So Ive been brewing this deck for awhile. I started with a UB eldrazi deck that played a death and taxes style gameplan. But when Lavinia was printed I started messing around with some of the cuter interactions and more importantly 3 colors.
The deck plays a similar game to death and taxes in that it tries to lock your opponent out of the game while maintaining tempo. Feel free to make some suggestions!
On Lavinias first ability:
"Each opponent can't cast noncreature spells with converted mana cost greater than the number of lands they control"
Basicly your opponent cant cast non creature spells ahead of curve. Now the obv target in modern for this is tron but it's not nearly as good as it looks against them. Lavinia stops karn and ugin. But it doesnt stop wurmcoil, balista, and ulamog. So its usefulness will vary depending on the game. Outside of that it doesn't slow much else down. Most of the ramp decks in modern are ramping into creatures(titan, creature toolbox). Occasionally it can slow down a collected company or a chord of calling.
On Lavinias second abilty:
"Whenever an opponent casts a spell, if no mana was spent to cast it, counter that spell"
This is the bread and butter of this deck. Here are some examples of what does get countered:
Spells that have been cascaded into(bloodbraid,violent outburst etc)
Suspended spells(Delay, ancestral visions, rift bolt, the rare living end/restore balance)
Spells that are cast without mana being spent due to an ability (electrodominance, spell queller)
Feee spells(mox opal, mishra's bauble,summoners pact)
Spells cast for 0 mana due to having their costs reduced by an effect (hollow one, semblance anvil)
Phyrexian mana spells cast for their "life mode"
Its important to note that Lavinia doesn't counter things that are put into play for free but not cast (through the breach/goryos,aether vial, bloodghast)
Here are some of the key interactions:
Lavinia+Spell Queller
Spell queller exiles a spell and as long as lavinia is in play if queller dies and the spell is cast for 0 mana its countered
Lavinia+Delay
Similar to queller if the spell delay counters is cast, with lavinia on the board its countered. Delay is also a great tempo play making you're opponent have to awkwardly cast their spells when they wouldn't want to.
Wasteland strangler+Spell queller/Deputy of Detention/Detention sphere/Tidehollow Sculler/Delay
Strangler is probably one of the most important cards in the deck. Sending the card exiled by any of the above to the grave means your opponent doesnt get it back. On top of that you get a free bolt effect to boot. Strangler can target itself with the -3/-3 abilty. So if there's no legal targets you use its abilty on itself to prevent a high impact card from returning to your opponent. Also returning a cad from exile to grave is a cost so itll happen before the creature gets -3/-3. So you could target a deputy of detention with its abilty, process the card exiled by deputy to the grave, deputy would get -3/-3, die to state based actions but your opponent wouldn't get their spell back because its no longer exiled. Also whenever a card leaves a zone it becomes a new game object. This is important because if Wasteland strangler processes a card to the grave, say that was exiled by deputy of detention and it somehow gets exiled again, then the deputy dies the opponent still won't get the spell back as the game sees it as a different object.
Meddling mage+delay/spell queller
Meddling mage acts on a similar axis to Lavinia in regards to delay and queller. If your opponent is forced to cast a spell that is named by meddling mage they won't be able to and the card will remain exiled. Meddling mage won't stop cards exiled by deputy of detention/sphere as they aren't cast when they return to the battlefield.
Meddling mage+Tidehollow Sculler
Taking away a key card then naming that card with meddling mage will stop your opponent from casting it until they've dealt ith both creatures. Also Sculler gives you knowledge of all the cards in your opponents hand letting you know what to name with meddling mage if you want to stop multiple cards.
Lastly there are some other role players that aren't exactly as strong as the rest of the deck.
Relic of progentitus fuels Wasteland strangler as well as being a cantrip. Its also particularly powerful against grave based strategies especially in the mainboard. Ashiok, nightmare weaver serves a similar role while also exiling cards from your opponents deck that can be cast later. Path to exile needs no explanation, as its path.
Ive contemplating testing some other more traditional d&ts cards like Thalia but I'm trying this build out before i make any major changes.
I've been thinking about a more beatdown oriented build in UW. In testing, I don't think I ever actually had Lavinia prevent a spell from being cast off Delay or Spell Queller, but it does sort of force the opponent to direct removal at her.
Thalia seems a little bad with Delay, Ashiok, and Detention Sphere.
The deck plays a similar game to death and taxes in that it tries to lock your opponent out of the game while maintaining tempo. Feel free to make some suggestions!
3 Deputy of Detention
3 Meddling Mage
4 Spell Queller
3 Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
4 Wasteland Strangler
Enchantment
2 Detention Sphere
2 Watery Grave
2 Godless Shrine
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Glacial Fortress
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
2 Plains
1 Island
4 Relic of Progenitus
4 Tidehollow Sculler
Instant
4 Delay
4 Path to Exile
Planeswalker
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
On Lavinias first ability:
"Each opponent can't cast noncreature spells with converted mana cost greater than the number of lands they control"
Basicly your opponent cant cast non creature spells ahead of curve. Now the obv target in modern for this is tron but it's not nearly as good as it looks against them. Lavinia stops karn and ugin. But it doesnt stop wurmcoil, balista, and ulamog. So its usefulness will vary depending on the game. Outside of that it doesn't slow much else down. Most of the ramp decks in modern are ramping into creatures(titan, creature toolbox). Occasionally it can slow down a collected company or a chord of calling.
On Lavinias second abilty:
"Whenever an opponent casts a spell, if no mana was spent to cast it, counter that spell"
This is the bread and butter of this deck. Here are some examples of what does get countered:
Spells that have been cascaded into(bloodbraid,violent outburst etc)
Suspended spells(Delay, ancestral visions, rift bolt, the rare living end/restore balance)
Spells that are cast without mana being spent due to an ability (electrodominance, spell queller)
Feee spells(mox opal, mishra's bauble,summoners pact)
Spells cast for 0 mana due to having their costs reduced by an effect (hollow one, semblance anvil)
Phyrexian mana spells cast for their "life mode"
Its important to note that Lavinia doesn't counter things that are put into play for free but not cast (through the breach/goryos,aether vial, bloodghast)
Here are some of the key interactions:
Lavinia+Spell Queller
Spell queller exiles a spell and as long as lavinia is in play if queller dies and the spell is cast for 0 mana its countered
Lavinia+Delay
Similar to queller if the spell delay counters is cast, with lavinia on the board its countered. Delay is also a great tempo play making you're opponent have to awkwardly cast their spells when they wouldn't want to.
Wasteland strangler+Spell queller/Deputy of Detention/Detention sphere/Tidehollow Sculler/Delay
Strangler is probably one of the most important cards in the deck. Sending the card exiled by any of the above to the grave means your opponent doesnt get it back. On top of that you get a free bolt effect to boot. Strangler can target itself with the -3/-3 abilty. So if there's no legal targets you use its abilty on itself to prevent a high impact card from returning to your opponent. Also returning a cad from exile to grave is a cost so itll happen before the creature gets -3/-3. So you could target a deputy of detention with its abilty, process the card exiled by deputy to the grave, deputy would get -3/-3, die to state based actions but your opponent wouldn't get their spell back because its no longer exiled. Also whenever a card leaves a zone it becomes a new game object. This is important because if Wasteland strangler processes a card to the grave, say that was exiled by deputy of detention and it somehow gets exiled again, then the deputy dies the opponent still won't get the spell back as the game sees it as a different object.
Meddling mage+delay/spell queller
Meddling mage acts on a similar axis to Lavinia in regards to delay and queller. If your opponent is forced to cast a spell that is named by meddling mage they won't be able to and the card will remain exiled. Meddling mage won't stop cards exiled by deputy of detention/sphere as they aren't cast when they return to the battlefield.
Meddling mage+Tidehollow Sculler
Taking away a key card then naming that card with meddling mage will stop your opponent from casting it until they've dealt ith both creatures. Also Sculler gives you knowledge of all the cards in your opponents hand letting you know what to name with meddling mage if you want to stop multiple cards.
Lastly there are some other role players that aren't exactly as strong as the rest of the deck.
Relic of progentitus fuels Wasteland strangler as well as being a cantrip. Its also particularly powerful against grave based strategies especially in the mainboard. Ashiok, nightmare weaver serves a similar role while also exiling cards from your opponents deck that can be cast later. Path to exile needs no explanation, as its path.
Ive contemplating testing some other more traditional d&ts cards like Thalia but I'm trying this build out before i make any major changes.
Thalia seems a little bad with Delay, Ashiok, and Detention Sphere.
3 Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
4 Spell Queller
2 Reflector Mage
3 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Meddling Mage
3 Thistledown Liege
4 Judge's Familiar
2 Steel of the Godhead
4 Delay
2 Hallowed Fountain
4 Flooded Strand
2 Seachrome Coast
4 Horizon Canopy
6 Island
1 Plains
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Moorland Haunt
4 Serum Visions
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
1 Mirran Crusader
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Deputy of Detention
1 Rest in Peace
3 Stony Silence
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Path to Exile
1 Settle the Wreckage