Went 4-1 at FNM with Fogle's revised decklist. Only real difference was a maindeck Drown in Sorrow with a Bile Blight moved to the SB (which worked really well).
Only loss was against a BW Athreos build which was pretty tough (punisher mechanic + recursive creatures). Hats off to the guy who put it together.
This deck is really, really fun. Planeswalker shenanigans. Didn't play against any control so I'm not sure how that matchup will be, potentially unfavorable?
I found myself taking Kiora out pretty much every game. When do people leave her in? It's almost like she trades spots with Tasigur.
So with this disgusting GW deck going around, surely Aetherspouts becomes a strong contender for the SB. Best way to deal with morphs and Whisperwood Elementals that I can think of.
Drown in Sorrow only solves the Manifests on the Board. It doesn't stop the re-infestation that the Elemental produces. You may have meant the manifests left behind after an Elemental sacrifice in response to your Crux. This however means you need 2 cards to wipe the board (which may be as good as things get, but it is not great). I can only say that raising the threat level of the elemental - so he is major target for counter/removal is probably the right plan if you are having major trouble with him.
So how do we fit Ultimate Price and Anticipate in? I think Ultimate Price lets us drop Bile Blight, which incidentally puts less stress on our mana. Playing Anticipate + Wayfinder could allow us to consider 24 lands, but I'm not sure about that.
Does Anticipate replace satyr wayfinder as the "cantrip" of the deck? It turns our early-midgame U/B based and does not require G until t3/t4. Although it will not allow us to play tasigur as early as T3.
Personally, I plan to be testing Sidisi, Undead Vizier in my build so replacing Wayfinder just isnt an option for me. To be honest, I am having some difficulty finding room in my list for Anticipate. I really like the card but our other card draw options are just as good. Dig Through Time often costs two mana anyway and is obviously better, even if I cast it for the full eight, I would be using mana I would otherwise not be using. The same could be said for Treasure Cruise, Im either getting it for a bargain or using mana that I would not be using otherwise.
After going over the list I think what I have come down to is moving Thoughtseize to the sideboard and putting Anticipate in the main over it. My reasoning is that part of the reason this deck is so good is because it is so versatile in it's ability to deal with the things your opponent is doing. I mean how many cards are seeing play right now that our ONLY answer for is Thoughtseize? Seige Rhino to prevent the ETB effect I suppose. But even still we can blank the Rhino with removal or Tasigur. As I said with the new Sidisi in the list thats just another blank on Rhino. Secondly I have to say the life loss from Thoughtseize can actually become a liability. When you've stabalized at 8-6 life and you topdeck a Thoughtseize, you have to consider that you could just be opening the door to a loss by playing it.
I guess after testing a while we'll know the best place for the card but for now, I think taking some more card selection/draw over hand hate is more of an appealing proposition to me.
Wayfinder one of the better cards in the deck. It does everything we want it to, finds lands (read: cantrips), fills the graveyard, and chumps to protect a turn 3 Ashiok. What more do you want?
This is what I would want to test out and change as the format goes on. I also have a dragon's version of the list, and dragonlord silumgar should be a mainboard or sideboard 2-of. The card is just so good in mirror and vs. other decks.
Hey guys, so I'm currently playing pure UB. It's a fun deck, but there are times when I'd like to be a little more proactive. Care to help sell me on this deck?
Do you find yourself playing more reactive or proactive? I know that being "control" generally implies a reactive gameplan, but with things like Wayfinder, the various Planeswalkers and Tasigur I feel like you can try to take the game yourself.
How are the RW/Jeskai matchups? My shop is overrun with them, along with a couple Gr Devotion decks and Abzan Control. Does it match up well against any of them?
Hey guys, so I'm currently playing pure UB. It's a fun deck, but there are times when I'd like to be a little more proactive. Care to help sell me on this deck?
Do you find yourself playing more reactive or proactive? I know that being "control" generally implies a reactive gameplan, but with things like Wayfinder, the various Planeswalkers and Tasigur I feel like you can try to take the game yourself.
How are the RW/Jeskai matchups? My shop is overrun with them, along with a couple Gr Devotion decks and Abzan Control. Does it match up well against any of them?
Thanks!
I played UB control for quite a while and was very successful with it (as far as FNM's go anyway). However I found the deck boring. Say no until you find a PLA, drop it, pick up your lands, drop it again, etc.
I switched to UW control and missed black's removal. I switched to Esper and it was too inconsistent.
I am on the Sultai control deck and like it a lot. Sultai Charm is soo good right now, drawing cards, killing creatures and enchantments. It's never ever a dead card, I run four. Satyr Wayfinder gets the delve machine going which is quite important. Any opening hand without it is dangerous to keep. Garruk is very good right now, the lifegain is almost mandatory in this deck. Kiora is meh... Those are your green splashes.
My plan is to stick with it, but if another control deck rises up after DTK releases I would probably switch.
Nissa is for the control match up. It does get killed by crux, it does not get killed unless they double bile blight. Sultai charm does not kill it, and ultimate price does not kill it.
Jeskai charm isn't an issue unless they play 2 copies, But I would be able to play around that card. It is a better late game tool with garruk. Ugin is a great card, but it doesn't finish the job.
Silumgar's command is good for both mid-range and control match ups. It allows me the same versatility if i were to put 2-3 dissolves MB. I should MB disdainful stroke as a 2-of though.
Dragonlord Silumgar is better for the control and mid-range match ups. Where silumgar is better for control and tokens match up. I was thinking of a 2/1 split or 1/2. For now I will do a 2 DL and switch to 1 drifting death MB and 2 SB. They both have their uses.
Card I should play is dragonlord's prerogative or some copies of jace's ingenuity though. Drawing 4 cards at instant speed is good, opportunity is never a wrong choice. But we also have jace's ingenuity for now.
Hi guys, long time forum lurker/reader but new poster. Moved from Abzan Control to Sultai Control towards the end of current format and haven't had this much fun with a deck for a long, long time. Quite keen to forge ahead with Sultai now that DTK is legal, so thought I'd share where I'm currently at with the deck.
Ultimate Price
I think this card is pretty much an auto-include in the deck. Having another 2CMC removal spell that's easier to cast than Bile Blight is excellent; we've all been there on draws where we haven't had the double black in time. I'm going to try an even 2:2 split with Bile Blight and see how that works out.
Duress
So happy this card is back, and with such pretty new art as well! I'm jamming two copies straight into my sideboard without thinking twice. More discard against decks where we care more about their spells than their creatures, which is almost every deck we're going to be playing against, and without paying the pesky two life from Thoughtseize. For a single black, we can get rid of Planeswalkers, removal that would remove our Planeswalkers, counterspells, enchantments. Amazing. So happy.
Silumgar's Command
I love this card, but I feel like the CMC prohibits more than two copies across the 75. I'm going to start with 1:1 between main and side and see how they perform. The card seems amazing against Planeswalker decks; counter the 'Walker you tapped out for, kill the one already in play is probably the dream here.
Haven of the Spirit Dragon
I think running one copy of this is basically free thanks to Satyr Wayfinder. Being able to return a copy of Silumgar or Ugin to your hand can swing a game completely. Excited to test this out.
Sidisi, Undead Vizier
We all know tutor effects are powerful, and I'm interested to see whether the new Sidisi card can prove to be as powerful as I hope she is. I feel like two copies is correct across the 75, but I want to start with just one in the main and see how she does when I draw her or if I've already used one and find myself in a situation thinking "man, wish I had another Sidisi to draw to". Being able to sac our otherwise useless Satyr Wayfinders to find absolutely any card we want is great. Her stats are no slouch either, allowing her to best fatties like Siege Rhino and Polukranos in combat. I'm going to drop down to 2x Hero's Downfall as her tutor ability as well as having a copy of Silumgar's Command should allow us to trim certain numbers here and there. Hopefully. Maybe. Might be terribly wrong.
Stratus Dancer
I want to give this card a go in the sideboard, as I feel like it could be great against other control decks. After game one, they likely remove most of their targeted removal spells and being able to cast a cheap creature that can also blank one of their spells could be quite effective. They're going to be reluctant to counter it when its cast face-down (which we're not likely to do until we have the mana to flip it the same turn), and once its in play they have to cast something to get rid of it eventually which we'll just Negate with its Megamorph ability. They're going to know what it is the whole time and just be unable to do anything about it. Unless they next-level us and leave in a bunch of removal expecting us to side in creatures, of course. I dunno, maybe I'm living in Magical Christmas Land but I think two copies in the sideboard is worth a try.
Dragonlord Silumgar
Man. I love this card. I really do. But I'm not sure our deck is the right fit for him. He's super weak to removal and just not as effective against other control decks as his younger, more resilient self. If anything, he's a sideboard card for removal-light midrange matchups like green devotion. Stealing a Nissa or stealing a Whisperwood Elemental (which basically removes it since they almost certainly sacrifice in response) seems decent. I think, though, that he's more at home in Sultai Whip decks than in this one. Would love to be proven wrong, though. Flavour-wise he's my favourite of the five Dragonlords.
So with that said, here's the list I'm going to try to start with. Let me know what y'all think! Thanks for reading!
I'm not a fan of Death Wind. It's less efficient than Bile Blight, as you have to spend 4 mana to give a creature -3/-3 and it only hits one, compared to 2 mana for Bile Blight and the possbility to hit multiple targets. Both Ultimate Price/Hero's Downfall are less restrictive (i.e. you can kill a creature with a lot of toughness for the same amount of mana as killing one with less toughness).
I'm not sure about Display of Dominance. The only thing it hits in UB is Ashiok (though granted it can act as a protection spell for one of our walkers), and the only thing it hits in Abzan is Sorin. I'd rather have a Negate, tbh. It acts as the same amount of protection and can also hit things like Vault, Ashiok and Whip.
If you're concerned about GW Devotion, I'd suggest trying something like Ætherspouts. Paying 7 for a conditional wrath in Deathbringer Regent, especially when they have the real problem card of Whisperwood Elemental likely already in play, doesn't seem as good as other options. Even a card like Archfiend of Depravity would probably be better against Mastery of the Unseen decks, but honestly I think our matchup against GW is so good that we don't need much to make it better.
Death Wind seems worse than Bile Blight or any other targeted removal spell that we play. Would not advise it at all. It can't kill any of the two-drops that concern us on turn two like Blight can and it forces you to tap out late game instead of just spending two or three on a Downfall or Ultimate Price and then doing something else. The only cards we should be tapping out for are our win conditions like Ugin, Garruk and Silumgar. I'm just not in the market to pay 5 to kill a Stormbreath Dragon when I could pay 2.
I agree with MrM0nd4y on Display of Dominance in that I'd rather have a Negate in almost every single situation, because it isn't so narrow an answer. I think it's more a card that we need to be aware will be played against us and that we need to play around and keep on our radar than something we should play ourselves.
This is a little closer to where Im at right now with the deck. I think Anticipate is too good to leave out. Dragonlord is excellent against all the midrange decks right now. Drifting Death comes in against weenies, elspeth and control matches. I think Thoughtseize is fine in the board as I said earlier, we have other answers for just about anything and the life loss is a real consideration. I shifted the numbers on your walkers around to what i play just out of my preference. Getting that 3rd copy of Ugin basically for free is awesome! Whether Ultimate Price makes the main remains to be seen by me. I am currently still on 4 Downfalls and 4 Opulent Palace I dropped my Temple of Mystery because 4 Anticpate > 1 Scry.
I think Ashiok gets a lot worse if there's only one in your deck. If anything, I'd be looking to run three Ashiok and cut Kiora completely, but I just got two copies of her pretty Duel Deck printing so I'm reluctant to do that right away because I'm shallow and superficial like that.
I like two Garruk over two Ugin because the lifegain is huge and really needed, at least in the meta I'm playing in regularly. There have been many games where Garruk would stabilize me and Ugin would not.
I love Dragonlord Silumgar, but I don't want their creature removal to be turned on in the first game. He's something I'd prefer to bring in for game two or three, after they've boarded out a bunch of their spells that could get rid of him. The hexproof and gigantic body is the reason I prefer run Drifty D mainboard instead.
Anticipate does look excellent, I just don't know what to cut to fit them in the deck. I'm wondering if Silumgar's Command needs to just be a sideboard card that comes in against control and midrange since those games go longer.
I'm also wondering if maybe this isn't the deck for Sidisi and she should just stay in the Whip decks. The nightmare scenario is she's your topdeck that you need to stabilize by tutoring for a specific card, but your opponent just kills her in response to her ETB trigger and you spent five mana to do nothing. It makes me want to run counter magic mainboard to protect her, but then the deck starts to morph into something different as a result.
I think Thoughtseize being in the sideboard is definitely a consideration. I'm also wondering if we should be running any copies of Silumgar's Scorn and upping the dragon count in the main deck. So many options!
Gonna riff on this today and maybe post a couple of deck lists later on if I come up with anything that I like.
After testing, my deck just cripples to u/b.
The only thing that helped me win was ashiok. These were all pre board games as well. I would definitely like to have a solid 4-5 counters in the deck. I would also test out 2 prophet of kruphix to turn from a tap out into tapout with counter back up.
I understand your frustration, but I'm not surprised you arrived at that result. We're a board control deck, so we're not going to win against a pure control deck in the first game unless we get really, really lucky. After sideboard, though, we get to take all the dead cards out (Bile Blight, Ultimate Price, Crux of Fate) and add in counter magic and more discard spells (Negate, Thoughtseize, Duress). You can't be good against every deck in game one, and I would advise against trying to be. That's what a sideboard is for! In addition Prophet of Kruphix just turns on the removal spells that we're trying to blank in the first game (Bile Blight, Roast etc), which decreases the advantage we naturally have against midrange and creature-based decks.
I have to agree with Fitz on this one, the deck gets a lot better post-board against U/B control. The list I initially ran had Dissolve as a 4-of in the main board and while it was nice to be able to counter anything, you miss out on other things to make room for them in the main. Plus you have to consider, unless you're gonna go down that road fully, a few more counters doesn't do much good when you're facing down a deck full of counters, they'll win the counter war every time.
Yea, I wanted to up my chances a bit with u/b match up. I still think prophet is a sleeper card, very powerful effect. But I feel like it needs to be in that semi control/ pw tempo. Would definitely not hurt to try it. Silumgars command has been bumped to a 2-of for me. It is more of a tempo punisher card. Where I want to be ahead in pw tempo, still feels bad that we can't stop this from being a tapput deck.
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Only loss was against a BW Athreos build which was pretty tough (punisher mechanic + recursive creatures). Hats off to the guy who put it together.
This deck is really, really fun. Planeswalker shenanigans. Didn't play against any control so I'm not sure how that matchup will be, potentially unfavorable?
I found myself taking Kiora out pretty much every game. When do people leave her in? It's almost like she trades spots with Tasigur.
Thanks!
--Lugger
After going over the list I think what I have come down to is moving Thoughtseize to the sideboard and putting Anticipate in the main over it. My reasoning is that part of the reason this deck is so good is because it is so versatile in it's ability to deal with the things your opponent is doing. I mean how many cards are seeing play right now that our ONLY answer for is Thoughtseize? Seige Rhino to prevent the ETB effect I suppose. But even still we can blank the Rhino with removal or Tasigur. As I said with the new Sidisi in the list thats just another blank on Rhino. Secondly I have to say the life loss from Thoughtseize can actually become a liability. When you've stabalized at 8-6 life and you topdeck a Thoughtseize, you have to consider that you could just be opening the door to a loss by playing it.
I guess after testing a while we'll know the best place for the card but for now, I think taking some more card selection/draw over hand hate is more of an appealing proposition to me.
And apparently I've changed my name: Ugh
4 Sylvan Caryatid
Planeswalkers: 9
3 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
2 Kiora, the crashing wave
1 Nissa, Worldwaker
1 Garruk, Apex Predator
2 Ugin, the spirit dragon
Spells: 22
4 Bile Blight
4 Anticipate
3 Hero's Downfall
3 Silumgar's Command
2 Crux of Fate
2 Sultai Charm
4 Dig Through Time
1 Urborg, tomb of yawgmoth
4 Polluted Delta
2 Evolving Wilds
4 Temple of Malady
4 Opulent Palace
4 Yamivaya Coast
2 Forest
2 Swamp
2 Island
Side:
1 Nissa, Worldwaker
2 Back to Nature
2 Negate
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Drown in Sorrow
2 Ultimate Price
1 Liliana Vess
1 Palace Siege
2 Dragonlord Silumgar
This is what I would want to test out and change as the format goes on. I also have a dragon's version of the list, and dragonlord silumgar should be a mainboard or sideboard 2-of. The card is just so good in mirror and vs. other decks.
Do you find yourself playing more reactive or proactive? I know that being "control" generally implies a reactive gameplan, but with things like Wayfinder, the various Planeswalkers and Tasigur I feel like you can try to take the game yourself.
How are the RW/Jeskai matchups? My shop is overrun with them, along with a couple Gr Devotion decks and Abzan Control. Does it match up well against any of them?
Thanks!
URW Control
WBG Abzan
GRW Burn
EDH
GR Rosheen Meanderer
I played UB control for quite a while and was very successful with it (as far as FNM's go anyway). However I found the deck boring. Say no until you find a PLA, drop it, pick up your lands, drop it again, etc.
I switched to UW control and missed black's removal. I switched to Esper and it was too inconsistent.
I am on the Sultai control deck and like it a lot. Sultai Charm is soo good right now, drawing cards, killing creatures and enchantments. It's never ever a dead card, I run four. Satyr Wayfinder gets the delve machine going which is quite important. Any opening hand without it is dangerous to keep. Garruk is very good right now, the lifegain is almost mandatory in this deck. Kiora is meh... Those are your green splashes.
My plan is to stick with it, but if another control deck rises up after DTK releases I would probably switch.
Nissa is for the control match up. It does get killed by crux, it does not get killed unless they double bile blight. Sultai charm does not kill it, and ultimate price does not kill it.
Jeskai charm isn't an issue unless they play 2 copies, But I would be able to play around that card. It is a better late game tool with garruk. Ugin is a great card, but it doesn't finish the job.
Silumgar's command is good for both mid-range and control match ups. It allows me the same versatility if i were to put 2-3 dissolves MB. I should MB disdainful stroke as a 2-of though.
Dragonlord Silumgar is better for the control and mid-range match ups. Where silumgar is better for control and tokens match up. I was thinking of a 2/1 split or 1/2. For now I will do a 2 DL and switch to 1 drifting death MB and 2 SB. They both have their uses.
Card I should play is dragonlord's prerogative or some copies of jace's ingenuity though. Drawing 4 cards at instant speed is good, opportunity is never a wrong choice. But we also have jace's ingenuity for now.
Ultimate Price
I think this card is pretty much an auto-include in the deck. Having another 2CMC removal spell that's easier to cast than Bile Blight is excellent; we've all been there on draws where we haven't had the double black in time. I'm going to try an even 2:2 split with Bile Blight and see how that works out.
Duress
So happy this card is back, and with such pretty new art as well! I'm jamming two copies straight into my sideboard without thinking twice. More discard against decks where we care more about their spells than their creatures, which is almost every deck we're going to be playing against, and without paying the pesky two life from Thoughtseize. For a single black, we can get rid of Planeswalkers, removal that would remove our Planeswalkers, counterspells, enchantments. Amazing. So happy.
Silumgar's Command
I love this card, but I feel like the CMC prohibits more than two copies across the 75. I'm going to start with 1:1 between main and side and see how they perform. The card seems amazing against Planeswalker decks; counter the 'Walker you tapped out for, kill the one already in play is probably the dream here.
Haven of the Spirit Dragon
I think running one copy of this is basically free thanks to Satyr Wayfinder. Being able to return a copy of Silumgar or Ugin to your hand can swing a game completely. Excited to test this out.
Sidisi, Undead Vizier
We all know tutor effects are powerful, and I'm interested to see whether the new Sidisi card can prove to be as powerful as I hope she is. I feel like two copies is correct across the 75, but I want to start with just one in the main and see how she does when I draw her or if I've already used one and find myself in a situation thinking "man, wish I had another Sidisi to draw to". Being able to sac our otherwise useless Satyr Wayfinders to find absolutely any card we want is great. Her stats are no slouch either, allowing her to best fatties like Siege Rhino and Polukranos in combat. I'm going to drop down to 2x Hero's Downfall as her tutor ability as well as having a copy of Silumgar's Command should allow us to trim certain numbers here and there. Hopefully. Maybe. Might be terribly wrong.
Stratus Dancer
I want to give this card a go in the sideboard, as I feel like it could be great against other control decks. After game one, they likely remove most of their targeted removal spells and being able to cast a cheap creature that can also blank one of their spells could be quite effective. They're going to be reluctant to counter it when its cast face-down (which we're not likely to do until we have the mana to flip it the same turn), and once its in play they have to cast something to get rid of it eventually which we'll just Negate with its Megamorph ability. They're going to know what it is the whole time and just be unable to do anything about it. Unless they next-level us and leave in a bunch of removal expecting us to side in creatures, of course. I dunno, maybe I'm living in Magical Christmas Land but I think two copies in the sideboard is worth a try.
Dragonlord Silumgar
Man. I love this card. I really do. But I'm not sure our deck is the right fit for him. He's super weak to removal and just not as effective against other control decks as his younger, more resilient self. If anything, he's a sideboard card for removal-light midrange matchups like green devotion. Stealing a Nissa or stealing a Whisperwood Elemental (which basically removes it since they almost certainly sacrifice in response) seems decent. I think, though, that he's more at home in Sultai Whip decks than in this one. Would love to be proven wrong, though. Flavour-wise he's my favourite of the five Dragonlords.
So with that said, here's the list I'm going to try to start with. Let me know what y'all think! Thanks for reading!
4x Satyr Wayfinder
1x Silumgar, the Drifting Death
1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
Sorcery (5)
3x Thoughtseize
2x Crux of Fate
Instant (17)
4x Dig Through Time
2x Bile Blight
2x Ultimate Price
3x Sultai Charm
1x Murderous Cut
1x Silumgar's Command
2x Hero's Downfall
2x Disdainful Stroke
Planeswalkers (7)
2x Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
2x Kiora, the Crashing Wave
2x Garruk, Apex Predator
1x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
4x Polluted Delta
3x Opulent Palace
1x Haven of the Spirit Dragon
4x Temple of Malady
2x Temple of Deceit
1x Temple of Mystery
2x Llanowar Wastes
2x Yavimaya Coast
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3x Swamp
2x Island
2x Stratus Dancer
2x Drown in Sorrow
2x Negate
2x Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1x Silence the Believers
1x Murderous Cut
1x Silumgar's Command
1x Bile Blight
2x Duress
1x Disdainful Stroke
What about Death Wind? Seems decent
I'm also surprised no one is mentioning Display of Dominance as a sideboard card against mirror/abzan/UB Control
—Radha, Keldon warlord
I'm not sure about Display of Dominance. The only thing it hits in UB is Ashiok (though granted it can act as a protection spell for one of our walkers), and the only thing it hits in Abzan is Sorin. I'd rather have a Negate, tbh. It acts as the same amount of protection and can also hit things like Vault, Ashiok and Whip.
URW Control
WBG Abzan
GRW Burn
EDH
GR Rosheen Meanderer
Death Wind seems worse than Bile Blight or any other targeted removal spell that we play. Would not advise it at all. It can't kill any of the two-drops that concern us on turn two like Blight can and it forces you to tap out late game instead of just spending two or three on a Downfall or Ultimate Price and then doing something else. The only cards we should be tapping out for are our win conditions like Ugin, Garruk and Silumgar. I'm just not in the market to pay 5 to kill a Stormbreath Dragon when I could pay 2.
I agree with MrM0nd4y on Display of Dominance in that I'd rather have a Negate in almost every single situation, because it isn't so narrow an answer. I think it's more a card that we need to be aware will be played against us and that we need to play around and keep on our radar than something we should play ourselves.
This is a little closer to where Im at right now with the deck. I think Anticipate is too good to leave out. Dragonlord is excellent against all the midrange decks right now. Drifting Death comes in against weenies, elspeth and control matches. I think Thoughtseize is fine in the board as I said earlier, we have other answers for just about anything and the life loss is a real consideration. I shifted the numbers on your walkers around to what i play just out of my preference. Getting that 3rd copy of Ugin basically for free is awesome! Whether Ultimate Price makes the main remains to be seen by me. I am currently still on 4 Downfalls and 4 Opulent Palace I dropped my Temple of Mystery because 4 Anticpate > 1 Scry.
I like two Garruk over two Ugin because the lifegain is huge and really needed, at least in the meta I'm playing in regularly. There have been many games where Garruk would stabilize me and Ugin would not.
I love Dragonlord Silumgar, but I don't want their creature removal to be turned on in the first game. He's something I'd prefer to bring in for game two or three, after they've boarded out a bunch of their spells that could get rid of him. The hexproof and gigantic body is the reason I prefer run Drifty D mainboard instead.
Anticipate does look excellent, I just don't know what to cut to fit them in the deck. I'm wondering if Silumgar's Command needs to just be a sideboard card that comes in against control and midrange since those games go longer.
I'm also wondering if maybe this isn't the deck for Sidisi and she should just stay in the Whip decks. The nightmare scenario is she's your topdeck that you need to stabilize by tutoring for a specific card, but your opponent just kills her in response to her ETB trigger and you spent five mana to do nothing. It makes me want to run counter magic mainboard to protect her, but then the deck starts to morph into something different as a result.
I think Thoughtseize being in the sideboard is definitely a consideration. I'm also wondering if we should be running any copies of Silumgar's Scorn and upping the dragon count in the main deck. So many options!
Gonna riff on this today and maybe post a couple of deck lists later on if I come up with anything that I like.
The only thing that helped me win was ashiok. These were all pre board games as well. I would definitely like to have a solid 4-5 counters in the deck. I would also test out 2 prophet of kruphix to turn from a tap out into tapout with counter back up.