The goal here is efficiency that rewards tight play. 1v1 I play it pretty aggressively. Multiplayer I tend to play the deck pretty heavy in the control direction, but always keeping an eye on the opportunity to jump on someone's throat with rafiq if the option presents itself.
1 Exploration - Card disadvantage acceleration. Better choices out there.
1 Return to Dust - I like instant speed effects. 4 mana for a card that really wants to be played mainphase is :'(.
1 Land Tax - Terrible top deck, not great ramp, only combos with Jace and Brainstorm.
1 Birthing Pod - This is the kind card you need to build around, at least some. I don't have enough ETB to support. If I move more towards ETB effects, I could run this.
1 Sunblast Angel - Too circumstantial. I'd rather just have a wrath and sculpt a board position instead of hoping my opponents overreach.
1 Tormod's Crypt - I don't want the GY hate. I have counterspells, stp, path, and wrath effects. That should be enough to combat the derpy GY decks.
1 Spitting Image - Looks cool, but expensive. Terrible if you're not retracing a ton. I just don't think my deck needs this effect.
1 Expedition Map - Too expensive, I don't run enough utility lands.
1 Gilded Lotus - I'd rather have Marari's wake in this deck.
1 Mistmeadow Witch - Cool, but expensive and will probably die to my wrath effects a bunch. Just kinda meh.
1 Karmic Guide - I'd run it with Revilark, but it's not great otherwise.
1 Blatant Thievery - Meh. It's cute, but just feels like win more. I could be wrong on this one.
1 Recurring Insight - I hate tapping out. I'll get card advatnage other ways.
1 Selesnya Charm - Low impact. The best effect is the removal spell, which is narrow. The knight is almost useless, and the growth effect is gonna be bad most of the time.
1 Condemn - I think this card is just too conditional.
2/21/2012: Oracle of Mul Daya -> Copy Artifact. The Oracle simply doesn't do enough. For 4 mana I want a much larger effect.
2/22/2012: Wooded Bastion -> Forest. I want more basics to deal with cards like back to basics and blood moon. I feel like 6 fetchable duals, 9 fetches, and 3 non-fetchable duals is enough. Flooded Grove -> Plains. Mystic Gate -> Island.
2/23/2012: Copy Artifact -> Birds of Paradise. My best case scenario is copying a sol ring on turn 2 with the CA. Might as well just play the ramp directly. It would've been nice against someone who has an artifact commander, but I feel that range is too narrow. This sat dead in my hand two games in a row. I can't have that happen ever.
Cataclysm -> Rhystic Study I just didn't like cataclysm. Its effects were too limited and narrowly useful.
10/21/2012:
Lots of changes over the past few months, some that weren't documented. My list up top is up to date, and here are some of the more recent changes.
Enlightened Tutor -> Steelshaper's Gift. No card disadvantage for the same effect 90% of the time. I lose the ability to tutor for a few enchantments and Metamorph, but I think that's worth less than a card.
Voidslime -> Cryptic Command. I might roll this one back. I like things that cost less. But Cryptic is undeniably more versatile, and that might be worth it.
Nature's Lore -> Mirrari's Wake. Nature's lore was always kinda low impact. This deck can burn lots of mana, especially the way I play, so wake's double effect is great. The anthem effect is also good with cards like selkie, constable, rafiq, etc. I'll see how this turns out.
Wrath of God -> Rout. This seems like a nice upgrade to me. Instant speed wrathing will be nice.
Other general cuts (not a swap for a similar card):
Condemn - I think this card is just too conditional.
Rhystic Study - Gives my opponent too much control
Scavenging Ooze - Hasn't been useful. I don't think I need GY hate really, I have paths, swords, wraths, terminus, and lots of counterspells.
Serra Ascendent - I wanted to try a few other things, she might come back. She's sometimes bad and makes you a target.
Blighted Agent - He's just bad and low impact. If I have Rafiq on board I'd rather just swing w/ him.
Additions:
Ghostway - this looks cool. Good defense against wrath effects and removal, I can EOT it on my opponents turn and then wrath on my turn, and have all my guys reappear at the end of my turn. I also have a decent number of ETB effects that this can be nice with. It might be too cute, but it looks diverse, it's instant speed, and it's not too expensive. I want to try it.
Umezawa's Jitte - How powerful is this? I really don't know. If it's not as strong as a Sword, I'll probably cut it again. Its diversity is nice, but I wish it gave protections.
Sun Titan - This might be too big/cute. It does nice things though, so I want to toy with it.
Acidic Slime - This guy's cool, I've underestimated him. I want to give him another shot.
Teferi, Mage of Zhalifir - So powerful against blue, does a great job of protecting my rafiq stuff on my turn. I love that he flashes in.
11/2/2012 Removed:
1 Umezawa's Jitte -> Our equipment really needs to be giving protections.
1 Rout - Meh. I have enough wrath effects.
1 Ghostway -> Making room for Reveillark Combo, this card was near the bottom.
1 Mirari's Wake -> Meh.
1 Putrefax -> Fancy, doesn't impact enough. It's hard to setup. Now that I have Reveillark I don't need a quick kill like Putrefax.
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir-> Making room for Reveillark Combo, this card was near the bottom. He's not as good as I hoped.
1 Sun Titan-> Making room for Reveillark Combo, this card was near the bottom.
1 Inkmoth Nexus -> Turned this into an island. This is never a good card, really. Either we have rafiq out and would rather be beating with him, or we don't and it's a 10 turn clock.
Added:
1 Reveillark
1 Karmic Guide
1 Body Double
1 Mirror Entity
1 Mulldrifter
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Rhystic Study -> I like this card again. It's just so nice, even in 1v1. It also invites your opponents to play bad, which is awesome.
1 Island
11/11/2012 Removed:
1 Terminus - I don't like Mass tuck effects; Rafiq's on the board too often and we really don't like losing him.
1 Mirari's Wake - I might try this again, I'm playing with a few ideas.
1 Seedborn Muse - I might bring this back in, but I don't love it single player, and it's sorta low impact generally.
1 Survival of the Fittest - I decided to cut Reveillark. It's too clunky for me. I kept drawing these cards and wishing they were any other reasonable card.
1 Mulldrifter
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Karmic Guide
1 Reveillark
Added:
1 Birds of Paradise - The more ramp I have, the more likely I am to win it seems. Increasing that a little here.
1 Crystal Shard - I'm not sure if this is going to be good, but I wanna try it out.
1 Mimic Vat - This card has been nutty. It is a win condition by itself. It doesn't really synergize with our deck in a special way, but it's just generally good.
1 Ixidron - I want to try this. I'm guessing I won't like it, but I wanna give it a shot.
1 Spirit En-Dal - I'm starting to think this is going to be good. Unblockable is really cool, and it is uncounterable, low cost, tutorable, and repeatable.
1 Future Sight - Not sure if I'm going to like this. It's one of my tinker slots. I do love card advantage.
1 Voidslime - I love counterspells. I'm always so much happier with one in my hand. I might jam regular counterspell too.
1 Trygon Predator - Been playing with him and he's been great everytime he lands.
1 Ixidron - Our commander's on the field too often to risk getting tucked by cards like this. This card's probably good in a blue deck that doesn't need it's commander so much.
Added
1 Counterspell - This costs 1 less than all the other counterspells. For a deck that's trying to lay out threats, that's pretty relevant.
1 Mirari's Wake - I still want to see this card in action.
It seems you're a little light on creatures, how is that working for you? I see you got a lot of tutors and draw so you're probably doing ok.
A land that would come in handy would be High Market. It's very good anti-tuck tech since your not playing french.
A staple creature for any Rafiq deck is Cold-Eyed Selkie. It's amazing with Rafiq's double strike and his exalted bonus.
Don't forget the amazing auras Shield of the Oversoul, Steel of the Godhead and Favor of the Overbeing. They make Rafiq into a monster and can work on a few other creatures. However, I'm not seeing any of those creatures in your deck.
If you were to put those chants in there you could run Sovereigns of Lost Alara, and if you do throw in Eldrazi Conscription. I've won many a game off plopping down the Sovereigns and fetching out a conscription.
Then finally, the biggest star of my Rafiq deck, sides Rafiq himself, is Multani, Maro-Sorcerer. He is big usually as soon as he comes in, especially if you're playing with other blue mages. He also works very nicely with the Sovereigns, since their effect doesn't target, so you could slap a conscription down on him as well.
Edit: The absolute best utility creature I have in my own Rafiq deck is Grand Abolisher. Resolving this guy allows you to go unhindered during your turn, which is a drastic change in the game. This guy is definitely worth a slot and is desperately needed.
"Some of the other guys dared me to go out, but I knew it weren't no ordinary giant giga-blasting blaze of unending flames that would scorch the whole world."
—Norin the Wary
I love the grand abolisher. I will put him in place of a counterspell, probably.
I feel like sovereigns and conscription are a bit win-more.
High Market should definitely find a place in this deck. Probably homeward path too. I expected I would be running lots of steal effects, but somehow they never made it into the build.
Cold-Eyed Selkie looks pretty nice. I'll have to test w/ that. One problem I have with it is that it doesn't do something broken when it's cast.
Multani looks really good too, but I'm having trouble figuring out what to cut. My other fatties do such ridiculous things. Any suggestions?
I also noticed my list is 101 cards, so I already need to cut.
I feel like I'd like to add more ramp to the deck. I'm so happy whenever I'm ramping. Petrified field has been "meh", but I've only tested it in 1v1.
Well, for starters, I see you have 38 lands. I only run 35 and I almost never miss a land drop. I also don't run any land ramp in my own list, but that's mainly because I don't want to play ramp in early game because my list needs to establish board position very early. So, since yours is more controlling in mine you may need to keep your lands where they're at.
After looking over your list I see you have expedition map. Looking back at your lands I don't see any utility lands really, nothing really good to go fetch except for gaea's cradle. And since you're not playing a huge amount of creatures I'm wondering how that's performing for you? I don't play the cradle in my own.
I run coiling oracle as well, but yes, he is kind of underwhelming. You could probably cut him for the cold eyed selkie and be ok.
Body double is a nifty dude, but I'm wondering how often he actually ends up useful. Sure, you could get a fatty or a random good guy, but this isn't a yard deck so honestly I'd cut him for something a bit more threatening. Could be your slot for Multani.
As far as the sovereigns thing, if you can't play win more in edh where can you? But seriously, in edh things get out of hand all the time and a card like conscription can help you get a handle on things. Just make sure to back it up with some counters or other protection, cuz you will definately have painted a target on your head when you drop it.
Edit: I also don't see Seedborn Muse here. You're playing a good control package so you should definitely add it. Another card that is just beast with the muse is Gavony Township. Those two on the field at the same time turn your guys huge very quickly. I've won a few games just because of using them in conjunction.
"Some of the other guys dared me to go out, but I knew it weren't no ordinary giant giga-blasting blaze of unending flames that would scorch the whole world."
—Norin the Wary
Seedborn Muse looks pretty good. If I'm going to run her, which I think I will, it makes me want winding canyons. What are your thoughts on Moswort Bridge?
Expedition Map has been great for tutoring up Tolaria West and Ancient Tomb. The second one is so strong that I feel it is worth the map alone. There are other good uses for it as well.
Gaea's Cradle has been good and bad. If I get a foothold, it helps me take off. If my board is light, it can make it hard to get established. I tend to think it's good to keep as a tutor target, since you'll be able to get it when you want it much more often than you'd accidentally get it and not want it.
You know, I'm really glad you brought up the canyons, I think Ima put that in my deck now, since I already have the muse in there.
I don't generally like the bridge, but I think it's still good. I'd keep it, especially if it's been working for you.
"Some of the other guys dared me to go out, but I knew it weren't no ordinary giant giga-blasting blaze of unending flames that would scorch the whole world."
—Norin the Wary
Big Black Mamba: Which ramp cards are you finding strongest? I love Skyshround Claim, Sol Ring, Ancient Tomb, and Titan. The Weathered Wayfarer is amazing if I can land him early and keep him active. Otherwise, I'm not crazy about anything. How has oracle been for you? I feel like she gets removed a little easy. I'm also not crazy about the 4cc.
I feel like you need a bit more equipment / auras for rafiq. A big part of your threats come from Rafiq and his ability to give double strike / exault. Another sword or two could give you some extra protections as well as a nice buff / sword triggers.
Isn't Finest Hour sort of a standard in rafiq as well?
I don't know how much I like Azorius Guildmage in here... It seems sort of mana intensive in my mind.
I also found Aura Shards sort of lacking due to it can be tough to drop it and a creature in the same turn. You are also running sort of a low creature list for it. You might consider just running a removal effect that works once instead but who knows. It really depends on what sort of results you can expect out of it. In my meta we run tons of removal and it wouldn't usually last a whole turn for me so I find it to be much better in a token based deck.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
So looking over your list again I see 8 creatures at cmc 5 or higher. With you running all the ramp, counters and tutors, how does your early board position usually look?
I personally don't run ramp in my Rafiq, I have never had a game where I didn't make my first four land drops. I prefer to establish my board position with an early beater then drop Rafiq to make him an even nastier beater. Usually it works.
"Some of the other guys dared me to go out, but I knew it weren't no ordinary giant giga-blasting blaze of unending flames that would scorch the whole world."
—Norin the Wary
So looking over your list again I see 8 creatures at cmc 5 or higher. With you running all the ramp, counters and tutors, how does your early board position usually look?
I personally don't run ramp in my Rafiq, I have never had a game where I didn't make my first four land drops. I prefer to establish my board position with an early beater then drop Rafiq to make him an even nastier beater. Usually it works.
I don't generally have an early board position. Maybe some small ramp creatures.
It hasn't been a problem for me so far. Is this something that could be trouble?
My general plan with Rafiq is to have him there as a big impending threat, which puts pressure on my opponent even when he's not played. That allows me to ramp and do broken things with the big guys, because Rafiq's got his sword pointed at my opponent's throat if the opponent lets his defenses down.
i play only multiplayer, where if you dont ramp fast enough you will be left behind and have zero chances to win
I feel like this is the case in 1v1 too. With 40 life, I just don't feel any pressure to drop anything that affects the board state for the first few turns. I'll just ramp up to my terrastadon, Sphinx, Avenger, tooth and nail, or whatever, and be ahead on turn 5 or 6.
I feel like this is the case in 1v1 too. With 40 life, I just don't feel any pressure to drop anything that affects the board state for the first few turns. I'll just ramp up to my terrastadon, Sphinx, Avenger, tooth and nail, or whatever, and be ahead on turn 5 or 6.
I've dealt 20+ damage on t4 in my list, and that's not counting the pokes from turn 2 and 3. Are you really ahead at that point? Sure, you got a big dude, but Rafiq decks have amazing evasion built in. Rafiq excels at turning small dudes into threats that can rival titans or terastodons or sphinxes. That is his greatest asset, and I think you're missing out here.
"Some of the other guys dared me to go out, but I knew it weren't no ordinary giant giga-blasting blaze of unending flames that would scorch the whole world."
—Norin the Wary
I've dealt 20+ damage on t4 in my list, and that's not counting the pokes from turn 2 and 3. Are you really ahead at that point? Sure, you got a big dude, but Rafiq decks have amazing evasion built in. Rafiq excels at turning small dudes into threats that can rival titans or terastodons or sphinxes. That is his greatest asset, and I think you're missing out here.
This is what I was trying to tell you was the point of Rafiq Josh. Rafiq should go for the fast kills as it is what he is good at. If you are slow rolling him you are missing out and might just consider swapping to Jenara.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
Well I'm playing my rafiq list on cockatrice, where usually its only 4 guys. I try not to burn my hand out, play a few ca guys like cold-eyed selkie (which is a baws) and augury adept (which is highly underrated btw) and only increase my position if I must. If my position is still up to snuff when it comes back to me then I just swing with what I have. Not overextending with Rafiq is actually quite easy, since he turns your lil dudes into monsters, usually just him or another efficient guy is all you need. Sides, no point in attacking with more than one guy in this deck.
"Some of the other guys dared me to go out, but I knew it weren't no ordinary giant giga-blasting blaze of unending flames that would scorch the whole world."
—Norin the Wary
This is what I was trying to tell you was the point of Rafiq Josh. Rafiq should go for the fast kills as it is what he is good at. If you are slow rolling him you are missing out and might just consider swapping to Jenara.
This might be the case. I am playing this a lot like a Jenara deck.
blackkithkin20: Would you like to play later on MTGS or cockatrice? I'd like to see what you're talking about.
Sure, what's your username, I'll look for you. My cockatrice username is seriph0.
While I have been able to swing for crazy amounts on t4, my deck isn't that competitive, it only does that every now and then, but when it does, oh boy lol.
"Some of the other guys dared me to go out, but I knew it weren't no ordinary giant giga-blasting blaze of unending flames that would scorch the whole world."
—Norin the Wary
Chrome Mox / Mox Diamond These can be some really fast ramp for Rafiq allowing you to play into other mana stones possibly and turn into really fast plays. They can be a bit risky but they can really allow you to come out swinging.
Putrefax he can one shot people if Rafiq is in play for 12 poison. He tramples as well allowing for you to push over some small road bumps but more importantly he is a surprise you die sort of creature.
Swift2210 has been working on an aggressively fast Rafiq list for a while so you might check out his list as well
You were right about Ancient Tomb and Lightning Greaves. They should be in a Rafiq List. I've also added in Mana Vault, Grim Monolith, Hunting Wilds, and more direct draw. I've been most pleased with those additions. The explosive 2nd/3rd turn is decisive if I hit a draw spell.
I've actually cut the greeves and boots lately. I figured I'm just better off just letting them target Rafiq die and having an extra card. He's not that hard to cast again, and I run lots of counterspells.
I'm playing this deck a lot like ISB plays Jenara.
In Heads-up matches I go for the throat ASAP. But in multiplayer, I just kinda sit back and stay non-threatening until the other plays wear themselves out, then I beat in with some kill condition. It's done well for me so far.
Currently trying to build my first-ever EDH deck, and I chose Rafiq because I won many games on the back of him when he was Standard-legal. Plus, Bant is my favorite shard. I'm a little stuck on which avenue to take with the deck. Counter-heavy version with more controlling effects, or ramp into a bunch of huge dudes, or super aggressive? Right now I think I'm trying to combine too many elements and it's making my list less effective. I like your list in the OP, and might try to use that as a stepping stone.
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1 Rafiq of the Many
Rafiq Package (4)
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Elsepth, Knight Errant
Tutors (6)
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Eladamri's Call
1 Steelshaper's Gift
1 Chords of Calling
Draw/Card Fixing Spells (9)
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sylvan Library
1 Scroll Rack
1 Rhystic Study
1 Jace the Mind Sculptor
1 Fact or Fiction
Counters (7)
1 Pact of Negation
1 Mana Drain
1 Counterspell
1 Hinder
1 Voidslime
1 Spell Crumble
1 Force of Will
Removal (4)
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Path to Exile
1 Beast Within
1 Bant Charm
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Catastrophe
1 Austere Command
Misc. Utility Spells (4)
1 Regrowth
1 Mimic Vat
1 Venser, the Sojourner
1 Karn Liberated
Ramp Spells (9)
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Azorius Signet
1 Simic Signet
1 Selesnya Signet
1 Coalition Relic
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Mirari's Wake
Rafiq Creature Package (2)
1 Cephalid Constable
1 Cold-Eyed Selkie
Tutor/Card Advantage Creatures (4)
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Eternal Witness
1 Consecrated Sphinx
Counter Creatures (1)
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
Removal Creatures (4)
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Trygon Predator
1 Acidic Slime
1 Terastodon
Misc. Other Creatures (4)
1 Serra Ascendant
1 Gilded Drake
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Noble Hierarch
Multi-Colored Lands (11)
1 Command Tower
1 Savannah
1 Tropical Island
1 Tundra
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Temple Garden
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Horizon Canopy
Fetch Lands (9)
1 Flooded Strand
1 Windswept Heath
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wooded Foothill
1 Marsh Flats
1 Arid Mesa
1 Polluted Delta
1 Scalding Tarn
Colorless Utility Lands (3)
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
1 Ancient Tomb
Basic-ish Lans (13)
4 Forest
6 Island
2 Plains
1 Flagstone of Trokair
Cards I'm testing that may get cut soon
Cards I want to try out
Cards I don't like for this Deck (and why)
2/21/2012:
Oracle of Mul Daya -> Copy Artifact. The Oracle simply doesn't do enough. For 4 mana I want a much larger effect.
2/22/2012:
Wooded Bastion -> Forest. I want more basics to deal with cards like back to basics and blood moon. I feel like 6 fetchable duals, 9 fetches, and 3 non-fetchable duals is enough.
Flooded Grove -> Plains.
Mystic Gate -> Island.
2/23/2012:
Copy Artifact -> Birds of Paradise. My best case scenario is copying a sol ring on turn 2 with the CA. Might as well just play the ramp directly. It would've been nice against someone who has an artifact commander, but I feel that range is too narrow. This sat dead in my hand two games in a row. I can't have that happen ever.
Cataclysm -> Rhystic Study I just didn't like cataclysm. Its effects were too limited and narrowly useful.
10/21/2012:
Lots of changes over the past few months, some that weren't documented. My list up top is up to date, and here are some of the more recent changes.
Enlightened Tutor -> Steelshaper's Gift. No card disadvantage for the same effect 90% of the time. I lose the ability to tutor for a few enchantments and Metamorph, but I think that's worth less than a card.
Voidslime -> Cryptic Command. I might roll this one back. I like things that cost less. But Cryptic is undeniably more versatile, and that might be worth it.
Nature's Lore -> Mirrari's Wake. Nature's lore was always kinda low impact. This deck can burn lots of mana, especially the way I play, so wake's double effect is great. The anthem effect is also good with cards like selkie, constable, rafiq, etc. I'll see how this turns out.
Wrath of God -> Rout. This seems like a nice upgrade to me. Instant speed wrathing will be nice.
Other general cuts (not a swap for a similar card):
Condemn - I think this card is just too conditional.
Rhystic Study - Gives my opponent too much control
Scavenging Ooze - Hasn't been useful. I don't think I need GY hate really, I have paths, swords, wraths, terminus, and lots of counterspells.
Serra Ascendent - I wanted to try a few other things, she might come back. She's sometimes bad and makes you a target.
Blighted Agent - He's just bad and low impact. If I have Rafiq on board I'd rather just swing w/ him.
Additions:
Ghostway - this looks cool. Good defense against wrath effects and removal, I can EOT it on my opponents turn and then wrath on my turn, and have all my guys reappear at the end of my turn. I also have a decent number of ETB effects that this can be nice with. It might be too cute, but it looks diverse, it's instant speed, and it's not too expensive. I want to try it.
Umezawa's Jitte - How powerful is this? I really don't know. If it's not as strong as a Sword, I'll probably cut it again. Its diversity is nice, but I wish it gave protections.
Sun Titan - This might be too big/cute. It does nice things though, so I want to toy with it.
Acidic Slime - This guy's cool, I've underestimated him. I want to give him another shot.
Teferi, Mage of Zhalifir - So powerful against blue, does a great job of protecting my rafiq stuff on my turn. I love that he flashes in.
11/2/2012
Removed:
1 Umezawa's Jitte -> Our equipment really needs to be giving protections.
1 Rout - Meh. I have enough wrath effects.
1 Ghostway -> Making room for Reveillark Combo, this card was near the bottom.
1 Mirari's Wake -> Meh.
1 Putrefax -> Fancy, doesn't impact enough. It's hard to setup. Now that I have Reveillark I don't need a quick kill like Putrefax.
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir-> Making room for Reveillark Combo, this card was near the bottom. He's not as good as I hoped.
1 Sun Titan-> Making room for Reveillark Combo, this card was near the bottom.
1 Inkmoth Nexus -> Turned this into an island. This is never a good card, really. Either we have rafiq out and would rather be beating with him, or we don't and it's a 10 turn clock.
Added:
1 Reveillark
1 Karmic Guide
1 Body Double
1 Mirror Entity
1 Mulldrifter
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Rhystic Study -> I like this card again. It's just so nice, even in 1v1. It also invites your opponents to play bad, which is awesome.
1 Island
11/11/2012
Removed:
1 Terminus - I don't like Mass tuck effects; Rafiq's on the board too often and we really don't like losing him.
1 Mirari's Wake - I might try this again, I'm playing with a few ideas.
1 Seedborn Muse - I might bring this back in, but I don't love it single player, and it's sorta low impact generally.
1 Survival of the Fittest - I decided to cut Reveillark. It's too clunky for me. I kept drawing these cards and wishing they were any other reasonable card.
1 Mulldrifter
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Karmic Guide
1 Reveillark
Added:
1 Birds of Paradise - The more ramp I have, the more likely I am to win it seems. Increasing that a little here.
1 Crystal Shard - I'm not sure if this is going to be good, but I wanna try it out.
1 Mimic Vat - This card has been nutty. It is a win condition by itself. It doesn't really synergize with our deck in a special way, but it's just generally good.
1 Ixidron - I want to try this. I'm guessing I won't like it, but I wanna give it a shot.
1 Spirit En-Dal - I'm starting to think this is going to be good. Unblockable is really cool, and it is uncounterable, low cost, tutorable, and repeatable.
1 Future Sight - Not sure if I'm going to like this. It's one of my tinker slots. I do love card advantage.
1 Voidslime - I love counterspells. I'm always so much happier with one in my hand. I might jam regular counterspell too.
1 Trygon Predator - Been playing with him and he's been great everytime he lands.
11/12/2012
Removed
- 1 Crystal Shard - Too low impact
- 1 Ixidron - Our commander's on the field too often to risk getting tucked by cards like this. This card's probably good in a blue deck that doesn't need it's commander so much.
Added- 1 Counterspell - This costs 1 less than all the other counterspells. For a deck that's trying to lay out threats, that's pretty relevant.
- 1 Mirari's Wake - I still want to see this card in action.
11/20/2012Removed
Added
A land that would come in handy would be High Market. It's very good anti-tuck tech since your not playing french.
A staple creature for any Rafiq deck is Cold-Eyed Selkie. It's amazing with Rafiq's double strike and his exalted bonus.
Don't forget the amazing auras Shield of the Oversoul, Steel of the Godhead and Favor of the Overbeing. They make Rafiq into a monster and can work on a few other creatures. However, I'm not seeing any of those creatures in your deck.
If you were to put those chants in there you could run Sovereigns of Lost Alara, and if you do throw in Eldrazi Conscription. I've won many a game off plopping down the Sovereigns and fetching out a conscription.
Then finally, the biggest star of my Rafiq deck, sides Rafiq himself, is Multani, Maro-Sorcerer. He is big usually as soon as he comes in, especially if you're playing with other blue mages. He also works very nicely with the Sovereigns, since their effect doesn't target, so you could slap a conscription down on him as well.
Edit: The absolute best utility creature I have in my own Rafiq deck is Grand Abolisher. Resolving this guy allows you to go unhindered during your turn, which is a drastic change in the game. This guy is definitely worth a slot and is desperately needed.
Cockatrice Username: seriph0
I feel like sovereigns and conscription are a bit win-more.
High Market should definitely find a place in this deck. Probably homeward path too. I expected I would be running lots of steal effects, but somehow they never made it into the build.
Cold-Eyed Selkie looks pretty nice. I'll have to test w/ that. One problem I have with it is that it doesn't do something broken when it's cast.
Multani looks really good too, but I'm having trouble figuring out what to cut. My other fatties do such ridiculous things. Any suggestions?
I also noticed my list is 101 cards, so I already need to cut.
I feel like I'd like to add more ramp to the deck. I'm so happy whenever I'm ramping. Petrified field has been "meh", but I've only tested it in 1v1.
Coiling Oracle has been underwhelming so far.
Are there any other tutors I'm missing? I decided not to run Idyllic Tutor, and I think I caught the rest. I'm sure there's some I'm missing though.
This deck is 5-0 right now. It's sweet to be undefeated.
After looking over your list I see you have expedition map. Looking back at your lands I don't see any utility lands really, nothing really good to go fetch except for gaea's cradle. And since you're not playing a huge amount of creatures I'm wondering how that's performing for you? I don't play the cradle in my own.
I run coiling oracle as well, but yes, he is kind of underwhelming. You could probably cut him for the cold eyed selkie and be ok.
Body double is a nifty dude, but I'm wondering how often he actually ends up useful. Sure, you could get a fatty or a random good guy, but this isn't a yard deck so honestly I'd cut him for something a bit more threatening. Could be your slot for Multani.
As far as the sovereigns thing, if you can't play win more in edh where can you? But seriously, in edh things get out of hand all the time and a card like conscription can help you get a handle on things. Just make sure to back it up with some counters or other protection, cuz you will definately have painted a target on your head when you drop it.
Edit: I also don't see Seedborn Muse here. You're playing a good control package so you should definitely add it. Another card that is just beast with the muse is Gavony Township. Those two on the field at the same time turn your guys huge very quickly. I've won a few games just because of using them in conjunction.
Cockatrice Username: seriph0
Expedition Map has been great for tutoring up Tolaria West and Ancient Tomb. The second one is so strong that I feel it is worth the map alone. There are other good uses for it as well.
Gaea's Cradle has been good and bad. If I get a foothold, it helps me take off. If my board is light, it can make it hard to get established. I tend to think it's good to keep as a tutor target, since you'll be able to get it when you want it much more often than you'd accidentally get it and not want it.
I don't generally like the bridge, but I think it's still good. I'd keep it, especially if it's been working for you.
Cockatrice Username: seriph0
Isn't Finest Hour sort of a standard in rafiq as well?
I don't know how much I like Azorius Guildmage in here... It seems sort of mana intensive in my mind.
I also found Aura Shards sort of lacking due to it can be tough to drop it and a creature in the same turn. You are also running sort of a low creature list for it. You might consider just running a removal effect that works once instead but who knows. It really depends on what sort of results you can expect out of it. In my meta we run tons of removal and it wouldn't usually last a whole turn for me so I find it to be much better in a token based deck.
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[Modern] Allies
I haven't resolved Aura Shards yet, so I don't know how it plays out. It has some great synergy with Avenger of Zendikar.
I personally don't run ramp in my Rafiq, I have never had a game where I didn't make my first four land drops. I prefer to establish my board position with an early beater then drop Rafiq to make him an even nastier beater. Usually it works.
Cockatrice Username: seriph0
I don't generally have an early board position. Maybe some small ramp creatures.
It hasn't been a problem for me so far. Is this something that could be trouble?
My general plan with Rafiq is to have him there as a big impending threat, which puts pressure on my opponent even when he's not played. That allows me to ramp and do broken things with the big guys, because Rafiq's got his sword pointed at my opponent's throat if the opponent lets his defenses down.
I feel like this is the case in 1v1 too. With 40 life, I just don't feel any pressure to drop anything that affects the board state for the first few turns. I'll just ramp up to my terrastadon, Sphinx, Avenger, tooth and nail, or whatever, and be ahead on turn 5 or 6.
Might I suggest Cephalid Constable? If unanswered he wins games. If he connects with Rafiq out they scoop 4 permanents.
I've dealt 20+ damage on t4 in my list, and that's not counting the pokes from turn 2 and 3. Are you really ahead at that point? Sure, you got a big dude, but Rafiq decks have amazing evasion built in. Rafiq excels at turning small dudes into threats that can rival titans or terastodons or sphinxes. That is his greatest asset, and I think you're missing out here.
Cockatrice Username: seriph0
This is what I was trying to tell you was the point of Rafiq Josh. Rafiq should go for the fast kills as it is what he is good at. If you are slow rolling him you are missing out and might just consider swapping to Jenara.
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[Modern] Allies
Cockatrice Username: seriph0
This might be the case. I am playing this a lot like a Jenara deck.
blackkithkin20: Would you like to play later on MTGS or cockatrice? I'd like to see what you're talking about.
While I have been able to swing for crazy amounts on t4, my deck isn't that competitive, it only does that every now and then, but when it does, oh boy lol.
Cockatrice Username: seriph0
Elspeth, Knight-Errant can also help you quickly end the game with rafiq// give it flying. Rafiq swinging for 14 minimum? Yeah.
EDH:
RNorin the WaryR <-Link! (Primer - Mono Red Control)
GUEdric, Spymaster of TrestUG <- Link! (Mini-Primer - Dredge)
Duel Commander:
WUGeist of Saint TraftUW <- Link! (Aggro-Control)
BGSkullbriar, the Walking GraveGB <- Link! (Aggro)
BUGDamia, Sage of StoneGUB <- Link! (Extinction Control)
Church of the Wary
Putrefax he can one shot people if Rafiq is in play for 12 poison. He tramples as well allowing for you to push over some small road bumps but more importantly he is a surprise you die sort of creature.
Swift2210 has been working on an aggressively fast Rafiq list for a while so you might check out his list as well
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=360042
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[Modern] Allies
BRGrenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH
GAzusa, Always in a Rush EDH
GWUDerevi, Empyrial Warlord EDH
Trade thread on MOTL
I'm playing this deck a lot like ISB plays Jenara.
In Heads-up matches I go for the throat ASAP. But in multiplayer, I just kinda sit back and stay non-threatening until the other plays wear themselves out, then I beat in with some kill condition. It's done well for me so far.