Basically you're taking as many quasi symmetrical effects, and making them favor you completely. Dakra Mystic's ability is already decent, but not great on its own. Now it's a U draw two cards with Notion Thief. Master of the Feast is a 5/5 for 3 with a pretty potent downside, but now its a 5/5 for 3 that draws you an extra card during your own upkeep (And you can respond to the trigger on your own upkeep to flash in Notion Thief to steal the card, if you'd like). Dictate of Kruphix is a nice symmetrical draw effect for 3, with Flash so you get access to the draw first. Now it's a draw a card during each player's turn.
It's still a heavy work in progress, but it functions as BUG superfriends with crazy amounts of draw. Almost everything that hits the field has to be answered, which means they're going to be short on answers. With the card draw you have available, including access to their own critters (Thanks Ash!), the goal is to have an answer to everything they might play while ticking up PWs and beating face with the Master of the Feast.
Minor testing so far shows the Dakra Mystics underperforming, and weakness against aggro decks (including white weenie and suicide black). Part of that is the mana base, which needs tweaking (probably decreasing the number of enter tapped lands by cutting the amount of G mana I'm producing for Kiora). The sideboard is intended to combat aggro, with the Whip also bringing a hasty 5/5 Flying from the GY if you need to close it out. Various kill spells to fill holes as well, and then a set of Duress, 2 counters, and Aetherling for those control games (though against Control, again, they have a lot of things they need to answer against us in order to stay alive).
At the moment, I feel like I can maybe make space for some Green cards (which are currently lacking) and rounding out the curve a bit. Tweaking the manabase, and testing it out against various decks when possible. Any advice or suggestions, though, are appreciated
metalcrafter, honestly it's very easy for me to move down into a UB midrangey aggro because that is where my heart truly lies But I am trying something slightly different with the BUG version of the same. For funsies, here's the UB version of the same deck
Its also pretty severely undertuned, but it's a lot easier to find space in the deck, since we only have so many UB cards. I do get the occasional abuse of Whispering Madness, though, which is fragile but very entertaining
Well, the PW game was fun but I agree with the above. The PWs themselves didn't have enough synergy to push the games out. They were all very annoying on their own, but couldn't control the field too well and couldn't win without quite a bit of outside support. Good times though.
So, I've got a different BUG control as well as an update to the UB version.
It's mostly just BUG good stuff with a few interactions. Notion Thief is still worth it imo because of the sheer amount of Sphinx out there, as well as the interaction with Master of the Feast. Admittedly, without the Dictate of Kruphix and the Dakra Mystic it starts to be less necessary. Still, the thief is annoying enough that people still target him and if they for some reason don't, you can eventually Whispering Madness them into a hole. No Mutavaults makes this a good deal weaker against Control, but the Golgari Charm and Hydra are great bonuses from having G present. Regarding the lands, I may also want Mana Confluence and drop the Watery Graves (or something like that).
So, advantages here: More space in the deck and SB to tweak things. The BUG deck is very short on space for the things that G adds to it, plus the mana requirements. Fewer threats, better control, and its much easier to cast everything and hit all the right colors. Mutavault is an All-Star against control, of course, but I lose any way to deal with pesky Enchantments. This is a faster deck, so it can sometimes take care of that. There are also a lot of "must kill" targets here, and all of them hit the face hard.
The Siren of Silent Song is an experiment right now. I want something in the three spot that hits to the face, but also has an added annoyance. Something people will want to spend removal on, basically. So, Lifebane Zombie is definitely on the list but I wanted to try something further out there. In this case, the bonus of making them discard cards seemed pretty potent to me especially since I'm not letting them draw up with Notion Thief. So far the Siren has been so-so, but I leave it in here since its the current build.
I like that you're building this deck with seldom used cards, and considering them based on their annoyance factor haha. I'm working on a U/G Hour of Need deck that features 8 bounce spells as "removal," and it's hilariously annoying.
Looks like a really fun brew, definitely going to watch this thread.
Even if they're not necessarily great at ending games, peeps will often spend removal just to get rid of something really annoying
At least, at my level of play they do haha.
Unfortunately for the Siren, she often ends up being meh, even as a removal magnet. Maybe in an Inspired deck she'd fit right in but for now it looks like she's getting cut. The Omenspeaker, while good for helping survive aggro, is also pretty subpar at the moment. I feel like I have enough 2 drop removal that I can probably just move the creature curve up a little bit to three drops or even to 5 drops a la Gary.
Definitely a different take on the deck, much more Control-y than my own. Let me know how it does!
I've considered Dimir Charm, and it can be a really nice way to use Dakra to not only get two cards but also deny them a good card afterwards for a nominal cost. That said, I've found it misses a lot of targets that I need to make sure die soon. Things like Desecration Demon or big Hydras just don't get murderized by it, whereas in my deck I've got big enough creatures that they'll have to be the ones making an effort to break through with big guys or remove my peeps.
I think in a more controlling shell you may have a better time with it, but for me I think Doom Blade or Ultimate Price would be better served. At least for the moment.
~DD
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The primary interaction is between Dakra Mystic, Master of the Feast, Dictate of Kruphix, and the lowly lowly Notion Thief.
Basically you're taking as many quasi symmetrical effects, and making them favor you completely. Dakra Mystic's ability is already decent, but not great on its own. Now it's a U draw two cards with Notion Thief. Master of the Feast is a 5/5 for 3 with a pretty potent downside, but now its a 5/5 for 3 that draws you an extra card during your own upkeep (And you can respond to the trigger on your own upkeep to flash in Notion Thief to steal the card, if you'd like). Dictate of Kruphix is a nice symmetrical draw effect for 3, with Flash so you get access to the draw first. Now it's a draw a card during each player's turn.
Here's what I have so far,
3 Master of the Feast
4 Notion Thief
3 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
3 Jace, Architect of Thought
2 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
3 Syncopate
3 Thoughtseize
2 Psychic Strike
4 Hero's Downfall
2 Dictate of Kruphix
4 Swamp
4 Temple of Deceit
4 Temple of Malady
4 Temple of Mystery
4 Watery Grave
4 Overgrown Tomb
1 Whip of Erebos
1 Aetherling
2 Bile Blight
2 Psychic Strike
2 Ultimate Price
3 Drown in Sorrow
4 Duress
It's still a heavy work in progress, but it functions as BUG superfriends with crazy amounts of draw. Almost everything that hits the field has to be answered, which means they're going to be short on answers. With the card draw you have available, including access to their own critters (Thanks Ash!), the goal is to have an answer to everything they might play while ticking up PWs and beating face with the Master of the Feast.
Minor testing so far shows the Dakra Mystics underperforming, and weakness against aggro decks (including white weenie and suicide black). Part of that is the mana base, which needs tweaking (probably decreasing the number of enter tapped lands by cutting the amount of G mana I'm producing for Kiora). The sideboard is intended to combat aggro, with the Whip also bringing a hasty 5/5 Flying from the GY if you need to close it out. Various kill spells to fill holes as well, and then a set of Duress, 2 counters, and Aetherling for those control games (though against Control, again, they have a lot of things they need to answer against us in order to stay alive).
At the moment, I feel like I can maybe make space for some Green cards (which are currently lacking) and rounding out the curve a bit. Tweaking the manabase, and testing it out against various decks when possible. Any advice or suggestions, though, are appreciated
~DD
4 Master of the Feast
4 Notion Thief
4 Desecration Demon
2 Thoughtseize
3 Syncopate
2 Devour Flesh
2 Ultimate Price
2 Dictate of Kruphix
4 Hero's Downfall
2 Psychic Strike
2 Whispering Madness
4 Watery Grave
4 Mutavault
5 Island
8 Swamp
2 Pithing Needle
4 Duress
2 Bile Blight
2 Ultimate Price
2 Psychic Strike
3 Drown in Sorrow
Its also pretty severely undertuned, but it's a lot easier to find space in the deck, since we only have so many UB cards. I do get the occasional abuse of Whispering Madness, though, which is fragile but very entertaining
~DD
4 Master of the Feast
4 Notion Thief
3 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
3 Jace, Architect of Thought
3 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
3 Syncopate
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Dictate of Kruphix
3 Hero's Downfall
2 Psychic Strike
1 Whispering Madness
2 Pithing Needle
2 Mistcutter Hydra
2 Bile Blight
2 Golgari Charm
2 Psychic Strike
2 Drown in SSorrow
3 Duress
Its still a lot of fun to play, and the added versatility of G means I can actually destroy some enchantments (woo!).
~DD
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
So, I've got a different BUG control as well as an update to the UB version.
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Master of the Fesat
3 Notion Thief
3 Reaper of the Wilds
2 Polukranos, World Eater
4 Prophet of Kruphix
2 Thoughtseize
2 Abrupt Decay
3 Doom Blade
4 Hero's Downfall
1 Whispering Madness
4 Temple of Malady
4 Temple of Mystery
4 Watery Grave
5 Swamp
3 Island
2 Pithing Needle
2 Mistcutter Hydra
3 Duress
2 Bile Blight
2 Golgari Charm
2 Psychic Strike
It's mostly just BUG good stuff with a few interactions. Notion Thief is still worth it imo because of the sheer amount of Sphinx out there, as well as the interaction with Master of the Feast. Admittedly, without the Dictate of Kruphix and the Dakra Mystic it starts to be less necessary. Still, the thief is annoying enough that people still target him and if they for some reason don't, you can eventually Whispering Madness them into a hole. No Mutavaults makes this a good deal weaker against Control, but the Golgari Charm and Hydra are great bonuses from having G present. Regarding the lands, I may also want Mana Confluence and drop the Watery Graves (or something like that).
4 Pack Rat
2 Siren of the Silent Song
4 Master of the Feast
4 Desecration Demon
4 Notion Thief
3 Thoughtseize
2 Bile Blight
2 Devour Flesh
3 Doom Blade
4 Hero's Downfall
1 Whispering Madness
4 Temple of Deceit
4 Watery Grave
8 Swamp
5 Island
2 Pithing Needle
1 Whip of Erebos
2 Bile Blight
2 Dark Betrayal
2 Psychic Strike
2 Drown in SOrrow
4 Duress
So, advantages here: More space in the deck and SB to tweak things. The BUG deck is very short on space for the things that G adds to it, plus the mana requirements. Fewer threats, better control, and its much easier to cast everything and hit all the right colors. Mutavault is an All-Star against control, of course, but I lose any way to deal with pesky Enchantments. This is a faster deck, so it can sometimes take care of that. There are also a lot of "must kill" targets here, and all of them hit the face hard.
The Siren of Silent Song is an experiment right now. I want something in the three spot that hits to the face, but also has an added annoyance. Something people will want to spend removal on, basically. So, Lifebane Zombie is definitely on the list but I wanted to try something further out there. In this case, the bonus of making them discard cards seemed pretty potent to me especially since I'm not letting them draw up with Notion Thief. So far the Siren has been so-so, but I leave it in here since its the current build.
~DD
Looks like a really fun brew, definitely going to watch this thread.
At least, at my level of play they do haha.
Unfortunately for the Siren, she often ends up being meh, even as a removal magnet. Maybe in an Inspired deck she'd fit right in but for now it looks like she's getting cut. The Omenspeaker, while good for helping survive aggro, is also pretty subpar at the moment. I feel like I have enough 2 drop removal that I can probably just move the creature curve up a little bit to three drops or even to 5 drops a la Gary.
~DD
Definitely a different take on the deck, much more Control-y than my own. Let me know how it does!
I've considered Dimir Charm, and it can be a really nice way to use Dakra to not only get two cards but also deny them a good card afterwards for a nominal cost. That said, I've found it misses a lot of targets that I need to make sure die soon. Things like Desecration Demon or big Hydras just don't get murderized by it, whereas in my deck I've got big enough creatures that they'll have to be the ones making an effort to break through with big guys or remove my peeps.
I think in a more controlling shell you may have a better time with it, but for me I think Doom Blade or Ultimate Price would be better served. At least for the moment.
~DD