When it comes to hexproof, "unless..." might as well mean "never". Like, wow he makes them doomblade him on a specific turn. It's just so much worse than Aetherling on every level. Also so much worse than Prognostic sphinx. All 3 are big blue self-protectors with evasion - which is why I compare them together.
I could be wrong, but I'd put down a pretty penny that he would have killed you even faster if he was running Aetherling. Whelming wave is cute but Cyclonic Rift is like, one of the best cards.
He ran Aethering as well. His build was more of a build-around so he was running Hands of Binding. That said, he isn't as good without hands-- Game 2, he was choosing between tromo and aetherling to bait out an essence scatter he saw with the Courser, and he used Aetherling because he also had Hands of binding. told me that if he didn't have that, he probably would have baited with Tromo
also his "must be blocked by everything or not at all" clause really put the pressure on me, and he always had a counterspell or Simic Charm ready to protect it when i myself was prepared with a charm of my own and/or Rapid Hybridization
Moved away from Sylvan Primordial and Plasm Capture to alleviate the color requirements a bit and I haven't looked back. Additional scry is nice to have as well as sometimes being able to cast 2 Dissolves on the same turn (which was difficult with Capture to say the least). I added a couple Deadbridge Goliaths instead of the primordials to fill a gap that I had at the 4 mana spot. They are pretty good too since I can scavenge onto Prognostic Sphinx and really put a beating on my opponents, especially control ones. Coupled with Boon Satyr they ensure that I can hit hard fast, which used to be one of the weaknesses of the deck. There's also the synergy with Sphinx where you can just discard the Goliath and still get value.
I finally cut Bident of Thassa as well since it never really did enough since I'm usually just attacking with 1 guy unless I'm already winning. In its place I put back Prime Speaker Zegana which is much more consistent now that I have bigger bodies and ways to pump my creatures. I'm happy if I get to draw just 3 or 4, which is just on the lower end.
Messing around on Cockatrice a bit has lead me to think that Hour of Need is an absolutely awesome card. If we break this down strictly thinking of it for our own use to be aggressive it gets so much better as soon as we even Strive once.
3 mana: 4/4 flyer
5 mana: 2 4/4 fliers
7 mana: 3 4/4 fliers
-It's an instant
-You're able to downgrade their creature if it's better than a vanilla 4/4 flyer (Stormbreath Dragon for example)
-The tokens don't die to Bile Blight
-They fly
-They aren't enchantments. I think this could become important as more JOU cards begin to be incorporated.
-The tokens you give the opponent can die to Cyclonic Rift or Simic Charm
I think this card is a big deal. We've all tried cards like Master Biomancer and other effects to try to make our dorks more useful late game. This has a lot of application with it being an instant.
Also, Dakra Mystic. I THINK this card performs better in a slower deck. It may not be obvious at first but this card demands a lot of skill. This card allows you to lose the game because of your decisions. You are forced to evaluate if your card is more valuable than your opponents. The only problem is, there's a lot of factors that will determine that. I don't want to harp too much about this but I really think this card is going to read "U: Tank for 2-4 minutes."
i was thinking about hour of need used like that as well. with Thaumaturge it is even better!
@LeoninKha Love that list! I'm surprised you don't run any Rapid Hybridization. It's been a real all-star for me against resolved threats and as a tempo play, and the 3/3 virtually never matters against all our fatties.
How have you found 4x follower + 4x caryatid instead of a mystic mix? been thinking of switching from mystics to followers.
Also, I'm really coming around to the idea of Hour Of Need, probably as a 1-of. I think it's really going to do wonders in this deck to close out the game with mana dorks.
@LeoninKha Love that list! I'm surprised you don't run any Rapid Hybridization. It's been a real all-star for me against resolved threats and as a tempo play, and the 3/3 virtually never matters against all our fatties.
How have you found 4x follower + 4x caryatid instead of a mystic mix? been thinking of switching from mystics to followers.
Also, I'm really coming around to the idea of Hour Of Need, probably as a 1-of. I think it's really going to do wonders in this deck to close out the game with mana dorks.
I wouldn't play 1-for-1 removal in a deck that is so tight in slots (at least for me it is), that's why I'm using Curse and Cyclonic, they can both be kind of a board wipe. Even 2/2 boars can be an issue when you're behind and then I can still block with a Caryatid... can't do that against 3/3 tokens :C
Sometimes I miss Mystics but in the end Follower is just better because he has so much synergy with the deck. Just yesterday on TNM I found another one: Ratchet Bomb... you know how Ratchet Bomb used to tick up really slowly?... no more
But the one I love the most is the synergy with Bow of Nylea, since it simply wrecks aggressive and burn decks on its own. If I weren't running Kiora's Follower then the bow wouldn't be nearly as good (with a Follower you can shoot down Stormbreath Dragon)
If you want a flasher that kills Desecration Demon, you could try Fleetfeather Cockatrice. I opened 3 at prerelease and fell in love. Sealed is a lot different than standard, but I am going to sneak a couple into my main board this week.
Hey guys, just wanted to pop in and say hello. I had been wanting to play a Simic midrange/Prophet of Kruphix style deck, but also run red for things like Stormbreath Dragon. I studied this thread a lot, along with the various G/R Monsters threads. After a few weeks of trading, here's my current list:
Unfortunately, with all of the Journey into Nyx events covering up FNMs lately, I haven't had much time to play test and figure out a sideboard. I am very happy with how the main deck is currently playing, however. The planeswalkers are just brutal, and I like having access to a second Garruk in the sideboard for control decks. Speaking of the sideboard, we have the obvious anti-blue/control stuff and I think Magma Spray will be a great answer for Chandra's Phoenix, which is a card that definitely worries me. Plummet is for flyer-heavy decks, which is probably where Mono Black will be going with new additions like Master of the Feast to go along with Desecration Demon. I'm hoping for Tablet of the Guilds to be a good way to stabilize against red-based burn/aggro decks but, as with the rest of the sideboard, is completely untested at this point and could be completely wrong haha. Comments and suggestions are more than welcome.
Wow why didn't I think of that....not only the 2 damage to fliers but the lifegain and counters as well. That card would be perfect for the deck. Thanks!
That's the sideboard. I think it can be improved to be honest, but its not bad. Since I've been playing it for a while I tend to sideboard very carefully, picking just the right cards...
That's the sideboard. I think it can be improved to be honest, but its not bad. Since I've been playing it for a while I tend to sideboard very carefully, picking just the right cards...
I agree that JOU did not give us much, but it did give us something. An aspect that I really look to is the ability of a given creature card to be played by itself and have an impact. Our Elvish Mystic and Prime Speaker Zegana(just to name cards on opposite ends of the spectrum) have requirements to be truly effective (one needs threats in hand, one needs threats already in place, for example). Hydra Broodmaster is something that we can play as a threat and whose monstrosity (especially in response to a kill spell or exile) warrants the initial 6-mana cost.
Below is my current list. I delved into my latest standard fnm with a different deck that was underwhelming, so I have not had a test with this specific config yet.
My biggest change was removing all copies of Plasm Capture, which I think requires a perfect storm in your hand to be effective.
Two specific questions alongside the typical deck comments; Elvish Mystic, Sylvan Caryatid and Courser of Kruphix are my mana accelerators, and I see a few people jumping over the Elvish Mystic for Kiora's Follower. For those players, does the lack of a one drop and its extra turn advantage warrant the added utility of Kiora's Follower? And is 12 accelerators too many? (I guess the Courser of Kruphix can be counted as half an accelerator.)
And; with the sheer amount of blue-centric control decks, I would like to include 3 or 4 Gainsay in my sideboard. I have never had a good reason to sideboard in the 2 Urban Evolution and they are on my initial shortlist. Is there anything that stands out of removable?
I like Broodmaster too. I haven't tried it yet, but it makes me want to run Kruphix.
As for Kiora's Follower vs. Elvish Mystic, the follower makes Bow of Nylea worthwhile, and gives more value to Prognostic Sphinx, and gives you a window to play the Temple of Mystery (or a tapped Breeding Pool) without worrying about losing tempo.
The flip side is that you can't get turn 2 Coursers and turn 3 Prophets. But it might make Kiora herself more useful.
I guess it depends on how fast you need to be. Turn 2 Courser is amazing vs. red aggro. But if you're playing vs. Supreme Verdict and you've laid out Elf, Caryatid, Prophet, Polukranos, you've overcommitted.
I also like Broodmaster, but I think I have better cards right now. I am looking at it post-rotation, where I'd play 2 along with a copy of Kruphix.
If it werent for aggro decks I'd be running Kiora's Follower and Elvish Mystic. Both of them can attack in the end, while caryatid just becomes a dead draw later on. With 10 lands possibly coming into play tapped I think not having a 1-drop is more than fine (heck, sometimes I won't even be able to cast a t1 Elf because of it)
I keep coming back to this thread because I love UG. I see you guys talking about broodmother, I think it is a great addition to the deck. I havent tested it personally yet, but in theory it seems prtty good. I have been messing around with ramping out Arbiter of the Ideal and pairing it with springleaf drum. My list is a mess, with not a lot of typical cards in it
This is very new list, and I want to make it closer to the power level of your lists. I think Prognostic sphinx should be in it- can set up Arbiter pretty well. I really like Arbiter, It is a decent body with evasion and can be dropped (and tapped with springleaf drum) on turn 4- and with Prophet of Kruphix in play you can untap arbiter on your opponent's turn too. Springleaf drum, Kiora's Follwer and Arbiter of the Ideal gift you a free card on each turn (almost) deck can accelerate into a big board state fairly quickly
That freed some space in my sideboard, which now has 2 Master Biomancers (in place of Urban Evolution). I also removed the lone Mistcutter Hydra in place of Primeval Bounty.
When I first tried making simic, I included Arbiter of the Ideal as a 2-of for the easy power draw and the fact that we get creatures for 'free'. Two things were presented to me that made me steer away from it; without the Springleaf Drum, what we have is a creature card that does not give true value until the third turn is it out (and then, our next new creature still has summoning sickness). Secondly, playing with our level of mana ramp, 'making the most' of our excess isn't as big a player as with some other decks (namely aggro). For 6 mana, I would look at it in my hand and say "bleh".
I'm fiddling with this now. Nylea + Bow is good times, as is Biomancer + Guildmage, but I found the Hydra Broodmaster was mostly win more. The one time I did manage to have dual Kiora's Followers and a Nykthos, though, I pumped out eight 8/8 hydra tokens. That was fun.
I like it, but I wanted to test it against Esper. Since I don't have an Esper deck handy, I just assumed my opponent would do the following until he killed me:
Turn 1 - Thoughtseize
Turn 2 - n/a
Turn 3 - Detention Sphere
Turn 4 - Jace
Turn 5 - Supreme Verdict
Turn 6 - Elspeth
Turn 7 - Dissolve + Hero's Downfall
Turn 8 - Sphinx's Revelation for 4, go to turn 1.
I never managed to win pre-sideboard. Sure, this is assuming a very reliable and ideal hand for the Esper deck, but even if I got a turn 3 prophet into a prognostic sphinx, I couldn't win unless I drew Ætherling. This is key for me, since an Esper deck usually wins the local FNM each week. Suggestions?
Made a few changes to the deck. It dawned on me yesterday that Thassa, God of the Sea would be an amazing addition to this deck for several reasons:
- I kept finding myself in board stalls where nobody could attack
- Mana flood/Mana screw/Mana dork flood
- This style of deck has some of the most individually powerful draws, making any extra card advantage that much better
- Ghor-Clan Rampager just didn't feel all that useful in many board states. I only used it to push damage through, which Thassa does better. Only 1 more cmc (compared to bloodrush) for a permanent that lets me scry every turn and make creatures unblockable? Yes please.
After some preliminary play-testing, my suspicions seem to be confirmed. The extra card advantage is just insane and the unblockability means that Prophet of Kruphix is even better now since it allows you to just about swing damage for free. Unblockable Sylvan Primordials are pretty good, btw.
A few other changes:
- Took out the Arbor Colossus for a 3rd Xenagos. That card is just so good in so many board states.
- Took out 1 Forest and 1 Mountain for 2 Mana Confluence. Helps the color fixing a lot.
- A lot of sideboard changes. Enchantments are EVERYWHERE now (I'm looking at you, Banishing Light), so in go the Destructive Revelries.
@kingcars: thats why I value Rogue's Passage so much. It doesn't take a spell slot and we'll usually have the mana to activate it since we're ramping. The land has given me a lot of games so far and it even lets you kill planeswalkers out of nowhere (just hold it in your hand till the time is right... unsuspecting opponents will have their hopes crushed)
With so many Enchantments running around, I think Consign to Dust might be the option for us, it can be an easy 2-for-1
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Level 1 Judge.
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
He ran Aethering as well. His build was more of a build-around so he was running Hands of Binding. That said, he isn't as good without hands-- Game 2, he was choosing between tromo and aetherling to bait out an essence scatter he saw with the Courser, and he used Aetherling because he also had Hands of binding. told me that if he didn't have that, he probably would have baited with Tromo
also his "must be blocked by everything or not at all" clause really put the pressure on me, and he always had a counterspell or Simic Charm ready to protect it when i myself was prepared with a charm of my own and/or Rapid Hybridization
enchanting Witchstalker with Raised by Wolves
3 Courser of Kruphix
4 Prognostic Sphinx
3 Boon Satyr
2 Polukranos, World Eater
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Prophet of Kruphix
1 Aetherling
1 Prime Speaker Zegana
2 Deadbridge Goliath
3 Dissolve
2 Bow of Nylea
1 Cyclonic Rift
4 Temple of Mystery
4 Breeding Pool
2 Simic Guildgate
1 Rogue's Passage
5 Island
9 Forest
Moved away from Sylvan Primordial and Plasm Capture to alleviate the color requirements a bit and I haven't looked back. Additional scry is nice to have as well as sometimes being able to cast 2 Dissolves on the same turn (which was difficult with Capture to say the least). I added a couple Deadbridge Goliaths instead of the primordials to fill a gap that I had at the 4 mana spot. They are pretty good too since I can scavenge onto Prognostic Sphinx and really put a beating on my opponents, especially control ones. Coupled with Boon Satyr they ensure that I can hit hard fast, which used to be one of the weaknesses of the deck. There's also the synergy with Sphinx where you can just discard the Goliath and still get value.
I finally cut Bident of Thassa as well since it never really did enough since I'm usually just attacking with 1 guy unless I'm already winning. In its place I put back Prime Speaker Zegana which is much more consistent now that I have bigger bodies and ways to pump my creatures. I'm happy if I get to draw just 3 or 4, which is just on the lower end.
i was thinking about hour of need used like that as well. with Thaumaturge it is even better!
How have you found 4x follower + 4x caryatid instead of a mystic mix? been thinking of switching from mystics to followers.
Also, I'm really coming around to the idea of Hour Of Need, probably as a 1-of. I think it's really going to do wonders in this deck to close out the game with mana dorks.
I wouldn't play 1-for-1 removal in a deck that is so tight in slots (at least for me it is), that's why I'm using Curse and Cyclonic, they can both be kind of a board wipe. Even 2/2 boars can be an issue when you're behind and then I can still block with a Caryatid... can't do that against 3/3 tokens :C
Sometimes I miss Mystics but in the end Follower is just better because he has so much synergy with the deck. Just yesterday on TNM I found another one: Ratchet Bomb... you know how Ratchet Bomb used to tick up really slowly?... no more
But the one I love the most is the synergy with Bow of Nylea, since it simply wrecks aggressive and burn decks on its own. If I weren't running Kiora's Follower then the bow wouldn't be nearly as good (with a Follower you can shoot down Stormbreath Dragon)
---------------------------
Regarding new cards: I'll be testing Kruphix, God of Horizons, Hydra Broodmaster, Dictate of Kruphix, Font of Fertility (I always wanted a Rampant Growth for the deck...), Setessan Tactics and Thassa's Ire.
I already pre-ordered all of those. Hour of Need seems like it could be pretty good as long as you stick to manadorks.
enchanting Witchstalker with Raised by Wolves
If you want a flasher that kills Desecration Demon, you could try Fleetfeather Cockatrice. I opened 3 at prerelease and fell in love. Sealed is a lot different than standard, but I am going to sneak a couple into my main board this week.
4x Elvish Mystic
4x Sylvan Caryatid
2x Scavenging Ooze
3x Courser of Kruphix
3x Polukranos, World Eater
2x Ghor-Clan Rampager
1x Arbor Colossus
4x Stormbreath Dragon
3x Prophet of Kruphix
2x Prime Speaker Zegana
1x Sylvan Primordial
2x Domri Rade
2x Kiora, the Crashing Wave
2x Xenagos, the Reveler
1x Garruk, Caller of Beasts
Land
2x Temple of Mystery
4x Breeding Pool
3x Temple of Abandon
4x Stomping Ground
4x Steam Vents
5x Forest
2x Mountain
1x Garruk, Caller of Beasts
1x Savage Summoning
2x Plummet
3x Mistcutter Hydra
4x Magma Spray
1x Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1x Tablet of the Guilds
2x Skylasher
Unfortunately, with all of the Journey into Nyx events covering up FNMs lately, I haven't had much time to play test and figure out a sideboard. I am very happy with how the main deck is currently playing, however. The planeswalkers are just brutal, and I like having access to a second Garruk in the sideboard for control decks. Speaking of the sideboard, we have the obvious anti-blue/control stuff and I think Magma Spray will be a great answer for Chandra's Phoenix, which is a card that definitely worries me. Plummet is for flyer-heavy decks, which is probably where Mono Black will be going with new additions like Master of the Feast to go along with Desecration Demon. I'm hoping for Tablet of the Guilds to be a good way to stabilize against red-based burn/aggro decks but, as with the rest of the sideboard, is completely untested at this point and could be completely wrong haha. Comments and suggestions are more than welcome.
3 Gainsay
1 Arbor Colossus
1 Mistcutter Hydra
3 Scavenging Ooze
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Urban Evolution
2 Pithing Needle
That's the sideboard. I think it can be improved to be honest, but its not bad. Since I've been playing it for a while I tend to sideboard very carefully, picking just the right cards...
I don't think I'll have much of a chance to tweak my deck, though I don't know that there's anything in Nyx I really want to add.
How do you side against G/R Monsters? I really like the Ratchet Bombs in there. So cool with Kiora's Follower
+1 Arbor Colossus
that, at the very least.
Below is my current list. I delved into my latest standard fnm with a different deck that was underwhelming, so I have not had a test with this specific config yet.
2 Zameck Guildmage
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Courser of Kruphix
3 Polukranos, World Eater
3 Deadbridge Goliath
4 Prophet of Kruphix
3 Kalonian Hydra
1 Aetherling
1 Prime Speaker Zegana
2 Hydra Broodmaster
2 Bow of Nylea
2 Nykthos, Shrine of Nyx
4 Temple of Mystery
4 Breeding Pool
10 Forest
4 Island
1 Sylvan Primordial
1 Simic Charm
1 Mystic Genesis
1 Cyclonic Rift
3 Arbor Colossus
2 Urban Evolution
2 Curse of the Swine
4 Mistcutter Hydra
My biggest change was removing all copies of Plasm Capture, which I think requires a perfect storm in your hand to be effective.
Two specific questions alongside the typical deck comments;
Elvish Mystic, Sylvan Caryatid and Courser of Kruphix are my mana accelerators, and I see a few people jumping over the Elvish Mystic for Kiora's Follower. For those players, does the lack of a one drop and its extra turn advantage warrant the added utility of Kiora's Follower? And is 12 accelerators too many? (I guess the Courser of Kruphix can be counted as half an accelerator.)
And; with the sheer amount of blue-centric control decks, I would like to include 3 or 4 Gainsay in my sideboard. I have never had a good reason to sideboard in the 2 Urban Evolution and they are on my initial shortlist. Is there anything that stands out of removable?
As for Kiora's Follower vs. Elvish Mystic, the follower makes Bow of Nylea worthwhile, and gives more value to Prognostic Sphinx, and gives you a window to play the Temple of Mystery (or a tapped Breeding Pool) without worrying about losing tempo.
The flip side is that you can't get turn 2 Coursers and turn 3 Prophets. But it might make Kiora herself more useful.
I guess it depends on how fast you need to be. Turn 2 Courser is amazing vs. red aggro. But if you're playing vs. Supreme Verdict and you've laid out Elf, Caryatid, Prophet, Polukranos, you've overcommitted.
I'm really not sure which is best.
If it werent for aggro decks I'd be running Kiora's Follower and Elvish Mystic. Both of them can attack in the end, while caryatid just becomes a dead draw later on. With 10 lands possibly coming into play tapped I think not having a 1-drop is more than fine (heck, sometimes I won't even be able to cast a t1 Elf because of it)
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Kiora's Follower
4 Courser of Kruphix
4 Prognostic Sphinx
4 Prophet of Kruphix
2 Kruphix, God of Horizons
4 Arbiter of the Ideal
1 Worldspine Wurm
4 Springleaf Drum
4 Simic Charm
2 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
Lands
4 Breeding Pool
4 Temple of Mystery
7 Island
8 Forest
This is very new list, and I want to make it closer to the power level of your lists. I think Prognostic sphinx should be in it- can set up Arbiter pretty well. I really like Arbiter, It is a decent body with evasion and can be dropped (and tapped with springleaf drum) on turn 4- and with Prophet of Kruphix in play you can untap arbiter on your opponent's turn too. Springleaf drum, Kiora's Follwer and Arbiter of the Ideal gift you a free card on each turn (almost) deck can accelerate into a big board state fairly quickly
-1 Prophet of Kruphix
-1 Prime Speaker Zegana
+2 Urban Evolution
That freed some space in my sideboard, which now has 2 Master Biomancers (in place of Urban Evolution). I also removed the lone Mistcutter Hydra in place of Primeval Bounty.
Updating the OP...
Worldspine Wurm found a friend in Kruphix, God of Horizons and may work very well enough with your Springleaf Drum.
2 Ætherling
2 Boon Satyr
3 Courser of Kruphix
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Kiora's Follower
2 Master Biomancer
1 Nylea, God of the Hunt
1 Polukranos, World Eater
2 Prime Speaker Zegana
3 Prognostic Sphinx
4 Prophet of Kruphix
2 Zameck Guildmage
2 Bow of Nylea
3 Cyclonic Rift
2 Simic Charm
LANDS 23
4 Breeding Pool
8 Forest
6 Island
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Temple of Mystery
2 Arbor Colossus
2 Curse of the Swine
2 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
2 Mistcutter Hydra
3 Negate
2 Unravel the Æther
2 Urban Evolution
I like it, but I wanted to test it against Esper. Since I don't have an Esper deck handy, I just assumed my opponent would do the following until he killed me:
Turn 1 - Thoughtseize
Turn 2 - n/a
Turn 3 - Detention Sphere
Turn 4 - Jace
Turn 5 - Supreme Verdict
Turn 6 - Elspeth
Turn 7 - Dissolve + Hero's Downfall
Turn 8 - Sphinx's Revelation for 4, go to turn 1.
I never managed to win pre-sideboard. Sure, this is assuming a very reliable and ideal hand for the Esper deck, but even if I got a turn 3 prophet into a prognostic sphinx, I couldn't win unless I drew Ætherling. This is key for me, since an Esper deck usually wins the local FNM each week. Suggestions?
My plan is to side out:
-2 Zegana
-2 Biomancer
-1 Cyclonic
-2 Simic Charm
-2 Zameck
+2 Urban Evolution
+3 Negate
+2 Mistcutter Hydra
+2 Kiora
The idea is to minimize my reliance on 'board state,' and play more spells.
4x Elvish Mystic
4x Sylvan Caryatid
2x Scavenging Ooze
2x Thassa, God of the Sea
3x Courser of Kruphix
3x Polukranos, World Eater
4x Stormbreath Dragon
3x Prophet of Kruphix
2x Prime Speaker Zegana
1x Sylvan Primordial
Spells
2x Domri Rade
2x Kiora, the Crashing Wave
3x Xenagos, the Reveler
1x Garruk, Caller of Beasts
2x Temple of Mystery
4x Breeding Pool
3x Temple of Abandon
4x Stomping Ground
4x Steam Vents
4x Forest
2x Mana Confluence
1x Mountain
1x Garruk, Caller of Beasts
3x Mistcutter Hydra
2x Ætherling
4x Destructive Revelry
1x Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
2x Bow of Nylea
2x Skylasher
Made a few changes to the deck. It dawned on me yesterday that Thassa, God of the Sea would be an amazing addition to this deck for several reasons:
- I kept finding myself in board stalls where nobody could attack
- Mana flood/Mana screw/Mana dork flood
- This style of deck has some of the most individually powerful draws, making any extra card advantage that much better
- Ghor-Clan Rampager just didn't feel all that useful in many board states. I only used it to push damage through, which Thassa does better. Only 1 more cmc (compared to bloodrush) for a permanent that lets me scry every turn and make creatures unblockable? Yes please.
After some preliminary play-testing, my suspicions seem to be confirmed. The extra card advantage is just insane and the unblockability means that Prophet of Kruphix is even better now since it allows you to just about swing damage for free. Unblockable Sylvan Primordials are pretty good, btw.
A few other changes:
- Took out the Arbor Colossus for a 3rd Xenagos. That card is just so good in so many board states.
- Took out 1 Forest and 1 Mountain for 2 Mana Confluence. Helps the color fixing a lot.
- A lot of sideboard changes. Enchantments are EVERYWHERE now (I'm looking at you, Banishing Light), so in go the Destructive Revelries.
With so many Enchantments running around, I think Consign to Dust might be the option for us, it can be an easy 2-for-1