Been playing with a Zur the Enchanter based toolbox deck. The goal is to have a fun deck that does alright at FNM, I'm not trying to make something very competitive. Here's my current list:
Thassa, God of the Sea is there to filter the top of the deck, as well as keep Zur or Geist swinging if we lose Steel of the Godhead. Eidolon of Rhetoric slows the opponent down more than us, as Zur essentially gets us a second spell for free. Spellskite helps keep Zur on the battlefield.
The end goal is a beatdown with an evasive and buffed Zur as well as Geist of Saint Traft and it's angels.
The sideboard has some more specific answers, like Spreading Seas for Tron and Nevermore for combos.
Any feedback/tips/ideas much appreciated! For starters, I'm pretty sure I don't like Phyrexian Unlife in the board. I also mostly added Bitterblossom for fun, as well as the wonderful Rebecca Guay art, but not sure it really does a whole lot here...
I think I would switch up some of your main and SB cards. I used to play a deck like this before and it can be a lot of fun, but I would also recommend downsize your main deck tool box. 12+ cards is a lot and there's gonna be times you just draw too many of the wrong answers. Might I suggest
Makes sense. I do really like the idea of squeezing in some counter spells. I had a couple negate in there originally, but I think I do like remand better in this list.
It does still have some potentially dead toolbox pieces for game 1 as you pointed out. And I would like to get at least one more spreading seas in. I think Bitterblossom is probably the most obvious cut, but can't bring myself to take it out until I've played it at least once!
Remand is great here because often times you're just one turn away from locking them out with whatever enchantment is needed. Ethereal Armor seems a bit underwhelming. Phyrexian Arena is a card I'd like to make room for in my main list. It's so good against UWx control and BGx midrange
2x Creeping Tar Pit
1x Eiganjo Castle
1x Field of Ruin
2x Glacial Fortress
2x Godless Shrine
2x Hallowed Fountain
3x Island
2x Isolated Chapel
1x Mistveil Plains
3x Plains
1x River of Tears
1x Swamp
2x Windswept Heath
Instant (4)
4x Path to Exile
Enchantment (12)
1x Authority of the Consuls
1x Bitterblossom
1x Copy Enchantment
2x Detention Sphere
1x Ethereal Armor
1x Ghostly Prison
1x Greater Auramancy
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Rest in Peace
2x Steel of the Godhead
1x Eidolon of Rhetoric
4x Geist of Saint Traft
1x Nyx-Fleece Ram
2x Spellskite
1x Thassa, God of the Sea
4x Zur the Enchanter
Sorcery (8)
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Serum Visions
1x Thoughtseize
1x Brain Maggot
1x Counterbalance
1x Greater Auramancy
4x Leyline of Sanctity
1x Nevermore
1x Phyrexian Unlife
1x Rest in Peace
1x Solemnity
1x Spreading Seas
1x Stony Silence
1x Suppression Field
1x Threads of Disloyalty
The idea is to spend the first couple turns disrupting with Path to Exile, Inquisition of Kozilek, and Thoughtseize, as well as digging with Serum Visions. Once Zur is out it can tutor up answers to all sorts of threats, as well as Steel of the Godhead to keep it evasive and also gain some life.
Thassa, God of the Sea is there to filter the top of the deck, as well as keep Zur or Geist swinging if we lose Steel of the Godhead. Eidolon of Rhetoric slows the opponent down more than us, as Zur essentially gets us a second spell for free. Spellskite helps keep Zur on the battlefield.
The end goal is a beatdown with an evasive and buffed Zur as well as Geist of Saint Traft and it's angels.
The sideboard has some more specific answers, like Spreading Seas for Tron and Nevermore for combos.
Any feedback/tips/ideas much appreciated! For starters, I'm pretty sure I don't like Phyrexian Unlife in the board. I also mostly added Bitterblossom for fun, as well as the wonderful Rebecca Guay art, but not sure it really does a whole lot here...
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Zur the Enchanter
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Thassa, God of the Sea
2 Spellskite
Spells (17)
4 Serum Visions
4 Path to exile
4 Thoughtseize
3 Esper Charm
2 Remand
Other (8)
4 Spreading Seas
2 Steel of the Godhead
1 Detention Sphere
1 Rest in Peace
4 Marsh Flats
4 Polluted Delta
4 Darkslick Shores
1 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Watery Grave
1 Godless shrine
3 Island
1 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Never more
1 Phyrexian Unlife
1 Stony Silence
3 Rest in Peace
1 Threads of Disloyalty
2 Fatal Push
2 Collective Brutality
2 Countersquall
1 Imprisoned in the Moon
The Spreading Sea main deck is a big deal. Attacking the opponents mana in the early game gives you more time to set up your Zur combo.
Draft My Cube!
I do like the idea of Eidolon of Rhetoric, Phyrexian Arena, and Authority of the Consuls all in the main deck to break the symmetry though. Moving Spreading Seas to the main does make a lot of sense.
Here's a tweaked list that's somewhere between the two:
2x Creeping Tar Pit
1x Eiganjo Castle
1x Field of Ruin
2x Glacial Fortress
2x Godless Shrine
2x Hallowed Fountain
3x Island
2x Isolated Chapel
1x Mistveil Plains
3x Plains
1x River of Tears
1x Swamp
2x Windswept Heath
Instant (6)
4x Path to Exile
2x Remand
Enchantment (10)
1x Authority of the Consuls
1x Bitterblossom
2x Detention Sphere
1x Ethereal Armor
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Rest in Peace
1x Spreading Seas
2x Steel of the Godhead
1x Eidolon of Rhetoric
4x Geist of Saint Traft
1x Nyx-Fleece Ram
2x Spellskite
1x Thassa, God of the Sea
4x Zur the Enchanter
Sorcery (8)
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Serum Visions
1x Thoughtseize
1x Brain Maggot
1x Copy Enchantment
2x Countersquall
1x Ghostly Prison
1x Greater Auramancy
4x Leyline of Sanctity
1x Rest in Peace
1x Solemnity
1x Stony Silence
1x Suppression Field
1x Threads of Disloyalty
It does still have some potentially dead toolbox pieces for game 1 as you pointed out. And I would like to get at least one more spreading seas in. I think Bitterblossom is probably the most obvious cut, but can't bring myself to take it out until I've played it at least once!
Draft My Cube!