In the League: Ixidor's Legacy

So, I joined the Magic Coffeehouse Preconstructed Deck League. I've decided to play Ixidor's Legacy. This is an unusual mono-blue deck that is packed to the gills with shapeshifters and kill. Here is the list:

DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
Lands
23 Island
1 Desert

Creatures
2 Coral Trickster
2 Dream Stalker
3 Fathom Seer
2 Riptide Pilferer
1 Willbender
1 Merfolk Thaumaturgist
1 Ovinomancer
2 Tidewalker
1 Serendib Sorcerer
2 Shaper Parasite
1 Crookclaw Transmuter
2 Fledgling Mawcor
2 Primal Plasma
2 Aquamorph Entity
1 Aeon Chronicler
1 Jodah's Avenger
1 Brine Elemental
1 Slipstream Serpent

Spells
1 Piracy Charm
1 Pongify
2 Unstable Mutation
2 Ovinize
2 Erratic Mutation


I see some potential; this deck could go in a number of ways. There are some cards in the list that jump out as being fundamentally strong - Brine Elemental, Jodah's Avenger, Willbender, and Tidewalker. But there are some that I've seen to be very deceptively good in play. Shaper Parasite, so far, has been kind of an all-star.

This deck features a wide range of creature removal, unusual in blue. Piracy Charm is probably better than it looks for killing off weenies, and adding damage later on in the game. Pongify seems a mixed bag, as do Ovinize and Erratic Mutation. All of the cards are reminiscent of classic blue spells like Unsummon - lots of versatility. A surprisingly effective little bugger is Primal Plasma. The ability to get a good blocker or an evasive attack at will is lovely. It is effectively a charm incarnated in creature form.

Looking at some of the deck's themes, I sense some tension. There are choices for medium-quick utility weenies like Riptide Pilferer and Coral Trickster, and there is the bomb-ish Unstable Mutation. However, there seems to be a heavy streak of control - blockers like Fathom Seer and Dream Stalker, removal like Ovinize and Pongify, and morphers that encourage you to hold back mana for abilities. Some of the deck's acrobatic creatures, like Primal Plasma and Aquamorph Entity, suggest to me that the deck is meant to be able to switch between aggression and control. I'll see how that turns out.

A neat, obvious, but somewhat minor theme is using Dream Stalker to reuse morph abilities, reset cards like Aquamorph Entity and Primal Plasma, or recoup Tidewalker.

There is also a faint smattering of discard. The blue discard seems a bit weak; Pilferer is capable of generating good card advantage, but it lacks the usefulness of netting you actual cards that you can play. Fathom Seer is obviously useful; but as for Venarian Glimmer and Pilferer, I'm not so sure. We'll see for now.

Possible future candidates include Reality Acid and Dismal Failure. I will probably swap in Repeal for something.

Well, that sounds like a good start. See y'all later!
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Mamelon

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