Hello again, ladies and gents. This deck is based on a sweet brew that was featured in Gerry Thompson’s Daily Digest (you can read the original article here). Its goal is to fight your opponent with counterspells and survive until your draw spells can start taking over the game. Then you kill your opponent with the usual control finishers – Prognostic Sphinx or Riddle of Lightning.
Wait… you mean Riddle of Lightning isn’t a control finisher? And it’s not played in Standard whatsoever?! WHAT?!
“But Wyvern, it’s a five-damage spell that’s not guaranteed to do any damage!”
This is true. But with a deck crafted around it, the oft-forgotten Limited spell of two draft formats (Surprise! It was a reprint in JOU – Future Sight was its original printing.) is capable of killing an opponent from what are considered to be very comfortable life totals. You know, like in the 12-16 range.
“Very cute, Wyvern. How about you just play a good spell instead?”
Because, mister condescending voice that I’m totally not using a sock puppet to imitate, there is a fun factor in this deck that you just won’t get by playing big dumb animals and planeswalkers.
“Well, you have fun with that. I’m gonna go play Abzan Midrange.”
Here’s some of the things you’re looking to do in any given game:
• Establish your mana in the early game and keep your head above water with Radiant Fountain, Swiftwater Cliffs, and the occasional Anger of the Gods.
• Fill up your graveyard with spent counters and Steam Augury to fuel your delve spells when you draw them.
• Cast Riddle of Lightning targeting the opponent’s face. Reveal an 8-drop on top and deal lots of damage.
• Be able to say “Mindswipe for lethal” at some point.
Things I have discovered while playing this deck:
• The lifegain lands are awesome – WAY more important than the Temples or Reefs.
• This deck struggles mightily against U/W Heroic. Stay away from it if that deck plagues your local meta.
• It’s okay to spend your first couple Mindswipes for small damage if they’ll actually counter something. You’ll see so much of your deck in one game that it’s not hard to set up big Riddles for the kill later.
• If you are the only one playing this deck at your LGS, you will become a folk hero.* People will refer to you as “The Riddler” or some such nickname, and your match will be the first one people come to watch if they finish before you do.
I run this deck basically with Dictate of the Twin Gods. Only thing I would be worried about is 7 slots being used for 8 drop delve spells.
I never thought about Dictate of the Twin Gods! I'll have to add that to the pile of stuff I want to try out. I have occasionally had games where I sputter out from having multiple 8-drops in my hand, but for the most part there is enough scrying in the deck that you can push them to the bottom until you need them.
You'll see so much of your deck during any given game that I'm sure running a miser's copy of Dictate would be easy enough to find. Maybe cut a Treasure Cruise for it. I get a lot of kills by going "End step Riddle, take 8. Untap, upkeep Riddle, take 8." Having a Dictate would essentially be just like a 5th Riddle in that regard - in the end, you're still paying 6RRRR over two turns to kill somebody.
I've been able to consistently Top 4 at my LGS (rack up those promo cards), but there have been a lot more Rhino decks around in recent weeks. I'm probably going to cut the Searing Bloods from the board to make room for Fated Conflagration. It even scrys!
Love the deck and write up. I would go with 4 sphinx and lightning strikes over magma jets but otherwise I like it.
Thank you for the kind words. I started out with 4 Sphinx originally (and only 2 Steam Augury) but drawing multiples was just miserable. Also, how come you would rather have Lightning Strike over Magma Jet? I think Jet is awesome for the scry, and you only really miss out on Mantis Rider when using it as removal.
There are lots of things with 3 toughness in standard that need killing, Sidisi, fleecemane lion, etc. It can also combine with angers to kill 6 toughness guys. Jet is just inneficient IMHO and I have always felt a jet to the head just for the scry is always the wrong play.
I agree with the switch to Lightning Strike. This deck is light enough on game 1 defense that I don't think it should pass up on the more versatile strike. The scry on jet is awesome but I think that may be getting a bit tunnel visioned by the theme of the deck. This deck could really struggle with 3 power guys that come down before your counters, putting a lot of pressure on you to have anger.
I could see Tormented Voice making it into this deck. You currently have very few ways to make use of your mana on turn 2. It helps activate delve early, pitches excess 8drops, or dead control cards and helps smooth out to the rest of the game. Not sure what should be cut, maybe just a few trims here and there, but I think it could help with early game consistency.
I agree with the switch to Lightning Strike. This deck is light enough on game 1 defense that I don't think it should pass up on the more versatile strike. The scry on jet is awesome but I think that may be getting a bit tunnel visioned by the theme of the deck. This deck could really struggle with 3 power guys that come down before your counters, putting a lot of pressure on you to have anger.
I could see Tormented Voice making it into this deck. You currently have very few ways to make use of your mana on turn 2. It helps activate delve early, pitches excess 8drops, or dead control cards and helps smooth out to the rest of the game. Not sure what should be cut, maybe just a few trims here and there, but I think it could help with early game consistency.
Fair points on Lightning Strike (not overly attached to Jet, btw - just playing Devil's Advocate) - I'll swap out the Jets and send it through an FNM and see what we come up with here.
I went 3-1 (and finished 8th due to the worst breakers I think I've ever had in my life), losing only to a Jeskai control deck in round 1. I beat Abzan Midrange, Sultai Whip, and Abzan Whip, all quite handily. Conflagration alongside Disdainful Stroke makes those matchups SO much easier.
The Lightning Strikes over Magma Jets didn't feel terribly different - there were no situations that came up where I had one and wished it was the other, so I guess it can stay the way it is for right now. Might just go the full four Lightning Strikes so I'll stop being tempted to keep the 2-land w/Magma Jet hands.
The biggest weakness I see in the deck is you've got a rough time against Brimaz, King of Oreskos and Anafenza, the Foremost. Unless you get Vault online fast and they can't remove it, you're either in for significant face damage or a 2 - 1 situation. Not saying that makes the deck unviable or anything, and I don't even know if you need to include more of an answer for them (Stoke the Flames would be my choice in your colors for an answer if you desired one.} But I'd just be aware of what cards are good against you while you run the deck.
The biggest weakness I see in the deck is you've got a rough time against Brimaz, King of Oreskos and Anafenza, the Foremost. Unless you get Vault online fast and they can't remove it, you're either in for significant face damage or a 2 - 1 situation. Not saying that makes the deck unviable or anything, and I don't even know if you need to include more of an answer for them (Stoke the Flames would be my choice in your colors for an answer if you desired one.} But I'd just be aware of what cards are good against you while you run the deck.
Looks pretty fun and creative, by the way.
Yeah, 3cc X/4 creatures are a bad time. I've been pretty fortunate because they're not too popular at my LGS, but it's definitely something to be aware of. You either have to stay on top of them with counterspells (impossible on the play) or use Fated Conflagration (which is a turn slower than Brimaz and Anafenza).
Still though! I encourage people to be the guy/girl at their LGS who's saying "Riddle you" every game. It's just that fun.
Kind of curious to know, myself. It's easy to be lulled into a false sense of security if you're the only one playing a deck.
An aside: I showed up to my LGS last night for a chaos draft and three or four of the guys handed me a copy of Riddle of Lightning and said "Merry Christmas." I'm telling you, guys - Folk. Hero. Status.
I really would prefer fated conflagration over stoke the flames here. Stoke is a bad card with this few creatures.
Agreed. I stuck a few Fated Conflagrations in the sideboard for my last FNM and they worked pretty well. It's also really nice to have the additional answers to planeswalkers. It even has the scry bonus to help set up your Riddles, so you're not sacrificing too much synergy when you bring them in.
I played something similar to this last standard with riddle and blast of genius and it was a ton of fun. Gonna sleeve this up and have some fun. I think I would cut one of the cruises for something though with it being sorcery speed, maybe another lightning strike? I usually want a full 4 but I could see 3 being enough right now. Just another way to keep the board clean until we can start really hitting them hard with riddle/mindswipe.
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I'm usually typing quickly at work or on my phone so I appolize from the crummy grammar
I played something similar to this last standard with riddle and blast of genius and it was a ton of fun. Gonna sleeve this up and have some fun. I think I would cut one of the cruises for something though with it being sorcery speed, maybe another lightning strike? I usually want a full 4 but I could see 3 being enough right now. Just another way to keep the board clean until we can start really hitting them hard with riddle/mindswipe.
Shouldn't have too many issues with shaving a Cruise - the list in GerryT's article has 4 Dig/2 Cruise, so I can't imagine that being wrong. Let me know how it goes!
And of course just having a bolts just for the last bit of damage straight to the face :).
I really wish there was less delving going on so I could run spellheart chimera here. But craters claws also looks kind of interesting here as well. A bit less synergy with the riddles but if you just need a spell to end the game right then and there I can't think of a better one. Might splash one of those in place of the cruise instead.
I beat u/b control, abzan agro, and something else I can't remember right now. I lost to temur agro, savage knuckleblade is a gigantic problem for us, he gets under stroke, and they can just hold open mana to bounce him. Their threats are also mostly out of anger of the gods range, so you have to rely on vaults and stokes.
So I'm going to go into another daily soon, and I reconfigured the list slightly to help against them.
I went -1 jet, +1 vault I'm not sure wether this is right or not since vault isn't amazing in a lot of matchups, and jet is pretty important sometimes to help you dig or supplement an anger to kll a big creature.
-1 cruise, +1 ingenuity, another change I'm not sure of cruise is awkward sometimes and ingenuity is an instant. I found that it was fine to reveal a stoke or another riddle when you cast riddle of lightning, so I think ingenuity is a fine reveal as well.
My board now looks like:
Conflagration and the 4th vault give me alittle more action against the temur decks as well as something like abzan.
Overall I think this strategy is very, very good. I'm impressed with this deck. It seems like, outside of a vault, we are cold to a resolved whip (but that's why I have 14 counterspells for it ).
EDIT: Just throwing this out there, what do you guys think about the following cards? nullify: I think we need more early plays, and nullify can help, with the rise of abzan agro 2 drops are pretty important, and this answers them. It also lets us do 2 things a turn alittle earlier. It might be better than the 4th mindswipe, as that card is awkward as hell on the draw. voyage's end: Yet another turn 2 play, it's not nearly as good as nullify though, especially in the late game. whelming wave: sometimes perilous vault is too slow, this is a 4 mana spell that bounces everything, answers fleecemane and deathdealer, as well as token armies. It might not be so good just because of siege rhino and things like hornet queen, but I'm not so worried about those guys as I am the early drops. quiet contemplation: I like this because you can keep a creature tapped for a few turns to get to your removal spell. This could potentially buy us a lot of time. It does suck that it gets swept up by perilous vault though. goblin slide: possibly better than quiet contemplation? It gives us chump blockers and might be able to end the game. I wouldn't rely on this too much, but I expect a lot of out opponent's will take out all of their removal post-board, so this could be a potent sideboard option.
If MTG is a part of your life, the formats are like relationships:
Standard/Block = The on-again, off-again holiday fling
Modern/Vintage/Legacy = Stable, homely. A ***** after absence/misreading
Limited/Sealed = Heart breaking free spirit
Commander/Cube = Agreeable, needy and expensive
Pauper/Peasant = Sweet, kind, practical, but shy and boring
This deck is rather sexy. Just tested it out a few times on MWS and won every game, including an angry "Your deck won't win a lot, its only good against my deck" before rage quit. Riddle of Lightning is sah good, haven't once had it miss an 8 drop, but maybe that's just good luck. All of the scry is magnificent though. I sleeved up the list in the OP, but with a different sideboard to include Scouring Sands. It's even got scry, and is brilliant against tokens. I'm also going to test Nullify in the board.
EDIT: after a few more test-runs, and becoming slightly frustrated at being ohhhh so close but just unable to finish, I'm definitely going to try out the Dictate of the Twin Gods. Makes Lightning Strike lethal.
Yeah, there's actually a wealth of sideboard options in U/R. Thank god for that, at least.
I didn't do so hot tonight, finishing with a very frustrating 2-2 record. I got paired against Abzan Whip twice and got pulverized in sideboarded games by Anafenza, the Foremost. 3cc creatures that are bulky enough to live through Anger of the Gods are such a bad time... maybe it's time to consider Nullify?
I like this style of deck, but I feel like the UR control list Tom Ross posted a few weeks ago is a little more polished. The synergy between Pearl Lake Ancient and Master the Way as a finisher is just as deadly, if not moreso, and more consistent.
If we had a brainstorm effect, or some way to put a card from our hand on top of library easily, I'd like Riddle more. Or, even a tutor effect similar to what some UB control lists do with Interpret the Signs and Liliana to draw 8 after tutoring up a dig/treasure cruise.
Maybe there's a way to combine both ideas even. Riddle and Master the Way. Hmmm..
Maybe there's a way to combine both ideas even. Riddle and Master the Way. Hmmm..
Jamming a deck full of five drop burn spells that are asking for very different conditions to be powerful isn't where I think we want to be.
I do like the Master the Way lists a lot, and will probably sleeve up Ross' list in the coming weeks, but after last week's adrenaline rush (I was dead on board and had to Riddle for 8 with no previous scrying. Cast Riddle, push three blanks to the bottom, blind-flip a Cruise/Dig FTW.), I can't put this list down!
Riddle you! You're at 8? This oughta be good. *crosses fingers*
Also: I forgot Haunted Plate Mail was still Standard-legal. I love that card. Might try it out.
Hello again, ladies and gents. This deck is based on a sweet brew that was featured in Gerry Thompson’s Daily Digest (you can read the original article here). Its goal is to fight your opponent with counterspells and survive until your draw spells can start taking over the game. Then you kill your opponent with the usual control finishers – Prognostic Sphinx or Riddle of Lightning.
Wait… you mean Riddle of Lightning isn’t a control finisher? And it’s not played in Standard whatsoever?! WHAT?!
“But Wyvern, it’s a five-damage spell that’s not guaranteed to do any damage!”
This is true. But with a deck crafted around it, the oft-forgotten Limited spell of two draft formats (Surprise! It was a reprint in JOU – Future Sight was its original printing.) is capable of killing an opponent from what are considered to be very comfortable life totals. You know, like in the 12-16 range.
“Very cute, Wyvern. How about you just play a good spell instead?”
Because, mister condescending voice that I’m totally not using a sock puppet to imitate, there is a fun factor in this deck that you just won’t get by playing big dumb animals and planeswalkers.
“Well, you have fun with that. I’m gonna go play Abzan Midrange.”
Did I mention you get to cast Dig Through Time and Treasure Cruise a lot in this deck?
“…Go on…”
4 Temple of Epiphany
4 Shivan Reef
4 Swiftwater Cliffs
4 Radiant Fountain
2 Evolving Wilds
4 Island
4 Mountain
Creatures (3)
3 Prognostic Sphinx
Sorceries (6)
3 Anger of the Gods
3 Treasure Cruise
2 Magma Jet
2 Lightning Strike
4 Mindswipe
4 Dissolve
4 Riddle of Lightning
4 Dig Through Time
3 Steam Augury
Artifacts (2)
2 Perilous Vault
4 Disdainful Stroke
3 Chasm Skulker
3 Fated Conflagration
2 Magma Spray
1 Perilous Vault
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Keranos, God of Storms
So, how does this deck work?
Here’s some of the things you’re looking to do in any given game:
• Establish your mana in the early game and keep your head above water with Radiant Fountain, Swiftwater Cliffs, and the occasional Anger of the Gods.
• Fill up your graveyard with spent counters and Steam Augury to fuel your delve spells when you draw them.
• Cast Riddle of Lightning targeting the opponent’s face. Reveal an 8-drop on top and deal lots of damage.
• Be able to say “Mindswipe for lethal” at some point.
Here are what some of the sideboard cards do:
• Magma Spray, Searing Blood, extra Anger of the Gods: stop small things from killing you.
• Extra Perilous Vault, Ætherspouts, Disdainful Stroke: stop big things from killing you.
• Chasm Skulker, Keranos, God of Storms: Stop control decks from stopping you from killing them.
Things I have discovered while playing this deck:
• The lifegain lands are awesome – WAY more important than the Temples or Reefs.
• This deck struggles mightily against U/W Heroic. Stay away from it if that deck plagues your local meta.
• It’s okay to spend your first couple Mindswipes for small damage if they’ll actually counter something. You’ll see so much of your deck in one game that it’s not hard to set up big Riddles for the kill later.
• If you are the only one playing this deck at your LGS, you will become a folk hero.* People will refer to you as “The Riddler” or some such nickname, and your match will be the first one people come to watch if they finish before you do.
*Results may vary.
I never thought about Dictate of the Twin Gods! I'll have to add that to the pile of stuff I want to try out. I have occasionally had games where I sputter out from having multiple 8-drops in my hand, but for the most part there is enough scrying in the deck that you can push them to the bottom until you need them.
You'll see so much of your deck during any given game that I'm sure running a miser's copy of Dictate would be easy enough to find. Maybe cut a Treasure Cruise for it. I get a lot of kills by going "End step Riddle, take 8. Untap, upkeep Riddle, take 8." Having a Dictate would essentially be just like a 5th Riddle in that regard - in the end, you're still paying 6RRRR over two turns to kill somebody.
I've been able to consistently Top 4 at my LGS (rack up those promo cards), but there have been a lot more Rhino decks around in recent weeks. I'm probably going to cut the Searing Bloods from the board to make room for Fated Conflagration. It even scrys!
Thank you for the kind words. I started out with 4 Sphinx originally (and only 2 Steam Augury) but drawing multiples was just miserable. Also, how come you would rather have Lightning Strike over Magma Jet? I think Jet is awesome for the scry, and you only really miss out on Mantis Rider when using it as removal.
I could see Tormented Voice making it into this deck. You currently have very few ways to make use of your mana on turn 2. It helps activate delve early, pitches excess 8drops, or dead control cards and helps smooth out to the rest of the game. Not sure what should be cut, maybe just a few trims here and there, but I think it could help with early game consistency.
Fair points on Lightning Strike (not overly attached to Jet, btw - just playing Devil's Advocate) - I'll swap out the Jets and send it through an FNM and see what we come up with here.
Searing Bloods are also going to become Fated Conflagrations in the SB.
Maindeck:
-2 Magma Jet
+2 Lightning Strike
Sideboard:
-2 Searing Blood
+2 Fated Conflagration
-1 Ætherspouts
+1 Arc Lightning
I went 3-1 (and finished 8th due to the worst breakers I think I've ever had in my life), losing only to a Jeskai control deck in round 1. I beat Abzan Midrange, Sultai Whip, and Abzan Whip, all quite handily. Conflagration alongside Disdainful Stroke makes those matchups SO much easier.
The Lightning Strikes over Magma Jets didn't feel terribly different - there were no situations that came up where I had one and wished it was the other, so I guess it can stay the way it is for right now. Might just go the full four Lightning Strikes so I'll stop being tempted to keep the 2-land w/Magma Jet hands.
Like... as in what to take out or bring in? Which matchups do you expect to see?
Give me something to work with here.
Looks pretty fun and creative, by the way.
Modern - GB Elves, UW Ojutai Control
Legacy - BWG Junk Stoneblade
Gay and Proud
#MakeAmericaGreatAgain
Yeah, 3cc X/4 creatures are a bad time. I've been pretty fortunate because they're not too popular at my LGS, but it's definitely something to be aware of. You either have to stay on top of them with counterspells (impossible on the play) or use Fated Conflagration (which is a turn slower than Brimaz and Anafenza).
Still though! I encourage people to be the guy/girl at their LGS who's saying "Riddle you" every game. It's just that fun.
An aside: I showed up to my LGS last night for a chaos draft and three or four of the guys handed me a copy of Riddle of Lightning and said "Merry Christmas." I'm telling you, guys - Folk. Hero. Status.
Agreed. I stuck a few Fated Conflagrations in the sideboard for my last FNM and they worked pretty well. It's also really nice to have the additional answers to planeswalkers. It even has the scry bonus to help set up your Riddles, so you're not sacrificing too much synergy when you bring them in.
I'm usually typing quickly at work or on my phone so I appolize from the crummy grammar
Shouldn't have too many issues with shaving a Cruise - the list in GerryT's article has 4 Dig/2 Cruise, so I can't imagine that being wrong. Let me know how it goes!
I really wish there was less delving going on so I could run spellheart chimera here. But craters claws also looks kind of interesting here as well. A bit less synergy with the riddles but if you just need a spell to end the game right then and there I can't think of a better one. Might splash one of those in place of the cruise instead.
I'm usually typing quickly at work or on my phone so I appolize from the crummy grammar
3 evolving wilds
4 island
3 mountain
4 radiant fountain
4 shivan reef
4 swiftwater cliffs
4 temple of epiphany
Creatures: 1
1 keranos, god of storms
Spells: 33
3 lightning strike
3 magma jet
4 mindswipe
4 dissolve
2 anger of the gods
3 stoke the flames
1 steam augury
2 perilous vault
4 riddle of lightning
3 treasure cruise
4 dig through time
4 disdainful stroke
3 negate
3 arc lightning
2 anger of the gods
1 perilous vault
2 aetherspouts
I beat u/b control, abzan agro, and something else I can't remember right now. I lost to temur agro, savage knuckleblade is a gigantic problem for us, he gets under stroke, and they can just hold open mana to bounce him. Their threats are also mostly out of anger of the gods range, so you have to rely on vaults and stokes.
So I'm going to go into another daily soon, and I reconfigured the list slightly to help against them.
I went -1 jet, +1 vault I'm not sure wether this is right or not since vault isn't amazing in a lot of matchups, and jet is pretty important sometimes to help you dig or supplement an anger to kll a big creature.
-1 cruise, +1 ingenuity, another change I'm not sure of cruise is awkward sometimes and ingenuity is an instant. I found that it was fine to reveal a stoke or another riddle when you cast riddle of lightning, so I think ingenuity is a fine reveal as well.
My board now looks like:
2 negate
2 arc lightning
2 anger of the gods
2 fated conflagration
1 perilous vault
2 aetherspouts
Conflagration and the 4th vault give me alittle more action against the temur decks as well as something like abzan.
Overall I think this strategy is very, very good. I'm impressed with this deck. It seems like, outside of a vault, we are cold to a resolved whip (but that's why I have 14 counterspells for it ).
EDIT: Just throwing this out there, what do you guys think about the following cards?
nullify: I think we need more early plays, and nullify can help, with the rise of abzan agro 2 drops are pretty important, and this answers them. It also lets us do 2 things a turn alittle earlier. It might be better than the 4th mindswipe, as that card is awkward as hell on the draw.
voyage's end: Yet another turn 2 play, it's not nearly as good as nullify though, especially in the late game.
whelming wave: sometimes perilous vault is too slow, this is a 4 mana spell that bounces everything, answers fleecemane and deathdealer, as well as token armies. It might not be so good just because of siege rhino and things like hornet queen, but I'm not so worried about those guys as I am the early drops.
quiet contemplation: I like this because you can keep a creature tapped for a few turns to get to your removal spell. This could potentially buy us a lot of time. It does suck that it gets swept up by perilous vault though.
goblin slide: possibly better than quiet contemplation? It gives us chump blockers and might be able to end the game. I wouldn't rely on this too much, but I expect a lot of out opponent's will take out all of their removal post-board, so this could be a potent sideboard option.
Thoughts?
Standard/Block = The on-again, off-again holiday fling
Modern/Vintage/Legacy = Stable, homely. A ***** after absence/misreading
Limited/Sealed = Heart breaking free spirit
Commander/Cube = Agreeable, needy and expensive
Pauper/Peasant = Sweet, kind, practical, but shy and boring
EDIT: after a few more test-runs, and becoming slightly frustrated at being ohhhh so close but just unable to finish, I'm definitely going to try out the Dictate of the Twin Gods. Makes Lightning Strike lethal.
I didn't do so hot tonight, finishing with a very frustrating 2-2 record. I got paired against Abzan Whip twice and got pulverized in sideboarded games by Anafenza, the Foremost. 3cc creatures that are bulky enough to live through Anger of the Gods are such a bad time... maybe it's time to consider Nullify?
2 Pearl Lake Ancient
2 Disdainful Stroke
1 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
3 Master the Way
4 Dig Through Time
1 Perilous Vault
2 Fated Conflagration
4 Steam Augury
4 Lightning Strike
4 Dissolve
3 Anger of the Gods
2 Magma Jet
4 Island
4 Shivan Reef
3 Radiant Fountain
4 Temple of Epiphany
1 Temple of Malice
4 Swiftwater Cliffs
4 Stubborn Denial
1 Keranos, God of Storms
1 Anger of the Gods
4 Haunted Plate Mail
3 Magma Spray
2 Negate
If we had a brainstorm effect, or some way to put a card from our hand on top of library easily, I'd like Riddle more. Or, even a tutor effect similar to what some UB control lists do with Interpret the Signs and Liliana to draw 8 after tutoring up a dig/treasure cruise.
Maybe there's a way to combine both ideas even. Riddle and Master the Way. Hmmm..
Jamming a deck full of five drop burn spells that are asking for very different conditions to be powerful isn't where I think we want to be.
I do like the Master the Way lists a lot, and will probably sleeve up Ross' list in the coming weeks, but after last week's adrenaline rush (I was dead on board and had to Riddle for 8 with no previous scrying. Cast Riddle, push three blanks to the bottom, blind-flip a Cruise/Dig FTW.), I can't put this list down!
Riddle you! You're at 8? This oughta be good. *crosses fingers*
Also: I forgot Haunted Plate Mail was still Standard-legal. I love that card. Might try it out.