Hey guys! Great discussion. I'm following closely, although I can't get involved as much as I'd like as I'm missing many expensive pieces from the Meltiin design (namely: Lilies).
Anyways, I thought it would be worth mentioning that mister Sam Black has ran über-hot at the SCG Invitational this week-end piloting the blue (Whir) version of Lantern control, AND PLOT TWIST : following champion Piotr Kanister's lead, he is now rocking our grand etherium shadowmaster Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas as a 2-of in the board! Overall deck design also brings the number of Bridges down to three (because Whir makes it an effective 7) and from the board we bring in some more Decays and Pulses (along some Search for Azcanta) to circumvent or deal with the hate, but this also skews the lockdown strategy toward a more control oriented approach in post-board games.
My point being that Lantern control is slowly and progressively, really becoming Lantern / Tezzerator!
Lantern is so much better with Whir it's scary, and the ability to turn Lantern control into a toolbox-like Tezzerator-esque deck is actually kinda enjoyable to see. They don't need thopter sword to win because of lock pieces, but they can still 'get there' with tezzeret, aob from the board.
For grins I threw in a Jester's Cap in my sideboard, and was able to board it in a couple of times. Man, was it a house. It neuters any potential outs they have before they ever even hit the top of the deck. I'm solid on Jester's Cap.
PREFACE: This is Nick's post from another site that I haven't seen here, and I feel it needs discussion. What follows is from NickP himself.
Alright this deck's a little crazy, so even though I think it's fairly generically powerful I made sure to test it rigorously against the top two perceived decks (Ramunap Red and Temur Energy) as well as two other likely popular decks (Mardu Vehicles and UB Control). I selected these to test against not only because they are likely going to see play, but also because they represent a wide amount of archetypes. This will give us data about other potential matchups. For example, the matchup against Mardu Vehicles might show us useful information if we are playing against UR Pirates. As a caveat, really no amount of testing can measure up to the collective data represented in the first month of actual tournaments, but I believe 30 matches is a good place to start. More on testing and the results later.
So what is Bant Tishana? It's a deck built around a web of synergies that roughly resembles what an elf deck might do. The main synergies are Inspiring Statuary + Fabricate Spells + Tishana and Growing Rites of the Itlimoc + Creatures + Tishana. As the deck title might imply, Tishana is the big payoff for doing what we're doing. When things are going well we draw 9+ cards on turn 5 and set up a kill with a 20/20 Walking Ballista. That makes this sort of a combo deck, sort of a ramp deck, but mostly an elf deck. Going wide and casting Angel of Invention is often good enough and puts a ton of pressure on decks like Mardu Vehicles. The gameplan is always Tishana, but the deck can get it done with value creatures as well. I'd like to thank the GAM podcast for the early idea for this list. They were missing tons of key cards but the idea of using Tishana in a non merfolk deck was really the tipping point for me.
4x Inspiring Statuary - The first piece of the core of our ramp strategy. Once going, it makes all of our Fabricate spells essentially two mana. For example, once Statuary is out you can tap it and a servo to cast Sram's Expertise. The new servo's let you cast another assuming you have WW mana available. This let's us dump our hands and then eventually cast Tishana for pretty much free. I knew that Statuary was a broken card, and it was just waiting for this deck to capitalize on it. I know Abrade exists, but Statuary is worth the risk and games where you have it snowball so fast it's unreal.
Enchantment (4)
4x Growing Rites of Itlimoc - The second engine piece. Finding a creature is fine and all, especially when diggin for Tishana, but we're really interested in the transformed version. Frickin Gaea's Cradle. Once we have like, idk, thirty or so creatures on the battlefield we can tap this to play a giant Ballista. Then we play another, and when it flips we keep the untapped one and pump Ballista up for lethal. That's just one of the many busted things going on with this card. Casting our Tishana with two lands is Modern power level at least.
Creature (20)
4x Ixalli's Diviner - This card might seem suspect, but it's here for a reason. More so, I chose it as the 4-of over Merfolk Branchwalker because this isn't an attacking deck, and a 1/4 brickwalls most early plays. A 0/3 that draws a card is essentially a better elvish visionary, so both modes on this card are insane. I can't wait for everyone to realize how insanely powerful Explore is.
3x Merfolk Branchwalker - If you could play more than 4 Elvish Visionary's in your deck, would you? I would. These two mana plays are the backbone of this deck and fluidly smooth out otherwise clunky draws. it might honestly be correct to play eight of these. At first I tested actual ramp cards but quickly found that the removal in the format is unreal against dorks right now. But these give value no matter what, especially in a deck digging for specific cards.
4x Tishana, Voice of Thunder - The payoff. A better Regal Force. A card I had to read like four times to make sure it was real. I was listening to the GAM podcast and Gerry was talking about something that really clicked in me. Just because Merfolk is a tribe doesn't mean that all Merfolk have to go in the "Merfolk" deck. Tishana and Merfolk Branchwalker are perfectly great cards outside those archetypes and are great here. Drawing 10+ cards with Tish is really the greatest. She just puts the game out of reach so fast, which to be fair is kind of what you expect from your seven drops. The thing is with the explosive ramp in this deck she comes down early and often. She almost always chains into another one. I've cast five+ spells in a turn quite consistently.
4x Angel of Invention - The other payoff for ramping in our deck is Angel of Invention. Angel comes down and can represent 10 or more power. This deck generates a TON of servos and sometimes Angel just does an Elvish Archdruid impersonation and you get there with Servo Beats. In fact against some decks that's the primary goal. it helps to have generically good creatures that also go off with Statuary and Tishana.
3x Visionary Augmenter - It's important to have a critical mass of creatures that put three bodies on the board. It makes flipping Itlimoc significantly easier. I'm not going to sit here and tell you this card is good, but it's reasonable in this deck and pays you off for three cards with Tishana.
2x Walking Ballista - Really mostly here to go off with Itlimoc and give us something other than Tishana to do with our mana. Once we've drawn most of our deck finding one is trivial so there's no reason to run four unless the meta calls for it. It's exceedingly meh as a 1/1 and really doesn't go off until much later. Still, it's an important piece of the puzzle and another generically reasonable card to have in the deck.
Sorcery (8)
4x Servo Exhibition - Two servos for two mana is an exceptional deal. We care both about the artifact count for Statuary AND the creature count for Itlimoc/Tishana. By far the best home for this card I've seen.
4x Sram's Expertise - Quite possibly the most explosive card in the deck. Casting an Itlimoc or Statuary off it is just the business. Three servos are great for chumping and getting you over the hill to Tishana and once your "storming off" with Statuary can represent a ton of ramp/ritual potential. For example, if you are trying to cast a lethal Ballista and have a statuary and Itlimoc out. You can tap two servos and WW to cast Expertise and then cast a Servo Exhibition for free. THEN you can tap Cradle for five mana. That's basically dark ritual with five servos attached. DOING IT!
Land (24) - The mana base is fairly complex but mostly solid. The only blue in the deck is Tishana and the sideboard Negate's so we really only need 10 sources. Frank Karsten Analysis says we only need 9 but I don't really feel safe considering how much we really do need to cast Tish. We need a TON of white sources to go off with statuary and honestly 18 is even potentially a little low, but mostly fine. Then we have the Karsten recommended 13 lands for our green two drops. We could make the mana base better for colors if we'd like, but this setup allows for more lands to come into play untapped. I've tweaked a ton with this and this setup was by far the best for me. We could play stuff like Spire of Industry for more white sources, but I'm worried about not getting to WW in the first place. Another issue with the mana base is that there isn't room for Shefet Dunes, which would be insane in the deck. We need a ton of plains for our check lands to function which is more important imo. Luckily we have plenty of stuff to do with our mana if we flood because of the cycle lands.
4x Botanical Sanctum
2x Forest
4x Glacial Fortress
2x Irrigated Farmland
5x Plains
3x Scattered Groves
4x Sunpetal Grove
Sideboard (15) - The sideboard is a bit of a cluster but it was good for in the matchups I cared about. Inspiring Cleric and Settle the Wreckage are THE tech for Ram Red. Control can't beat carnage tyrant to point of it being comical, and negate plays well with statuary and I was able to "get" my opponent and counter their wrath on a critical turn. Ajani is there to grind and ramp into and often draws two cards per activation for us as well as digging for moar Tishanas! That being said the board could probably use some tuning. I'd like some graveyard hate.
2x Ajani Unyielding
2x Carnage Tyrant
4x Inspiring Cleric
4x Negate
3x Settle the Wreckage
So as for testing!
I played ten GAMES against Ramp Red to start. Five preboard five post board. Ram red won 4 of the preboard games and I won 3 of the postboard games. The matchup was mostly about how each of us curved out and if they had Hazoret. I felt way better on the play but the matchup felt pretty rough preboard. Just too much too fast. I had to start chumping and didn't have enough juice left to stabilize. The post board games were much better and I won every game where I saw a sideboard card (Settle the Wreckage and Inspiring Cleric). The abrades on the Inspiring Statuary convinced me to board all of them out, which if I had figured out a game earlier I likely could have won another post board game. Overall 4-6, which is about what I expected. The games felt roughly representative of the matchup as a whole and I'd say that we're favored post board but not on the draw in game three.
I played ten GAMES against Temur Energy. I swept the preboard games 5-0 and won 2 of the post board games. I think the Temur Energy matchup is the reason to play this deck to be honest. It felt like their gameplan was just nonsense compared to mine. Nothing they did was fast enough and their removal was largely irrelevant. Post board I lost three games to Sweltering Suns. Cheap Wraths are good against elves, who knew? It makes me think that some number of Spell Pierce over Negate is correct. Either way, 7-3 against the format's top dog, not too shabby!
I played five GAMES against UB Control, three preboard and two postboard. I won two of the preboard games and lost both post board games. The wins were on the back of servo beat down, which is pretty great against them and the losses were to censor and Yahenni's Expertise. Censor is fantastic against us in the early turns because we basically have to tap out each turn or we aren't anywhere near fast enough. The counterspells mean that Tishana is basically never resolving so we are in a rough spot with our primary gamplan. Post board Ajani would have been nice in theory but they have a ton of counters and contempt, so I'd like to look elsewhere for card advantage. So 2-3 against UB control. Not a great matchup by any means.
I played five GAMES against Mardu Vehicles, three preboard and two post board. I won two preboard and one post board. The wins were from Tishana doing her thing and the losses were to flying beat down and well timed removal. Things that Mardu does very well. Heart of Kiran is great against us and Glorybringer clocks really fast when not extering. I countered a key fumigate post board which to me felt like big wraths are bad against us. Spell pierce would have been fine in any of my games so I'm thinking a 2-2 split with negate could be correct. 3-2 against Mardu vehicles. The matchup felt close but favorable.
I hope that was enough data for you and thanks for reading. Let me know what you think!
While I appreciate your honesty, the last list isn't my final list. It's a starting point for a green splash. The second to bottom list, with the white splash, is what I'd feel would do best against the current unknown (aggro) meta. With 4 Fatal Push, 2 Essence Scatter, 3 Censor, 2 Settle the Wreckage, 2 Shielded Aether Thief I feel that my Ramunap Red matchup is still winnable.
Also, Search for Azcanta is not simply to fill the yard (which it does), it's also to set up your draws, prevent flood or prevent screw, and mid game it becomes another land with an unbelievable ability.
As for Hostage Taker, he's our out against Hazoret or Rhonas. He's also great at stealing Opposing Scarab Gods or Glorybringers. He's also a nice combat trick to be brought back with your own Scarab God. Hostage taker is one of the best cards in the deck and probably one of the top three cards of Ixalan.
To answer your questions about the green list, Nissa is there to set up draws and provide a clock. Her scry 2 is always relevant, her zero can be fun to set up a free play of hostage taker or Scarab God or Torrential Gearhulk. Her Ult is simply 10 damage, or two more mana should you need it (ouch).
1 Torrential Gearhulk
4 Aether Hub
4 Glimmer of Genius
Choose One
3 Shielded Aether Thief
3 Lightning Strike
I personally like Shielded Aether Thief. He reminds me of Wall of Omens but on our primary color and stands in front of Ramunap Red creatures. Also, Glimmer of Genius is a very powerful magic card.
Choose one
2 Abandoned Sarcophagus
2 Drake Haven
2 Faith of the Devoted
of the two packages mentioned, I've had the most success with the energy package thanks to the inevitability provided by Torrential Gearhulk into Glimmer of Genius, as well as the early game wall of Shielded Aether Thief. The Cycling package has performed well, but its much more vulnerable to Ramunap Red than the energy package. One thing the Cycling package has going for it is the added sideboard options and the good matchup vs the Mono Blue sky pirates deck.
Let's assemble the energy package with the foundation:
I love Vraska so much, and feel that she is one of the most powerful closers. She clocks and protects with her +2, her -3 kills another problem permanent and grants you a Revolt-generating Treasure for Fatal Push. Nissa is also a great closer as well as a great three drop against control. She sets up every draw and allows your Azcantas to dig a big further. I love the green splash.
The white splash seems much more controlling. Vona provides some lifelink and the ability to kill problem permanents. Cast out also takes out problematic permanents, but at instant speed. Settle the Wreckage helps a lot against Carnage Tyrant and some fringe board-swarming strategies. Approach also just happens to win the game. Lets plug in the white splash and see where we are at.
Wow, that's 38 non-lands, giving us only room for 22 lands. I require 25 with this deck, seeing as Azcanta turns into additional mana and we have good filter. Let's make a 25 land mana base.
I don't like Approach with so many creatures and so little permission. I also feel that the deck is too creature heavy. Vona could easily be a sideboard card, as could a Shielded Aether Thief. Lets add in a few Essence Scatters, Censors and Disallows.
Let's also round out the sideboard and tweak the main deck a little.
This is the direction I'll go with the deck. The reason I have all of this spelled out, is if I'm wrong somewhere in my rationale, please let me know. Thanks for reading!
And because you didn't ask for it, here's the Green splash final* decklist:
Hey everyone, this list has been a nice contender in the BFZ-SOI-KLD-AKH standard, and only gets stronger with the introduction of three new cards: Drowned Catacomb, Chart a Course, and Search for Azcanta. The list hasn't changed too much, and the core still functions well. I feel this will be a great week 1 deck and potentially a great pro-tour choice.
The newest and sickest addition is Liliana, the Last Hope. She is by no means a requirement for the sideboard, and if you would like to remain rotation-proof, I'd recommend 1 Ruthless Sniper and 2 Nimble Obstructionist.
I'm curious what you are cutting when sideboarding. These type of glass-cannon style combo decks can't have too many cards cycled out, otherwise you dilute the initial gameplan.
Usually cut 2 Hollow One, a Nimble Obstructionist, and a number of censors in some matchups.
The newest and sickest addition is Liliana, the Last Hope. She is by no means a requirement for the sideboard, and if you would like to remain rotation-proof, I'd recommend 1 Ruthless Sniper and 2 Nimble Obstructionist.
I love that y'all are having success -even winning game days- with this deck. Over the weekend, the deck, piloted by myself and my friend who were on the same 72/75 went 11-2, with one of the losses coming from the mirror match of us playing each other.
A few notes.
Recently Hollow One had been cut. That is a bad move. Hollow one is back in and should stay.
Censor is fantastic and should be a playset in the 75.
Gifted Aetherborn is good vs the red matchup, but Ruthless Sniper is a death sentence for them. Up that to a playset.
4m/0s 1m/1s is the right split for Gate to the Afterlife / God-Pharaoh's Gift. Bring in the 2nd vs exile effects.
Can GB Constrictor even compete? Can they even win a match against us? I feel the matchup is 95/5 in our favor.
Ramunap Red is a 40/60 matchup, Yahenni's Expertise is better than Flaying Tendrils. Hits Kari Zev, Zombies, Spell Queller, etc.
Ruthless Snipers need to stay in post board VS URx Control. Kills Dragonmaster Outcasts and Wandering Fumaroles.
Sometimes the correct play is hardcasting your cyclers and saying "Answer this" to control. I managed to get in for 14 with a single Horror of the Broken Lands, ending the game.
This deck loses four cards to rotation: 4 Choked Estuaries. Ixalan gives us Drowned Catacombs. Upgrade.
I'm really liking the idea of Collective Brutality in the 75 somewhere. But where?
GR Ramp is our worst matchup, but that deck dies 100% in less than two short months.
Possible modern port with Living End? Street Wraith is a good fit.
The deck doesn't play itself, so I imagine some folks who are picking it up for the first time don't know the best avenues of play for each scenario, but enough about that. I've had success with it, and will probably stream the rest of my competitive league this weekend, currently 1-0 with first match against UR control.
Now, the changes. Gifted Aetherborn is a great card and I won't cut it. Here's why: Deathtouch. Sure, lifelink is all popular these days because of Ramunap Red, but deathtouch is the keyword that makes this 2-drop worth it. Kills Bristling Hydras and Torrential Gearhulks and Electrostatic Pummelers and Ammit Eternals all day long, which is important in this deck. Contraband Kingpin just gives lifelink to a 1/4 body. I'll stick with my Wurmcoil Vampire.
Yahenni's Expertise I'm still looking at. I like 3 toughness sweepers for matchups where Bygone Bishop or Kari Zev or Sylvan Advocate can get out of hand if not dealt with.
Censor stays. It's a one mana cycler. It counters stuff. There's no downside.
Hollow One is still good, but I may make the land/rotbeast addition to see if I like it. Nimble Obstructionist isn't just a cycler, he's (she's?) also a flash 3 power evasive threat if we're playing fair magic. We play fair magic a lot.
Fetid Pools stays. You need a critical mass of cyclers to make the deck consistent, and cutting a free dual land that also cycles is not the way to add consistency. Ipnu Rivulet also stays, as it's ability not only can grow your grave to give your vile manifestations oomph, I've used it a few times to mill away my opponent's Approach the Second Sun.
Flaying tendrils underperforms, collective brutality underperforms, and the three cards that were cut are such good tempo plays that I begin to wonder if the streamer has read them. 1CMC instant that wins the mirror or blanks Scarab God and Torrential Gearhulk. 1CMC flash enchantment that renders any threat useless basically. And a 1 CMC nonland boomerang that also casts from grave to make opponent pitch two cards (possibly including the one you bounced).
All said, I don't like the changes. It pigeonholes the deck as a God-Pharaoh's Gift deck, which can be hated easily. As to your suggestion that GPG is a do nothing token generator, it's simply much much better than that. I invite you to play some matches with or against the deck.
I don't know that anyone is arguing that the deck can't be successful. The bigger question is, how competitive is it in the current meta?
I want to believe that this deck is 'better' than the other Gift decks because you don't need to rely on 'randomly' sending cards to the graveyard for reanimation. The problem is that the reanimation targets are weaker than alternatives, i.e. Lurching Rotbeast < Angel of Invention.
You also make the statement, "We play fair magic a lot" which begs the question, is this a 'good' fair magic deck? That point may be arguable, but this isn't something that I would necessarily play vs Ramunap Red. Censor, Vile Manifestation, and Gifted Aetherborn are all good, early cards, but I'm not convinced they will consistently buy you the time to get to turn 5, drop an Archfiend of Ifnir and then cycle on the next turn to sweep.
Personally, I feel like Gifts should be a focused combo for Game 1 with a 'fairer' component post-board.
Is a white splash completely unreasonable?
The answer to the question as to whether Vile Manifestation, Gifted Aetherborn, and Censor can buy me time to turn 5 is... maybe? Let's hope. Ramunap red is a tier 1 or tier 0 deck with explosiveness that basically plays face-hunter from hearthstone. There are many decks that have been tuned to have 80/20 matchups vs red. This one still is probably 50/50 post board. This deck, though, does crush the decks tuned to beat Ramunap Red. Ramunap red also hates out our other worst matchup, GR Ramp. I feel UB Cycling is in a decent spot.
A streamer (forgot who) played ShinyFirefly's current decklist in a 5-game series without success. When showing his own version of the deck, some notable differences included:
* 3 Contraband King replaced Gifted Aetherborn. It's easier to hit, survives more removal, and still has the necessary lifelink for reanimation.
* 3 Yahenni's Expertise came in as -3/-3 wipes the majority of the board while still allowing for another play.
* Censor got chopped b/c it didn't add to the gy's creature count.
* Hollow One and Nimble Obstructionist got cut for their large cycle costs and being unwieldy. An additional land, gate, and rotbeast took their place.
* Fetid Pools were removed b/c their ETB tapped property made the early turns inconsistent. Ipnu Rivulet, likewise, got the boot since our dual lands required basics.
* Flaying Tendrils and Collective Brutality came into the sideboard while Scarab Feast, Spontaneous Mutation, and Consign // Oblivion got the boot.
I'm not 100% sold on all the changes, but I do find they take the deck in an a more streamlined direction. All things considered, the deck itself leaves me questioning what we're truly trying to exploit. God-Pharoh's gift is essentially an unreliable, 4/4 token generator that doesn't have much of an immediate impact. We're not abusing insane ETB shenanigans like other gift decks and I've yet to find an opponent who truly feared a non-evasive, hasted X/4.
The deck doesn't play itself, so I imagine some folks who are picking it up for the first time don't know the best avenues of play for each scenario, but enough about that. I've had success with it, and will probably stream the rest of my competitive league this weekend, currently 1-0 with first match against UR control.
Now, the changes. Gifted Aetherborn is a great card and I won't cut it. Here's why: Deathtouch. Sure, lifelink is all popular these days because of Ramunap Red, but deathtouch is the keyword that makes this 2-drop worth it. Kills Bristling Hydras and Torrential Gearhulks and Electrostatic Pummelers and Ammit Eternals all day long, which is important in this deck. Contraband Kingpin just gives lifelink to a 1/4 body. I'll stick with my Wurmcoil Vampire.
Yahenni's Expertise I'm still looking at. I like 3 toughness sweepers for matchups where Bygone Bishop or Kari Zev or Sylvan Advocate can get out of hand if not dealt with.
Censor stays. It's a one mana cycler. It counters stuff. There's no downside.
Hollow One is still good, but I may make the land/rotbeast addition to see if I like it. Nimble Obstructionist isn't just a cycler, he's (she's?) also a flash 3 power evasive threat if we're playing fair magic. We play fair magic a lot.
Fetid Pools stays. You need a critical mass of cyclers to make the deck consistent, and cutting a free dual land that also cycles is not the way to add consistency. Ipnu Rivulet also stays, as it's ability not only can grow your grave to give your vile manifestations oomph, I've used it a few times to mill away my opponent's Approach the Second Sun.
Flaying tendrils underperforms, collective brutality underperforms, and the three cards that were cut are such good tempo plays that I begin to wonder if the streamer has read them. 1CMC instant that wins the mirror or blanks Scarab God and Torrential Gearhulk. 1CMC flash enchantment that renders any threat useless basically. And a 1 CMC nonland boomerang that also casts from grave to make opponent pitch two cards (possibly including the one you bounced).
All said, I don't like the changes. It pigeonholes the deck as a God-Pharaoh's Gift deck, which can be hated easily. As to your suggestion that GPG is a do nothing token generator, it's simply much much better than that. I invite you to play some matches with or against the deck.
This is the MOST up to date list, which has been working well in a meta of Ramunap Red and the decks that beat them. This seems favorable against both.
How has the land count been for you who have tested? I've been testing this as well and 19 has felt really low, despite the fact that we cycle so much. I think after all the changes you described (removing Hollow One, Snipers to the side, Aetherborn maindeck), I have a similar deck that's running 21 lands. The two lands came in to replace 2 of the 4 Lurching Rotbeast that has been described above, and at least for me it's been fine. The reason I'm Ok with this is I have been pretty reliably able to hardcast the Gift or Eternalize Champion of Wits. I upped my land base to include 6 Islands and 5 Swamps, while still running the desert, because I noticed I had too many scenarios of lands entering tapped.
-Drakeraistlin
To be honest, I've had a few games where I keep a one-lander and cycle 18 cards deep without finding a second land. I've also had games where I flood out and need to draw cyclers but have a grip full of lands. Most of the time, I'm just fine.
has anyone tried adding trophy mage to add some consistency and say a copy of filigree familiar, mirage mirror, or thirsting axe for some spice, jus dunno what to cut but could be some food for thought. could even help in shaping a more consistent sb
Can Countervailing Winds be playable here (in the SB over Negate) ?
It mostly a hard counter which can also cycle, is the 3-mana too restrictive though ?
Another creature that seems pretty good for this deck is Wharf Infiltrator which can make an Eldrazi army with all the cycling.
The tokens cost more to make than Drake Haven but it counts as a creature for Gift which is good.
Shadowstorm Vizier seems like an interesting option as well, can it be good enough though ?
Thanks for responding.
Yes, Censor and Nimble Obstructionist absolutely pull their weight. This deck taps its mana like a control deck, only cycling in the early game in their opponent's end step. Censor sometimes just blows out an opponent. Nimble Obstructionist often makes a cast out useless. They both belong in some fashion.
Countervailing winds has a few problems. First, it cycles for 2, which I don't want too much of. Second, it costs 3 CMC, something I don't like unless it's nimble obstructionist for obvious reasons. Lastly, its bad vs. graveyard hate. We don't want to open ourselves any further to grave hate. For those reasons Negate is the right pick.
As for Negate vs Lay Bare the Heart, It's all about forcing the opponent to play around Censor, Nimble, Negate, other potential shenanigans. I'd rather force my opponent to invest mana in a spell then have it countered, as opposed to ripping it from his hand on my turn, allowing him to untap and play his second best card without losing any tempo or curve.
Wharf Infiltrator is no Drake Haven and here's why. In the control matchup, Drake Haven is almost unremovable (Cast out, Commit, etc.) which gives the deck inevitability. Wharf Infiltrator will eat magma spray or fatal push and that will be the end of it. I bring in drake havens to blank the opponents removal, and while Wharf may make beefier tokens (at a higher premium), it still opens itself up to virtually all removal.
Shadowstorm Vizier its getting too cutesy with the "discard/cycling matters" theme of the deck. To be lethal or anywhere near, we need to cycle many many cards per turn. I just don't think there are any open spots. If I'm playing UB Cycling in commander, then sure.
Lantern is so much better with Whir it's scary, and the ability to turn Lantern control into a toolbox-like Tezzerator-esque deck is actually kinda enjoyable to see. They don't need thopter sword to win because of lock pieces, but they can still 'get there' with tezzeret, aob from the board.
Alright this deck's a little crazy, so even though I think it's fairly generically powerful I made sure to test it rigorously against the top two perceived decks (Ramunap Red and Temur Energy) as well as two other likely popular decks (Mardu Vehicles and UB Control). I selected these to test against not only because they are likely going to see play, but also because they represent a wide amount of archetypes. This will give us data about other potential matchups. For example, the matchup against Mardu Vehicles might show us useful information if we are playing against UR Pirates. As a caveat, really no amount of testing can measure up to the collective data represented in the first month of actual tournaments, but I believe 30 matches is a good place to start. More on testing and the results later.
So what is Bant Tishana? It's a deck built around a web of synergies that roughly resembles what an elf deck might do. The main synergies are Inspiring Statuary + Fabricate Spells + Tishana and Growing Rites of the Itlimoc + Creatures + Tishana. As the deck title might imply, Tishana is the big payoff for doing what we're doing. When things are going well we draw 9+ cards on turn 5 and set up a kill with a 20/20 Walking Ballista. That makes this sort of a combo deck, sort of a ramp deck, but mostly an elf deck. Going wide and casting Angel of Invention is often good enough and puts a ton of pressure on decks like Mardu Vehicles. The gameplan is always Tishana, but the deck can get it done with value creatures as well. I'd like to thank the GAM podcast for the early idea for this list. They were missing tons of key cards but the idea of using Tishana in a non merfolk deck was really the tipping point for me.
Let's get to the list:
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/bant-tishana/
Artifact (4)
4x Inspiring Statuary - The first piece of the core of our ramp strategy. Once going, it makes all of our Fabricate spells essentially two mana. For example, once Statuary is out you can tap it and a servo to cast Sram's Expertise. The new servo's let you cast another assuming you have WW mana available. This let's us dump our hands and then eventually cast Tishana for pretty much free. I knew that Statuary was a broken card, and it was just waiting for this deck to capitalize on it. I know Abrade exists, but Statuary is worth the risk and games where you have it snowball so fast it's unreal.
Enchantment (4)
4x Growing Rites of Itlimoc - The second engine piece. Finding a creature is fine and all, especially when diggin for Tishana, but we're really interested in the transformed version. Frickin Gaea's Cradle. Once we have like, idk, thirty or so creatures on the battlefield we can tap this to play a giant Ballista. Then we play another, and when it flips we keep the untapped one and pump Ballista up for lethal. That's just one of the many busted things going on with this card. Casting our Tishana with two lands is Modern power level at least.
Creature (20)
4x Ixalli's Diviner - This card might seem suspect, but it's here for a reason. More so, I chose it as the 4-of over Merfolk Branchwalker because this isn't an attacking deck, and a 1/4 brickwalls most early plays. A 0/3 that draws a card is essentially a better elvish visionary, so both modes on this card are insane. I can't wait for everyone to realize how insanely powerful Explore is.
3x Merfolk Branchwalker - If you could play more than 4 Elvish Visionary's in your deck, would you? I would. These two mana plays are the backbone of this deck and fluidly smooth out otherwise clunky draws. it might honestly be correct to play eight of these. At first I tested actual ramp cards but quickly found that the removal in the format is unreal against dorks right now. But these give value no matter what, especially in a deck digging for specific cards.
4x Tishana, Voice of Thunder - The payoff. A better Regal Force. A card I had to read like four times to make sure it was real. I was listening to the GAM podcast and Gerry was talking about something that really clicked in me. Just because Merfolk is a tribe doesn't mean that all Merfolk have to go in the "Merfolk" deck. Tishana and Merfolk Branchwalker are perfectly great cards outside those archetypes and are great here. Drawing 10+ cards with Tish is really the greatest. She just puts the game out of reach so fast, which to be fair is kind of what you expect from your seven drops. The thing is with the explosive ramp in this deck she comes down early and often. She almost always chains into another one. I've cast five+ spells in a turn quite consistently.
4x Angel of Invention - The other payoff for ramping in our deck is Angel of Invention. Angel comes down and can represent 10 or more power. This deck generates a TON of servos and sometimes Angel just does an Elvish Archdruid impersonation and you get there with Servo Beats. In fact against some decks that's the primary goal. it helps to have generically good creatures that also go off with Statuary and Tishana.
3x Visionary Augmenter - It's important to have a critical mass of creatures that put three bodies on the board. It makes flipping Itlimoc significantly easier. I'm not going to sit here and tell you this card is good, but it's reasonable in this deck and pays you off for three cards with Tishana.
2x Walking Ballista - Really mostly here to go off with Itlimoc and give us something other than Tishana to do with our mana. Once we've drawn most of our deck finding one is trivial so there's no reason to run four unless the meta calls for it. It's exceedingly meh as a 1/1 and really doesn't go off until much later. Still, it's an important piece of the puzzle and another generically reasonable card to have in the deck.
Sorcery (8)
4x Servo Exhibition - Two servos for two mana is an exceptional deal. We care both about the artifact count for Statuary AND the creature count for Itlimoc/Tishana. By far the best home for this card I've seen.
4x Sram's Expertise - Quite possibly the most explosive card in the deck. Casting an Itlimoc or Statuary off it is just the business. Three servos are great for chumping and getting you over the hill to Tishana and once your "storming off" with Statuary can represent a ton of ramp/ritual potential. For example, if you are trying to cast a lethal Ballista and have a statuary and Itlimoc out. You can tap two servos and WW to cast Expertise and then cast a Servo Exhibition for free. THEN you can tap Cradle for five mana. That's basically dark ritual with five servos attached. DOING IT!
Land (24) - The mana base is fairly complex but mostly solid. The only blue in the deck is Tishana and the sideboard Negate's so we really only need 10 sources. Frank Karsten Analysis says we only need 9 but I don't really feel safe considering how much we really do need to cast Tish. We need a TON of white sources to go off with statuary and honestly 18 is even potentially a little low, but mostly fine. Then we have the Karsten recommended 13 lands for our green two drops. We could make the mana base better for colors if we'd like, but this setup allows for more lands to come into play untapped. I've tweaked a ton with this and this setup was by far the best for me. We could play stuff like Spire of Industry for more white sources, but I'm worried about not getting to WW in the first place. Another issue with the mana base is that there isn't room for Shefet Dunes, which would be insane in the deck. We need a ton of plains for our check lands to function which is more important imo. Luckily we have plenty of stuff to do with our mana if we flood because of the cycle lands.
4x Botanical Sanctum
2x Forest
4x Glacial Fortress
2x Irrigated Farmland
5x Plains
3x Scattered Groves
4x Sunpetal Grove
Sideboard (15) - The sideboard is a bit of a cluster but it was good for in the matchups I cared about. Inspiring Cleric and Settle the Wreckage are THE tech for Ram Red. Control can't beat carnage tyrant to point of it being comical, and negate plays well with statuary and I was able to "get" my opponent and counter their wrath on a critical turn. Ajani is there to grind and ramp into and often draws two cards per activation for us as well as digging for moar Tishanas! That being said the board could probably use some tuning. I'd like some graveyard hate.
2x Ajani Unyielding
2x Carnage Tyrant
4x Inspiring Cleric
4x Negate
3x Settle the Wreckage
So as for testing!
I played ten GAMES against Ramp Red to start. Five preboard five post board. Ram red won 4 of the preboard games and I won 3 of the postboard games. The matchup was mostly about how each of us curved out and if they had Hazoret. I felt way better on the play but the matchup felt pretty rough preboard. Just too much too fast. I had to start chumping and didn't have enough juice left to stabilize. The post board games were much better and I won every game where I saw a sideboard card (Settle the Wreckage and Inspiring Cleric). The abrades on the Inspiring Statuary convinced me to board all of them out, which if I had figured out a game earlier I likely could have won another post board game. Overall 4-6, which is about what I expected. The games felt roughly representative of the matchup as a whole and I'd say that we're favored post board but not on the draw in game three.
I played ten GAMES against Temur Energy. I swept the preboard games 5-0 and won 2 of the post board games. I think the Temur Energy matchup is the reason to play this deck to be honest. It felt like their gameplan was just nonsense compared to mine. Nothing they did was fast enough and their removal was largely irrelevant. Post board I lost three games to Sweltering Suns. Cheap Wraths are good against elves, who knew? It makes me think that some number of Spell Pierce over Negate is correct. Either way, 7-3 against the format's top dog, not too shabby!
I played five GAMES against UB Control, three preboard and two postboard. I won two of the preboard games and lost both post board games. The wins were on the back of servo beat down, which is pretty great against them and the losses were to censor and Yahenni's Expertise. Censor is fantastic against us in the early turns because we basically have to tap out each turn or we aren't anywhere near fast enough. The counterspells mean that Tishana is basically never resolving so we are in a rough spot with our primary gamplan. Post board Ajani would have been nice in theory but they have a ton of counters and contempt, so I'd like to look elsewhere for card advantage. So 2-3 against UB control. Not a great matchup by any means.
I played five GAMES against Mardu Vehicles, three preboard and two post board. I won two preboard and one post board. The wins were from Tishana doing her thing and the losses were to flying beat down and well timed removal. Things that Mardu does very well. Heart of Kiran is great against us and Glorybringer clocks really fast when not extering. I countered a key fumigate post board which to me felt like big wraths are bad against us. Spell pierce would have been fine in any of my games so I'm thinking a 2-2 split with negate could be correct. 3-2 against Mardu vehicles. The matchup felt close but favorable.
I hope that was enough data for you and thanks for reading. Let me know what you think!
-NickP
4x Angel of Invention
2x Angel of Sanctions
4x Ixalli's Diviner
2x Merfolk Branchwalker
4x Tishana, Voice of Thunder
2x Visionary Augmenter
2x Walking Ballista
Enchantment (4)
4x Growing Rites of Itlimoc
Land (24)
4x Botanical Sanctum
2x Forest
4x Glacial Fortress
2x Irrigated Farmland
5x Plains
3x Scattered Groves
4x Sunpetal Grove
4x Inspiring Statuary
Sorcery (8)
4x Servo Exhibition
4x Sram's Expertise
2x Ajani Unyielding
2x Carnage Tyrant
4x Inspiring Cleric
4x Negate
3x Settle the Wreckage
Also, Search for Azcanta is not simply to fill the yard (which it does), it's also to set up your draws, prevent flood or prevent screw, and mid game it becomes another land with an unbelievable ability.
As for Hostage Taker, he's our out against Hazoret or Rhonas. He's also great at stealing Opposing Scarab Gods or Glorybringers. He's also a nice combat trick to be brought back with your own Scarab God. Hostage taker is one of the best cards in the deck and probably one of the top three cards of Ixalan.
To answer your questions about the green list, Nissa is there to set up draws and provide a clock. Her scry 2 is always relevant, her zero can be fun to set up a free play of hostage taker or Scarab God or Torrential Gearhulk. Her Ult is simply 10 damage, or two more mana should you need it (ouch).
Here's my foundation.
3 Hostage Taker
2 Torrential Gearhulk
3 Search for Azcanta
4 Supreme Will
4 Fatal Push
2 Bontu's Last Reckoning
Then we have some optional packages.
First, the energy package:
1 Torrential Gearhulk
4 Aether Hub
4 Glimmer of Genius
Choose One
3 Shielded Aether Thief
3 Lightning Strike
I personally like Shielded Aether Thief. He reminds me of Wall of Omens but on our primary color and stands in front of Ramunap Red creatures. Also, Glimmer of Genius is a very powerful magic card.
Another Option is the Cycling package
Cycling Package
2 Irrigated Farmland
3 Fetid Pools
2 Archfiend of Ifnir
3 Cast Out
4 Hieroglyphic Illumination
3 Censor
2 Renewed Faith
Choose one
2 Abandoned Sarcophagus
2 Drake Haven
2 Faith of the Devoted
of the two packages mentioned, I've had the most success with the energy package thanks to the inevitability provided by Torrential Gearhulk into Glimmer of Genius, as well as the early game wall of Shielded Aether Thief. The Cycling package has performed well, but its much more vulnerable to Ramunap Red than the energy package. One thing the Cycling package has going for it is the added sideboard options and the good matchup vs the Mono Blue sky pirates deck.
Let's assemble the energy package with the foundation:
2 Scarab God
3 Hostage Taker
3 Torrential Gearhulk
3 Shielded Aether Thief
3 Search for Azcanta
4 Supreme Will
4 Fatal Push
2 Bontu's Last Reckoning
4 Glimmer of Genius
Then the Splash
Green
2 Nissa, Steward of the Elements
3 Life goes On
White Splash
3 Cast out
2 Settle the Wreckage
3 Approach of the Second Sun
3 Renewed Faith
I love Vraska so much, and feel that she is one of the most powerful closers. She clocks and protects with her +2, her -3 kills another problem permanent and grants you a Revolt-generating Treasure for Fatal Push. Nissa is also a great closer as well as a great three drop against control. She sets up every draw and allows your Azcantas to dig a big further. I love the green splash.
The white splash seems much more controlling. Vona provides some lifelink and the ability to kill problem permanents. Cast out also takes out problematic permanents, but at instant speed. Settle the Wreckage helps a lot against Carnage Tyrant and some fringe board-swarming strategies. Approach also just happens to win the game. Lets plug in the white splash and see where we are at.
2 Scarab God
3 Hostage Taker
3 Torrential Gearhulk
3 Shielded Aether Thief
3 Search for Azcanta
4 Supreme Will
4 Fatal Push
2 Bontu's Last Reckoning
4 Glimmer of Genius
2 Vona, Butcher of Magan
3 Cast out
2 Settle the Wreckage
3 Approach of the Second Sun
3 Renewed Faith
Wow, that's 38 non-lands, giving us only room for 22 lands. I require 25 with this deck, seeing as Azcanta turns into additional mana and we have good filter. Let's make a 25 land mana base.
White Splash
4 Aether Hub
3 Fetid Pools
2 Irrigated Farmland
4 Drowned Catacombs
3 Glacial Chasm
3 Swamp
6 Island
Green Splash
2 Fetid Pools
3 Botanical Sanctum
2 Blooming Marsh
4 Drowned Catacombs
4 Aether Hub
1 Forest
5 Island
4 Swamp
Making a few cuts to the UBw list (we don't need 2 Bontu's and 2 Settle and we're also creature heavy, lets cut the Bontu's and a Scarab God)
4 Aether Hub
3 Fetid Pools
2 Irrigated Farmland
4 Drowned Catacombs
3 Glacial Chasm
3 Swamp
6 Island
Creature
1 Scarab God
3 Hostage Taker
3 Torrential Gearhulk
3 Shielded Aether Thief
2 Vona, Butcher of Magan
3 Search for Azcanta
3 Cast out
Instant
4 Supreme Will
4 Fatal Push
4 Glimmer of Genius
2 Settle the Wreckage
3 Approach of the Second Sun
3 Renewed Faith
I don't like Approach with so many creatures and so little permission. I also feel that the deck is too creature heavy. Vona could easily be a sideboard card, as could a Shielded Aether Thief. Lets add in a few Essence Scatters, Censors and Disallows.
Let's also round out the sideboard and tweak the main deck a little.
4 Aether Hub
3 Fetid Pools
2 Irrigated Farmland
4 Drowned Catacombs
3 Glacial Chasm
3 Swamp
6 Island
Creature (9)
1 Scarab God
3 Hostage Taker
3 Torrential Gearhulk
2 Shielded Aether Thief
3 Search for Azcanta
2 Cast out
Instant (21)
4 Supreme Will
4 Fatal Push
4 Glimmer of Genius
2 Settle the Wreckage
2 Disallow
2 Essence Scatter
3 Censor
2 Cast Out
3 Renewed Faith
2 Vona, Butcher of Magan
2 Shielded Aether Thief
3 Vraska's Contempt
3 Negate
This is the direction I'll go with the deck. The reason I have all of this spelled out, is if I'm wrong somewhere in my rationale, please let me know. Thanks for reading!
And because you didn't ask for it, here's the Green splash final* decklist:
2 Fetid Pools
3 Botanical Sanctum
2 Blooming Marsh
4 Drowned Catacombs
4 Aether Hub
1 Forest
5 Island
4 Swamp
Creature (9)
2 Scarab God
2 Hostage Taker
3 Torrential Gearhulk
2 Shielded Aether Thief
3 Search for Azcanta
Instant (17)
3 Supreme Will
3 Glimmer of Genius
4 Fatal Push
2 Essence Scatter
2 Disallow
3 Censor
Planeswalker (4)
2 Nissa, Steward of the Elements
2 Vraska, Relic Seeker
Sorcery (2)
2 Yahenni's Expertise
3 Bontu's Last Reckoning
3 Duress
2 Essence Extraction
3 Life Goes On
2 Negate
2 Spell Pierce
Here's the updated list:
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Fetid Pools
1 Ipnu Rivulet
5 Island
6 Swamp
Spells
3 Search for Azcanta
4 Censor
4 Vile Manifestation
4 Champion of Wits
1 Nimble Obstructionist
3 Gate to the Afterlife
4 Curator of Mysteries
4 Horror of the Broken Lands
4 Archfiend of Ifnir
3 Hollow One
4 Striped Riverwinder
2 God-Pharaoh’s Gift
3 Drake Haven
3 Negate
3 Scarab Feast
2 Consign // Oblivion
3 Duress
Usually cut 2 Hollow One, a Nimble Obstructionist, and a number of censors in some matchups.
Liliana, the Last Hope is great vs grindy matchups, matchups with lots of x/1s, and against control as a "answer me or die" card.
Sure! This is the list that's currently working best.
3 Ruthless Sniper
4 Vile Manifestation
4 Champion of Wits
4 Curator of Mysteries
4 Archfiend of Ifnir
3 Hollow One
1 Nimble Obstructionist
4 Horror of the Broken Lands
4 Striped Riverwinder
4 Censor
4 Gate to the Afterlife
1 God-Pharaoh's Gift
4 Choked Estuary
4 Fetid Pools
1 Ipnu Rivulet
4 Island
1 Sunken Hollow
6 Swamp
1 Dreamstealer
3 Scarab Feast
2 Negate
2 Drake Haven
3 Yahenni's Expertise
3 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 God-Pharaoh's Gift
The newest and sickest addition is Liliana, the Last Hope. She is by no means a requirement for the sideboard, and if you would like to remain rotation-proof, I'd recommend 1 Ruthless Sniper and 2 Nimble Obstructionist.
A few notes.
Recently Hollow One had been cut. That is a bad move. Hollow one is back in and should stay.
Censor is fantastic and should be a playset in the 75.
Gifted Aetherborn is good vs the red matchup, but Ruthless Sniper is a death sentence for them. Up that to a playset.
4m/0s 1m/1s is the right split for Gate to the Afterlife / God-Pharaoh's Gift. Bring in the 2nd vs exile effects.
Can GB Constrictor even compete? Can they even win a match against us? I feel the matchup is 95/5 in our favor.
Ramunap Red is a 40/60 matchup, Yahenni's Expertise is better than Flaying Tendrils. Hits Kari Zev, Zombies, Spell Queller, etc.
Ruthless Snipers need to stay in post board VS URx Control. Kills Dragonmaster Outcasts and Wandering Fumaroles.
Sometimes the correct play is hardcasting your cyclers and saying "Answer this" to control. I managed to get in for 14 with a single Horror of the Broken Lands, ending the game.
This deck loses four cards to rotation: 4 Choked Estuaries. Ixalan gives us Drowned Catacombs. Upgrade.
I'm really liking the idea of Collective Brutality in the 75 somewhere. But where?
GR Ramp is our worst matchup, but that deck dies 100% in less than two short months.
Possible modern port with Living End? Street Wraith is a good fit.
Censor, Consign//Oblivion, Ruthless Sniper, Archfiend of Ifnir, Spontaneous Mutation. That's about it.
The answer to the question as to whether Vile Manifestation, Gifted Aetherborn, and Censor can buy me time to turn 5 is... maybe? Let's hope. Ramunap red is a tier 1 or tier 0 deck with explosiveness that basically plays face-hunter from hearthstone. There are many decks that have been tuned to have 80/20 matchups vs red. This one still is probably 50/50 post board. This deck, though, does crush the decks tuned to beat Ramunap Red. Ramunap red also hates out our other worst matchup, GR Ramp. I feel UB Cycling is in a decent spot.
The deck doesn't play itself, so I imagine some folks who are picking it up for the first time don't know the best avenues of play for each scenario, but enough about that. I've had success with it, and will probably stream the rest of my competitive league this weekend, currently 1-0 with first match against UR control.
Now, the changes. Gifted Aetherborn is a great card and I won't cut it. Here's why: Deathtouch. Sure, lifelink is all popular these days because of Ramunap Red, but deathtouch is the keyword that makes this 2-drop worth it. Kills Bristling Hydras and Torrential Gearhulks and Electrostatic Pummelers and Ammit Eternals all day long, which is important in this deck. Contraband Kingpin just gives lifelink to a 1/4 body. I'll stick with my Wurmcoil Vampire.
Yahenni's Expertise I'm still looking at. I like 3 toughness sweepers for matchups where Bygone Bishop or Kari Zev or Sylvan Advocate can get out of hand if not dealt with.
Censor stays. It's a one mana cycler. It counters stuff. There's no downside.
Hollow One is still good, but I may make the land/rotbeast addition to see if I like it. Nimble Obstructionist isn't just a cycler, he's (she's?) also a flash 3 power evasive threat if we're playing fair magic. We play fair magic a lot.
Fetid Pools stays. You need a critical mass of cyclers to make the deck consistent, and cutting a free dual land that also cycles is not the way to add consistency. Ipnu Rivulet also stays, as it's ability not only can grow your grave to give your vile manifestations oomph, I've used it a few times to mill away my opponent's Approach the Second Sun.
Flaying tendrils underperforms, collective brutality underperforms, and the three cards that were cut are such good tempo plays that I begin to wonder if the streamer has read them. 1CMC instant that wins the mirror or blanks Scarab God and Torrential Gearhulk. 1CMC flash enchantment that renders any threat useless basically. And a 1 CMC nonland boomerang that also casts from grave to make opponent pitch two cards (possibly including the one you bounced).
All said, I don't like the changes. It pigeonholes the deck as a God-Pharaoh's Gift deck, which can be hated easily. As to your suggestion that GPG is a do nothing token generator, it's simply much much better than that. I invite you to play some matches with or against the deck.
4 Choked Estuary
4 Fetid Pools
1 Sunken Hollow
1 Ipnu Rivulet
4 Island
5 Swamp
Spells
3 Censor
4 Vile Manifestation
4 Champion of Wits
1 Nimble Obstructionist
3 Gate to the Afterlife
4 Curator of Mysteries
3 Gifted Aetherborn
4 Horror of the Broken Lands
4 Archfiend of Ifnir
2 Hollow One
3 Lurching Rotbeast
4 Striped Riverwinder
2 God-Pharaoh’s Gift
2 Drake Haven
2 Negate
3 Scarab Feast
3 Ruthless Sniper
2 Consign // Oblivion
1 Dreamstealer
2 Spontaneous Mutation
This is the MOST up to date list, which has been working well in a meta of Ramunap Red and the decks that beat them. This seems favorable against both.
To be honest, I've had a few games where I keep a one-lander and cycle 18 cards deep without finding a second land. I've also had games where I flood out and need to draw cyclers but have a grip full of lands. Most of the time, I'm just fine.
I think the cycling itself adds consistency.
Thanks for responding.
Yes, Censor and Nimble Obstructionist absolutely pull their weight. This deck taps its mana like a control deck, only cycling in the early game in their opponent's end step. Censor sometimes just blows out an opponent. Nimble Obstructionist often makes a cast out useless. They both belong in some fashion.
Countervailing winds has a few problems. First, it cycles for 2, which I don't want too much of. Second, it costs 3 CMC, something I don't like unless it's nimble obstructionist for obvious reasons. Lastly, its bad vs. graveyard hate. We don't want to open ourselves any further to grave hate. For those reasons Negate is the right pick.
As for Negate vs Lay Bare the Heart, It's all about forcing the opponent to play around Censor, Nimble, Negate, other potential shenanigans. I'd rather force my opponent to invest mana in a spell then have it countered, as opposed to ripping it from his hand on my turn, allowing him to untap and play his second best card without losing any tempo or curve.
Wharf Infiltrator is no Drake Haven and here's why. In the control matchup, Drake Haven is almost unremovable (Cast out, Commit, etc.) which gives the deck inevitability. Wharf Infiltrator will eat magma spray or fatal push and that will be the end of it. I bring in drake havens to blank the opponents removal, and while Wharf may make beefier tokens (at a higher premium), it still opens itself up to virtually all removal.
Shadowstorm Vizier its getting too cutesy with the "discard/cycling matters" theme of the deck. To be lethal or anywhere near, we need to cycle many many cards per turn. I just don't think there are any open spots. If I'm playing UB Cycling in commander, then sure.