Hey all I've been tooling around with this list for a few months now and I'm still trying to hammer out all of the kinks.
I've got a lot of outmoded deck building habits that don't exactly transfer to EDH as well as I'd have hoped. I originally began this as a 3-color goodstuff/blink deck that quickly became U/W focused blink.
I'm trying to make it more competitive for multiplayer so any suggestions would be much appreciated. I am not on a budget so don't be afraid to recommend any cards from any set (save Power) and I can easily accommodate the inclusions. I understand some of these cards fill multiple roles, I will go over cards with multiple roles in the card choices section.
Anyhow, the list and then card choices and whatnot:
The mana:
I decided on 38 as a good starting point for what little I know about EDH. The number hasn't been over nor under whelming for me. I run Austere Command in my 100 and so do a lot of folks at my table, along with a ton of artifact/enchantment hate. So that's why I'm very light on acceleration in that department. If there are any faster ways to put Islands and Plains into play that'd be great. So far Weathered Wayfarer is a boss whenever I see him. Simulacrum fulfills his EDH role nicely and has obvious synergy with the rest of the deck. I can blink and recur him with frequency. Sometimes I even tutor for him right off the bat if I'm sitting on a few blink cards in my opening hand. The Bauble is something I've been using in casual and competitive since it was first printed. There aren't a lot of ways to actually ramp in UW so it helps greatly. With Ruins and Gargoyle I can occasionally find all of my basics.
The creature base:
This is something I've struggled with over the past few months immensely. I've created and removed actual threat density multiple times. The shop I play in rewards a deck such as mine (based on interactions) relying on tight play rather than brute force.
There are certainly considerations for more aggressive dudes but I find I can't exactly get there with 'blink dudes' as their power ranges from 1-3 most of the time. I usually try and set up moderate defenses, control/alter dangerous board positions or changes to gamestate, and swoop in with ridiculous card advantage with my little dorks.
I've considered some of the uber-Sphinxi with Jar-Jar, Consecrated, and Uthuun. I'm also attracted to literally anything that has evasion and 5+ front-end. I'd love to add Exalted Angel and/or Baneslayer Angel but I haven't the first idea what to cut. For blowouts and late game plays I've looked at both Decree of Justice and White Sun's Zenith.
The Blink Theme:
I've got 11 dedicated ways to abuse ETB triggers and multiple dorks that are just begging to be blinked. Some of the guys in the deck's spoiler can be used in multiple ways. Venser is great for time walking game breaking spells but is just as good at bouncing huge tokens or reusing other ETB guys. Flickerwisp, Stag, and Fiend Hunter fulfill similar roles from time to time. I've actually been considering Sudden Disappearance as a versatile game-changer or mass-blink enabler. Evacuation could fill a similar role EOT and also act as pseudo-removal in a pinch.
The Removal:
I've found the removal package to be quite diversified for most of my games. Both Dismantling Blow and Return to Dust have been outstanding at dealing with pesky equipment and broken enchantments. The ability to selectively target 2 (or blow up based on mana cost with Austere) has been a boon for me. The rest of the removal made the cut because of it's efficiency and mana cost. *** and DoJ serve as functional copies when I need a wipe, Austere serves as a diverse answer to a variety of permanents, Fetters fills the same role with the added benefit of life gain (and possible recursion with bounce effects) and the ability to neuter problematic planeswalkers.
The Countermagic:
It didn't take me long to realize that counters should be saved for:
1)Dangerous alterations to gamestate
2)Immediate threats to my board/life/hand
3)Politics with other players
I originally had 13 counters and cut it down to 10. I decided on this specific list after lots of playtesting. Most of my counters cantrip or in the case of creatures, can be abused with the recursion/blink engines built into the deck. Cryptic Command has been an all-star in so many games, admittedly more so when I had tutors to retrieve it. The ability to counter, bounce, or tap down my opponents dudes is amazing. Doing one of those and drawing is even better most of the time.
The Draw/Tutor:
I've found that I might actually require more draw or tutor effects to maintain a competitive edge in my meta. Games go fast, resources dwindle and my hand needs refilled often. I feel that both Merchant Scroll and Mystical Tutor deserve some consideration but I'm torn. New EDH-itis has struck and I can't decide what's good in theory and practice. I definitely need help here.
The D-Fense:
I decided on the walls for two reasons:
1)They combo with Lark'
2)They provide some much-needed breathing room when my critters are so small
With the exclusion of Denial my walls gain me life or recur spells, but I've honestly found them to be a temporary deterrent at best with so many SoFI and SoLS's running amok. The Mnemonic wall is probably the only wall I wouldn't consider dropping for something better. Seht's Tiger has proven to be a BAMF on so many occasions. His playability seems like some big secret. With countermagic to protect him and blink to abuse him, he's absolutely insane. I get a half chub just from drawing him. Hindering Light not only fulfills the diplomatic requirement for a counter in EDh, it also cantrips. Annex is so/so. Either they have the W to skate around it or they don't. If they don't they typically have myriad ways of dealing with it. I'm sorta meh on Annex right now. As for the rest of the stuff-lovely so far.
Recursion:
These have all proved their value at one point or another, I can say that Titan is great as a beater more often than he is as a recursion engine (even with blink) due to my CMC. Llark and Guide do things as expected. Gargoyle in cahoots with Ruins has been great at keeping some of my blink-enablers online and recycling Bauble/Solemn. I actually wouldn't mind further suggestions on viable recursion for this deck.
Control/theft/copy:
One of the reasons I'm in these colors is to play my favorite creature ever printed, Azorius Guildmage. Back in the days of U/W aggro in standard I read a member on one of MTGSal's forums describe her thusly:
"Guildmage is like a prostitute, the more you sink into her the better she performs." and that's been true for me since I read it. She can play defense and tap down ridiculous fatties or hinder equipment from being attached. You'll also notice I'm running Shackles, Drake, and Teferi to shore up the 'control' vibe. Stealing big/threatening dorks is always better than casting your own. I've found Teferi to be a boon, even without counters in-hand. Casting dudes on my opponents turn has proven useful many times over. The copy dudes are somewhat generic due to how ubiquitous they are in EDH but they handle problematic generals and let me copy huge fatties. One question on that, do they gain the ETB trigger of the creature copied? If I cast Sakashima and target Mulldrifter, do I draw 2 cards?
I realize that's a wall of text and I'll be going through lots of editing in creating a primer but please bear with me.
I've got a lot of outmoded deck building habits that don't exactly transfer to EDH as well as I'd have hoped. I originally began this as a 3-color goodstuff/blink deck that quickly became U/W focused blink.
I'm trying to make it more competitive for multiplayer so any suggestions would be much appreciated. I am not on a budget so don't be afraid to recommend any cards from any set (save Power) and I can easily accommodate the inclusions. I understand some of these cards fill multiple roles, I will go over cards with multiple roles in the card choices section.
Anyhow, the list and then card choices and whatnot:
1 Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer
Mana help: 4
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Azorius Signet
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Solemn Simulacrum
Color Fixing: 16
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Tundra
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Command Tower
1 Seachrome Coast
1 Sejiri Refuge
1 Mystic Gate
1 Boreal Shelf
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Polluted Delta
1 Flood Plain
1 Marsh Flats
1 Flooded Strand
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Arid Mesa
Basics: 12
3 Plains
9 Island
Utility: 10
1 High Market
1 Tolaria West
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Temple of the False God
1 Kor Haven
1 Academy Ruins
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Path to Exile
1 Wing Shards
1 Faith's Fetters
1 Spin into Myth
1 Wrath of God
1 Day of Judgment
1 Austere Command
1 Fiend Hunter
1 Duplicant
1 Dismantling Blow
1 Return to Dust
Countermagic: 10
1 Remand
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Counterspell
1 Spell Crumple
1 Exclude
1 Dismiss
1 Cryptic Command
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Draining Whelk
Draw/Tutor: 7
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Brainstorm
1 Impulse
1 Flash of Insight
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Mulldrifter
Defensive Measures: 5
1 Hindering Light
1 Wall of Denial
1 Wall of Reverence
1 Seht's Tiger
1 Norn's Annex
1 Azorius Guildmage
1 Gilded Drake
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Sakashima the Imposter
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Guile
Recursion: 5
1 Sanctum Gargoyle
1 Mnemonic Wall
1 Karmic Guide
1 Reveillark
1 Sun Titan
Blink Enablers: 11
1 Otherworldly Journey
1 Flicker
1 Equilibrium
1 Cloudstone Curio
1 Crystal Shard
1 Erratic Portal
1 Venser, the Sojourner
1 Mistmeadow Witch
1 Flickerwisp
1 Stonecloaker
1 Glimmerpoint Stag
Card choices:
The mana:
I decided on 38 as a good starting point for what little I know about EDH. The number hasn't been over nor under whelming for me. I run Austere Command in my 100 and so do a lot of folks at my table, along with a ton of artifact/enchantment hate. So that's why I'm very light on acceleration in that department. If there are any faster ways to put Islands and Plains into play that'd be great. So far Weathered Wayfarer is a boss whenever I see him. Simulacrum fulfills his EDH role nicely and has obvious synergy with the rest of the deck. I can blink and recur him with frequency. Sometimes I even tutor for him right off the bat if I'm sitting on a few blink cards in my opening hand. The Bauble is something I've been using in casual and competitive since it was first printed. There aren't a lot of ways to actually ramp in UW so it helps greatly. With Ruins and Gargoyle I can occasionally find all of my basics.
The creature base:
This is something I've struggled with over the past few months immensely. I've created and removed actual threat density multiple times. The shop I play in rewards a deck such as mine (based on interactions) relying on tight play rather than brute force.
There are certainly considerations for more aggressive dudes but I find I can't exactly get there with 'blink dudes' as their power ranges from 1-3 most of the time. I usually try and set up moderate defenses, control/alter dangerous board positions or changes to gamestate, and swoop in with ridiculous card advantage with my little dorks.
I've considered some of the uber-Sphinxi with Jar-Jar, Consecrated, and Uthuun. I'm also attracted to literally anything that has evasion and 5+ front-end. I'd love to add Exalted Angel and/or Baneslayer Angel but I haven't the first idea what to cut. For blowouts and late game plays I've looked at both Decree of Justice and White Sun's Zenith.
The Blink Theme:
I've got 11 dedicated ways to abuse ETB triggers and multiple dorks that are just begging to be blinked. Some of the guys in the deck's spoiler can be used in multiple ways. Venser is great for time walking game breaking spells but is just as good at bouncing huge tokens or reusing other ETB guys. Flickerwisp, Stag, and Fiend Hunter fulfill similar roles from time to time. I've actually been considering Sudden Disappearance as a versatile game-changer or mass-blink enabler. Evacuation could fill a similar role EOT and also act as pseudo-removal in a pinch.
The Removal:
I've found the removal package to be quite diversified for most of my games. Both Dismantling Blow and Return to Dust have been outstanding at dealing with pesky equipment and broken enchantments. The ability to selectively target 2 (or blow up based on mana cost with Austere) has been a boon for me. The rest of the removal made the cut because of it's efficiency and mana cost. *** and DoJ serve as functional copies when I need a wipe, Austere serves as a diverse answer to a variety of permanents, Fetters fills the same role with the added benefit of life gain (and possible recursion with bounce effects) and the ability to neuter problematic planeswalkers.
The Countermagic:
It didn't take me long to realize that counters should be saved for:
1)Dangerous alterations to gamestate
2)Immediate threats to my board/life/hand
3)Politics with other players
I originally had 13 counters and cut it down to 10. I decided on this specific list after lots of playtesting. Most of my counters cantrip or in the case of creatures, can be abused with the recursion/blink engines built into the deck. Cryptic Command has been an all-star in so many games, admittedly more so when I had tutors to retrieve it. The ability to counter, bounce, or tap down my opponents dudes is amazing. Doing one of those and drawing is even better most of the time.
The Draw/Tutor:
I've found that I might actually require more draw or tutor effects to maintain a competitive edge in my meta. Games go fast, resources dwindle and my hand needs refilled often. I feel that both Merchant Scroll and Mystical Tutor deserve some consideration but I'm torn. New EDH-itis has struck and I can't decide what's good in theory and practice. I definitely need help here.
The D-Fense:
I decided on the walls for two reasons:
1)They combo with Lark'
2)They provide some much-needed breathing room when my critters are so small
With the exclusion of Denial my walls gain me life or recur spells, but I've honestly found them to be a temporary deterrent at best with so many SoFI and SoLS's running amok. The Mnemonic wall is probably the only wall I wouldn't consider dropping for something better. Seht's Tiger has proven to be a BAMF on so many occasions. His playability seems like some big secret. With countermagic to protect him and blink to abuse him, he's absolutely insane. I get a half chub just from drawing him. Hindering Light not only fulfills the diplomatic requirement for a counter in EDh, it also cantrips. Annex is so/so. Either they have the W to skate around it or they don't. If they don't they typically have myriad ways of dealing with it. I'm sorta meh on Annex right now. As for the rest of the stuff-lovely so far.
Recursion:
These have all proved their value at one point or another, I can say that Titan is great as a beater more often than he is as a recursion engine (even with blink) due to my CMC. Llark and Guide do things as expected. Gargoyle in cahoots with Ruins has been great at keeping some of my blink-enablers online and recycling Bauble/Solemn. I actually wouldn't mind further suggestions on viable recursion for this deck.
Control/theft/copy:
One of the reasons I'm in these colors is to play my favorite creature ever printed, Azorius Guildmage. Back in the days of U/W aggro in standard I read a member on one of MTGSal's forums describe her thusly:
"Guildmage is like a prostitute, the more you sink into her the better she performs." and that's been true for me since I read it. She can play defense and tap down ridiculous fatties or hinder equipment from being attached. You'll also notice I'm running Shackles, Drake, and Teferi to shore up the 'control' vibe. Stealing big/threatening dorks is always better than casting your own. I've found Teferi to be a boon, even without counters in-hand. Casting dudes on my opponents turn has proven useful many times over. The copy dudes are somewhat generic due to how ubiquitous they are in EDH but they handle problematic generals and let me copy huge fatties. One question on that, do they gain the ETB trigger of the creature copied? If I cast Sakashima and target Mulldrifter, do I draw 2 cards?
I realize that's a wall of text and I'll be going through lots of editing in creating a primer but please bear with me.
Thanks guys!
-Wooki3
WW Death & Taxes
GG Control
RR Skred Red
I could really use some help guys!
WW Death & Taxes
GG Control
RR Skred Red