MTG Salvation

I feel like this list doesn't run a ton of rocks to begin with, and its legendary creatures are slightly limited, meaning that Mox Amber could be a dud, which I really wouldn't be crazy about.

Bribery is a good card, but it strongly depends on your meta. Without big bombs in your opponents' decks, it could be a swing and a miss over something that better advances your gameplan at 5. Cryptic is a bit too blue heavy for me in a 3-color list, and while it is one of the only counters over 3 I'd ever consider, the casting cost color intensity, and the desire to be a bit more able to use a counter in any situation, since my list doesn't have that many of them, is reason enough for me to exclude it. I do run it in my Grimgrin attrition/aristocrats list, and I like it in there.

I honestly think Jenara is one of the most adaptable commanders out there because she is cheap, has a good body, has evasion, and scales to any stage of the game via her counters ability. Plus, she makes an ideal sword carrier, which I run 3 of them, so that is often relevant. This is a mid-range list at heart, with a lot of ETB control utility. I don't see the list as written benefiting as much from Derevi as it does Jenara. She's unassuming enough, but can be a powerhouse if unchecked, and give opponents second thoughts about swinging in at all with her ability to ramp up her power. With 4 mana open on turn 4, any opponent of mine has to consider the ramifications of swinging into a 5/5, and eating removal is a benefit for us, because it isn't pointed at our bigger threats/combo pieces.

Those combos feel a lot more at home in a Abzan-esque list than in this deck. None of those cards really warrant inclusion in this decklist on their own, and the Survival Lark combo fits far more perfectly in this deck with what it wants to do in the 99, without making those cards dead on their own.

I do run some similar loops in my Atraxa list, but again, that is a deck that is far more able to play around with counters. It just doesn't fit here.

Vannifar is too good to pass on. I'll need to find a spot for her. Spots in this decklist have been tight for about 3 or 4 years now, so I really don't know what is getting cut for her.

One of the only ways this deck gets over the top, other than the few creatures I run that can deliver the beatdowns, is by swording up utility creatures to get in for damage. Since this isn't a list for Craterhoof, it seems only fitting that a toolbox deck such as this would run Mirror Entity, which serves as both an Overwhelming Stampede or Phyrexian Altar depending on the board state.

Btw, Sigarda has been a pocket pick of mine forever (a relic of a time where my whole playgroup was literally running Grixis). ISB used to run Akroma, but she was my more mana friendly version. Found a good deal on a box topper for her, and jumped at it. Very excited to have a modern, extended border for one of my favorite legends.

Those are the only two 7 drops I run. I ran Uthuun in a past life, but Consecrated can just be so good. They just bring so much to the table that I can't really see myself running anything else, even though I've had other curve toppers I've wanted to use.

Resolute Archangel is, and has been, one of my favorites for this list. It can have issues with aggro sometimes, and a reliably tutorable, and not that unattainable at 7 mana reset button is a pretty nice thing to have, especially once you start blinking or reanimating it. It allows you to play around with your life total a lot more for things like Sylvan Library and a tuned mana base (fetches/shocks).

Blood Tender, of course, is the metalhead sibling of Bloom Tender.

I think that Alchemist's Refuge has a little more play in it than you guys have been giving credit for. It also works excellently with the mid-range-y toolbox creatures that this deck thrives on. For the ones that don't have flash, giving them flash can be a huge edge. I.e. if you are tutoring a creature combo piece a la Mirror Entity with your Recruiter of the Guard you may want to wait until EoT on the opponent before you's turn to not tip off your play. Likewise, this works for Reclamation Sage, Harmonic Sliver, Gilded Drake, and Cataclysmic Gearhulk, giving you additional instant-speed removal in your list. Admittedly, it is a mana dump, and is probably something I could cut without losing a ton in this list, but it does allow for some cute interactions more than just instant speed clones, which can also be disruptive.

Wargate has to be one of the best tutors ever printed in Bant colors. It's just so good. It hardly matters if it costs more mana, because it puts an permanent into play, and they have to counter the tutor, not the target. You could tutor your Survival of the Fittest into play, or a Gaea's Cradle. It ramps by hitting Mana Crypt too.

Sorry, I was thinking Gifts Ungiven. My mistake.

I agree that Spellseeker is a great card, I just haven't gotten around to buying one yet.

When a deck has been put together for a while and thoroughly tested, I just get the feeling that changes don't happen very often. Out of my 6 decklists, I've added maybe 2 cards in total since Kaladesh just because they are tuned and nothing else that was released really moved the needle for me. It's pretty normal for a deck such as this to not have a whole lot of changes.

No doubt that having an additional color is something that is pretty nice because you get access to a TON of other tools; you're absolutely right. I just don't find myself wanting or needing those cards. I've felt like this list is just about as tight as it can be for the last couple years and it has only gotten tighter as we've gotten some really amazing cards printed for us. I don't know if I'm sentimentally attached to the deck that we do have, but I just can't see myself cutting so many cards in order to add black.

When you add colors, there are always going to be more consistency issues even if, in a small sample size, they sort of worked out. It might be a couple percentage points, but it exists. I do think there are a ton of ways to make a good mana base without breaking the bank these days, though. I also think the colorless lands are a very underrated part of this deck's strength (Academy Ruins, Alchemists' Refuge, etc.) and only add to our utility.

As I've said, I already made an Atraxa counters list, so I won't be doing this, but the deck probably would be improved with Anguished Unmaking, Demonic/Vampiric Tutor, Reanimation Stuff, Mimeoplasm, but you have to sacrifice some of the creature-toolbox aspect in order to add straight value. It would be interesting for sure. Personally, Atraxa in the command zone is more appealing than the partners, at least for me.

I've built a +1/+1 counters Atraxa list already, so I'm not exactly looking to move away from Jenara. Not to mention, the Bant land base in Jenara is going to be far more consistent (which can't be undersold) and I really don't see a whole lot of slots in the deck to be cut in order to add a color be it Black or Red. Thrasios + Ravos would probably be the best of the 4-color options, but Bant is such a strong shard that I'm not looking to add Black with the list we already have.

You can choose him as the artifact. Easily recurrable and tutorable wrath on demand with a good body seems great. And you don't have to keep him if you want to get Jenara and a sword or something. Does a good job of clearing the mucked up battlefield, but a poor job of stopping specific threats as opponents get to choose to keep them.

Tragic Arrogance, however, is amazing if you opponents have more than one of anything because YOU get to choose.

That said, his limitations are more than made up for by his convenience I think. I'm probably cutting Supreme Verdict for him.

Cataclysmic Gearhulk anyone been playing this card? I haven't been around the boards much lately, but this came up a couple times recently for me where if I'd had this bad boy in the deck, I could have avoided a sticky situation, especially with how easy it is to tutor for creatures or cheat them into play with this deck.

Has anyone been running it?