You're completely missing the discard side of it. There are several cards that take advantage of a nearly empty hand and there are some decent discard enablers. Granted, that deck is mostly going to be aggressive and won't want this sort of effect.
Sounds like a problem with your playgroup. You have two options if that's the case. The first is to just run a deck that has a ridiculous winrate if it's not interacted with like Omnath or Krenko. The other option is to exploit those types of decks by running Confiscate effects
Tormod's Crypt because my favorite deck is Jarad reanimator. It's kind of silly that any deck can run a card that costs zero mana and undoes everything I've worked toward the whole game
Unfortunately, this card doesn't really do anything interesting other than providing another way to freely cast suspend cards. If it didn't have the "Once per turn" clause, then it would be worth discussing. As it is, it's just a really slow Aether Vial
Strictly better than Inspiration (unless you're looking to make your opponent draw cards) which was already playable. Cycling makes this good at all stages of the game. Really just nothing bad to say about this one.
Dodges Wasteland, Strip Mine, and Ghost Quarter. If you're building a ramp deck with the idea of doing something busted turn 3 or 4 behind this card it gives you more flexibility.
My playgroup has some new players so the more experienced of us play powered down decks. Also, I'm pretty sure they're running EP because the goblin and tokens players run very few lord effects
I tend to be pretty deliberate when I'm playing. This is something I developed from playing Vintage and high-level competitive Magic for a long time, where a single missed trigger or poorly sequenced action could lead to a game loss and potentially cost you a spot in the top 8 or knock you out of the tournament. My favorite deck also happens to be Jarad, which tutors for something almost every turn. Sometimes people complain about me taking too long on my turns so I've developed a few ways to speed things up (especially if tutoring is the issue, which it has been for me in the past):
1) If I'm tutoring up something that goes in my hand and I have nothing else to do, I'll let the next player start their turn
2) If I'm tutoring up something that goes in play but doesn't interact with anyone and I know what I'm doing for the rest of my turn I'll announce it first and see if anyone wants to respond. If not, then I let the next player start.
3) I think at least two turns ahead while the other players are taking their turns. If you're tutoring, you should know what you're tutoring for. If you've got some decisions to make during combat, plan for the worst and know what you're going to do. etc.
The most important thing though is to know your deck inside and out. There's nothing worse than watching a player abuse tutors and having to deliberate between three different cards every time. Also, do the combat math ahead of time as much as you can.
Edit: Also, if you're going to tutor a lot...get really, really good at shuffling.
i too would like to play stasis. seems like brago does it better, though
I rank Hanna higher for pillowfort and control IMO. She's a more powerful commander than she seems at first (which also makes you less of a target to unfamiliar players). She doesn't need to attack which makes her a little more versatile though you do have to run at least a couple of sac outlets to take full advantage of her. She also lets you do things like Mindslaver lock in 1v1.
Psychatog
Mind Over Matter
Skirge Familiar
Fluctuator
This card plays so nicely with some of my favorite under-used cards of Magic past. The Johnny in me is super excited right now.
I've only got this really old one. It's a more fair version of the deck and is specced for 1v1.
Still, it should give you some ideas. I'm working on a more updated multiplayer list right now.
Right? That's the part I'm most excited about.
1) If I'm tutoring up something that goes in my hand and I have nothing else to do, I'll let the next player start their turn
2) If I'm tutoring up something that goes in play but doesn't interact with anyone and I know what I'm doing for the rest of my turn I'll announce it first and see if anyone wants to respond. If not, then I let the next player start.
3) I think at least two turns ahead while the other players are taking their turns. If you're tutoring, you should know what you're tutoring for. If you've got some decisions to make during combat, plan for the worst and know what you're going to do. etc.
The most important thing though is to know your deck inside and out. There's nothing worse than watching a player abuse tutors and having to deliberate between three different cards every time. Also, do the combat math ahead of time as much as you can.
Edit: Also, if you're going to tutor a lot...get really, really good at shuffling.
I rank Hanna higher for pillowfort and control IMO. She's a more powerful commander than she seems at first (which also makes you less of a target to unfamiliar players). She doesn't need to attack which makes her a little more versatile though you do have to run at least a couple of sac outlets to take full advantage of her. She also lets you do things like Mindslaver lock in 1v1.