
1 Vicious Shadows
1 Golgari Guildgate
1 Rakdos Guildgate
1 Gruul Guildgate
1 Mosswort Bridge
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Talisman of Indulgence
1 Talisman of Impulse
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Burnished Hart
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Painful Quandary
1 Stolen Strategy
1 Sylvan Library
1 Farseek
1 Nature's Lore
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Cultivate
1 Circuitous Route
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Etali, Primal Storm
1 Dragonmaster Outcast
1 Helm of Possession
Etali felt like he made me play badly, I would try so hard to get Etali into play and swing. I would overcommit, be bullheaded and just play badly. Another problem I had is that while the deck was fine fighting a table for two to three rounds, eventually I would lose the battle of attrition. I would be nuking one of their permanents a turn, but they would then play another problem permanent. So, I would stalemate in the hopes that I eventually outvalued them. I lost that fight a lot, so I'm putting in Painful Quandary as a way to drain resources from my opponent.
Dragonmaster Outcast had too many hoops to jump through; in its place goes another permanent that will give me a lot more options with Stolen Strategy.
Helm of Possession didn't often let me grab what I wanted so it's not quite fulfilling the 'sac for value' that the deck is trying to do. In its place, Sylvan Library goes which is great on its own and it synergizes amazingly with my Commander.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Mana Vault
1 The Gitrog Monster
1 Awakening Zone
1 Revel in Riches
1 Twilight Prophet
1 Ramunap Excavator
1 Mina and Denn, Wildborn
1 Titania, Protector of Argoth
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Wave of Vitriol
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Stolen Strategy
1 Necropotence
1 Arguel's Blood Fast
1 Acidic Slime
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Burnished Hart
1 Canyon Slough
1 Smoldering Marsh
1 Sheltered Thicket
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Luxury Suite
1 Spire Garden
1 Mana Confluence
1 Smoldering Marsh
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Runic Armasaur
1 Painful Quandary
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
One strategy i find useful for Vaevictis is not to select the most valuable targets for each player every time you attack. When you do that, you're just pissing off 3 players at once (assuming a 4 player game) and thus have to deal with 3 players worth of hate.
When i attack with Vaevictis, i usually check if any player has anything combo-ish or threatening on board. If there isn't, i would let my opponents choose their own permanent to be sacrificed. Even if they don't flip anything useful, they are less likely to blame you for it.
And if there is a troublesome permanent and you remove it while allowing the other 2 players to choose, you're only drawing hate from one player. In fact, the other two players may even be grateful to you for doing so.
Esper - Sydri - Alternate take on the Artifacts meta
Orzhov - Regna and Krav - Tokens and Lifegain and +1/+1 counters
Mono Green - Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar - Land Matters
WURG Kynaios and Tiro Grouphug/Fistbump
1 Theater of Horrors
1 Exsanguinate
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Cindervines
1 Broken Fall
1 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
1 Beast Within
1 Mana Vault
1 Revel in Riches
Mana Vault just ramps Asmadi, it isn't that good because hard ramp doesn't do anything when he dies and he dies quite frequently. I've added Broken Fall as a way to protect Asmadi and if I don't want to sac any permanents to his trigger, I can get around that with Broken Fall's cost. Anything that makes Asmadi more difficult to answer is great for him.
Revel in Riches makes me play stupidly, I've got to get rid of cards that make me greedy. Sidisi will help the deck by tutoring for whatever I currently need and with the amount of tokens the deck makes means I probably won't need to Sac a good critter.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Golgari Signet
1 Gruul Signet
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Perilous Forays
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Rakdos Signet
1 Captivating Crew
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Outpost Siege
1 Sunbird's Invocation
1 Blood Crypt
1 Grave Titan
1 Nissa, Vital Force
1 Broken Fall
1 Vona's Hunger
1 Spire Garden
I cut Grave Titan because the deck is more land focused and he's a large drop that doesn't synergize with the rest of the deck. He's damned good but I just need more draw. Nissa hasn't Ulted in a long time, the deck doesn't put up enough blockers to stop people from stopping her Ult. I counted her as a Draw piece but she hasn't drawn me cards in a long time. Broken Fall is cute but I rather get a draw engine going. I am most conflicted by Vona's Hunter but I wanted to lower my permanent count further and this is the most cuttable piece out of my Instants and Sorceries.
Lifecrafter's Bestiary digs me deeper each turn with Scry, doesn't care about colour and becomes a draw engine if I get a little ahead, affording to pay G to each Creature cast. Phyrexian Arena comes down early, the double black may be a problem but this can draw me out of situations and I won't be sad if I have to feed it to Asmadi. I've liked Theater of Horrors, so I'm trying Outpost Siege again. I'm using it to help to churn through my deck. Sunbird's Invocation is expensive but I think worth it for the amount of utility and value it brings to the table.
Blood Crypt goes in to help with early Phyrexian Arena and other double black pips. I think I can lean away from Green, I still need Red with the amount of Red I'm adding with this update and Green I've cut.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Ogre Slumlord
1 Asceticism
1 Dragon Broodmother
1 Seasons Past
Seasons Past is an amazing recursion piece but it is a non-permanent which hurts Asmadi. I believe this is an artifact of when the deck had Kresh at the helm. I have a variety of ways to put Creatures or Lands back into play from the Graveyard, so while I might be cut off from recurring Enchantments and Artifacts, I think I can risk that with minimal cost. I put Asceticism in Past's place as that is an ultimate way to protect Asmadi and my board; best case, I cheat it in and have 2 mana open to protect Asmadi. Worst case, I tap out to play it and force an opponent's Wrath.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Sandwurm Convergence
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
With your recent revaluation of the different cards in the deck, have you looked at Lifecrafter's Bestiary? While the scry 1 on upkeep is good for vaevictis, the cast trigger seems less synergistic with your commander. Similarly, Sunbird's Invocation and Primeval Bounty won't trigger on attacks with vaevictis.
One Haste enabler that I've toyed with using is Dragon Breath. Gives Vaevictis Firebreathing so he can count to 21 faster, it repeatedly reattaches whenever he hits the field and also gives him something can could Sac 'for free'. I don't really have room for that; perhaps I should also figure out a way to get Anger in my yard but I'm pretty happy with the Haste situation with the deck. Since I've added all of those Signets, I'm getting Asmadi out far faster than most opponents can deal with.
The Scry of Lifecrafter's Bestiary is useful to help me dig. I know I won't get anything when a Creature hits play, but if gives me something to do with the excess mana on my turn to dig deeper. It might be the weaker of my draw engines but since I recently added it, it still needs testing. As for Sunbird's Invocation or Primeval Bounty, they're just absurdly good value pieces that if left uncontested will win me the game.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
I guess I can understand the value cards, however, same could be said for the Nissa, Vital Force you removed. YMMV but I have Birthing Pod and Haunted Crossroads and both have won me games if not removed in a couple turns (and they synergize well with what vaevictis wants to do)
Disciple of Bolas, Guardian Project, Liliana's Contract, Harvester of Souls and Soul of the Harvest
Dragon Breath sounds really good on paper, but it hasn't been working well for me. Mainly because you need to find a way to pitch it before Vaevictis is summoned; which is difficult unless you have a source of card filtering or you have a way to easily sacrifice one of your early drops. Else you'd need to cast Vaevictis at 8 mana for the initial haste. It does get stupidly broken after the 2nd cast though.
Esper - Sydri - Alternate take on the Artifacts meta
Orzhov - Regna and Krav - Tokens and Lifegain and +1/+1 counters
Mono Green - Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar - Land Matters
WURG Kynaios and Tiro Grouphug/Fistbump
Noted on Dragon Breath. Here I thought the player was a genius when I stumbled across it, but if I recall their build was more Discard oriented with the idea to run Enchantments that hit hands while Asmadi hits the board. So, that's probably what made it so absurdly good in that list.
Oh yeah, your advice above on negotiating targets has really worked wonders. It doesn't immediately put me into Archenemy, I can instead peck away at the player in the lead and then pivot when I think I'm far enough ahead.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Garruk's Packleader
1 Aggravated Assault
1 City of Brass
1 Ogre Slumlord
1 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
1 Luxury Suite
Lifecrafter's OK but it can do better in a different deck which is the real reason I am shuffling it. With the Packleader taking up a draw spot, I decided to fill this with utility in the form of Aggravated Assault. We'll see how it'll play out now that the deck is much more aggressive.
Luxury Suite isn't fetchable so a City of Brss goes in to fix my colours further.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
You are right about the Oblivion stone. I am playing an all-permanents build now and have been feeling like I needed more ways to wipe the board.
One card that I miss which works really good with the lands package is crop rotation. It gives you the ability of instant speed: grave hate, regeneration, recur a creature to top of your deck, ramp(with land that taps for more than 2), or color fixing at it's worst.
1 Curse of Opulence
1 Guardian Project
1 Terrain Generator
1 Forest
1 Pir's Whim
1 Outpost Siege
1 Temple of the False God
1 Blood Crypt
Trying Guardian Project out, cutting Outpost Siege because I don't like that I may have a card get Exiled with an untimely trigger.
Terrain Generator can Ramp me more than Temple of the False God. Also, I considered Temple to be a Ramp piece instead of a Land, so in a fashion I gained a Land.
I realized that the only way I could fetch duals is with Wood Elves who cannot grab the Blood Crypt. After looking through my pips, I decided to cut for a Forest.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Rubblehulk
1 It That Betrays
1 Aggravated Assault
1 Sunbird's Invocation
It That Betrays will help me finish the game; hell, it could assemble a combo based off of all of my opponent's permanents. Rubblehulk is to surprise Bloodrush someone to death.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Scroll Rack
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
1 Aggravated Assault
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Bear Umbra
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Rubblehulk
1 Journey to Eternity
1 Dictate of Erebos
1 Hour of Promise
Rubblehulk helps me end the game but is garbage if it ever gets cheated into play. Xenagos turns Asmadi into a Two Turn Clock, gives Haste to speed that up, perfectly curves into Asmadi as a five to six drop, is resilient to removal and is cheaper if I do want to cast it compared to Rubblehulk. The swap is practically night and day.
Journey to Eternity was probably the most hoops I would need to jump through to get some value; with my desire to improve my end game, Aggravated Assault seems like a much better way to spend my hoop jumping. I'm adding the infinite with the Sword and Umbra.
With the pinpoint removal the deck packs, Dictate's indiscriminate matter doesn't go well. It also completely hoses my chance of using the diplomatic approach. Hour of Promise is probably the best Ramp spell in the game but it is a Sorcery when this deck likes Permanents. Bear Umbra will act as pseudo-Ramp, so I'll just have to take consolation in that and it protects my Commander with the Totem Armour. I think I will somehow manage.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs