I want to believe that Everdream is good because it's very, very cool, but I think it'll end up being a worse Whispers of the Muse. Turning all your spells into cantrips is somewhat efficient for 2U but I would be wary about the conditional nature of it.
I'm more excited for Emergence Zone and Time Wipe. Zone gives us more surprise wipes and Wipe is basically Wrath plus Phelddy's blue ability only without an opponent drawing a card.
I don't love type-restrictive counters usually. I'd replace exclude (with dream fracture).
Probably a good call. I'm also thinking of replacing the other with Condescend. At the very least X is 0 and you get to Scry 2, otherwise you get a lot of value for a small investment. Tax counters do lose steam over time but in the early and mid game when people are frequently tapping out it functions as a 2cmc counter with a solid upside. Dissolve is also on the fringe. Better than Sinister Sabotage due to a lack of recursion in my list and you don't give away information.
It's not like you need t3 draw anyway.
Good point.
Exploration I like in decks with heavy draw, especially x draw or repeatable draw like pulse. Your deck is relatively light on big draw so it probably underperforms. Also imo you're land-light, although I understand the canttips make up for this partially. I don't love oonas because it clashes with, for example, whispers of the muse, pulses, rev, and other cards that want big mana, which expo works in harmony with.
Pull From Tomorrow is a viable candidate for an addition big, bursty draw spell to replace Oona's. Your analysis is likely correct there, I hadn't considered the negative synergy. As for the land count, 38 mana producers (37 lands + Sol Ring) means there's a land every ~2.6 cards, which averages out to ~3 in your starting hand. I suppose that's too few for a reactive deck without ramp. Coming from a mono-black deck playing 8 cheap rocks and a general that draws cards has probably spoiled me with regards to land counts. I could cut something for Mystifying Maze and maybe another basic.
Happy new year and new deck!
¡Próspero año y felicidad! Enjoy your vacation and move across the pond.
Belated congratulations on the primer status. It's a lot of work and yours is particularly insightful compared to some others.
On the subject of tokens, what's your opinion on this beautiful boy:
I love the aesthetic but I feel like its expression might give away the gameplan too much. Too menacing, or what?
I'm still a big advocate for the cheap cantrips. When you get a chance to play after you move I'd try to find room for some of them to at least test them out for your analysis section. I've never been disappointed to see them in any of my other blue-based control decks so I would think they would be incredible here.
I prefer Austere Command over Akroma's Vengeance because of the potential political implications. I don't want to blow up poor Timmy's mana rocks if he's in last place if I can avoid it. Command is a tactical nuke as opposed to thermonuclear annihilation. I suppose I could run both?
I'm running 13.5 counterspells which is approximately one in seven cards, which means statistically I'm likely to have one in my opening grip and thus theoretically prepared for early/mid game shenanigans. Since many of my counters are 3cmc+ I don't think I'll be storming any cEDH tables anytime soon, but I'm okay with that. I'm thinking of replacing one with Dream Fracture, probably Exclude or Negate.
Is Sylvan Library really non-threatening enough to run? I usually groan to see it on turn 2 because in Erebos I don't have any good answers to it and that player typically runs away with the game. I suppose the plan is to use it as a pseudo-Brainstorm every turn and use it as a card advantage engine only when necessary?
I took out my ramp package because I think you're right that there's really nothing to ramp into and it's unnecessarily threatening. Not that threatening, but still. Is Exploration worth running alongside Oona's Grace? I feel like pitching late game lands when you have 10+ mana available is stronger than putting extras into play. Outside of heavy ramp decks and lands.dec I've never been too terribly impressed with Exploration so I'm thinking of cutting it for more interaction or draw.
How does my draw/selection package look to you? 5.5 cantrips, 2.5 filterers, and 4.5 actual card advantage spells seems a bit light compared to what I'm used to playing with. I guess the deck doesn't commit too much to the board and only plays spells when absolutely necessary so running too many risks raising our threat profile to uncomfortable levels. Seems like 4, possibly 5 cards in hand is where you would want to be for most of the game to have enough answers without appearing like you're sculpting a combo-hand.
Sorry if you think these are all answered by reading the primer. I'm just trying to find a solid base to start with to go ahead and order before fine-tuning.
Excellent work. I've been checking in and reading new updates occasionally and I'm looking forward to seeing it fully fleshed out.
Have you considered Rogue's Passage? Not only does it obviously help Phelddy get through fliers, it can also help out opponents get combat damage through on another player. Just another interactive tool to get people to do what you want them to do. Could be threatening if your opponents fear the Hippo, though.
Really it's the deck/play philosophy that's a lot more interesting than the specific card selection anyway.
This is what I'm more interested in than individual card analysis, though obviously both would be helpful. I've read the posts in the thread and somewhat collated the information but seeing it condensed and contextualized would allow the reader to analyze cards on their own.
Also, I'm going to buy a bunch of plastic mini hippo figures from alibaba for my tokens. I figure the cuter the tokens, the more likely I am to make successful deals.
Been working on a massive, primer-style guide for phelddagrif, like my zirilan one with oodles of card ratings but a lot more detail on deck construction and strategy. Hopefully done in a week or two, we'll see. There are lots of card options to sift through. So stay tuned, all three of you who care
primer when
Because every time I try to brew a blue-based control deck I get bored and keep coming back to this concept because it's more interesting.
Also, sweet alter. It could have more anime girls in bikinis, but otherwise a solid 9/10.
1v1 with phelddagrif? Yeah that's not really the intended use lol. That would definitely skew in favor of high-threat cards like the buybacks.
Yeah... to be fair, though, I've learned that the deck is really good in 1v1. I think you're right about the buyback cards unfortunately. My brother has learned to hate Constant Mists.
Negate seems ok but mostly I just think it seems better to run something like commit // memory. Versatility often seems more important than efficiency, since we're often sitting with all our mana up anyway. stuff like cryptic and confluence are also versatile while bringing some extra power if needed. I've also been liking spell swindle - expensive to hold up, but single-use mana is a great way to ensure we're never tapped out for the rest of the game. And sweet synergy with treasure map which has been fun.
I agree that versatility is great. I love modal spells and planeswalkers because of the pseudo-virtual card advantage inherent in them, so I can definitely get behind that idea. Commit // Memory seems pretty good. Disruption that later refills your hand in an emergency is nice and I like the fact that it buys you more than one turn like Memory Lapse does. 4cmc can be awkward but you're right about sitting on a healthy amount of mana. The deck plays out like BBS/Draw, Go decks of old so playing the more expensive instants is acceptable.
Good point on cantrips - the nature of the deck is such that, if you desperately need a counter/removal/wipe, you've got pretty decent odds of hitting them in the top 4 or so cards with an impulse or something. That might open the door to cards like supreme will, peer through depths, fortune's favor, and flash of insight being pretty good here. I'm less convinced by sorcery speed ones though - good for hitting board wipes, but a bit slow if there's some critical spell you must counter or creature attacking you for lethal. I guess if you notice your hand is missing (a counter/removal/wipe) you can pick whatever is missing though. And it's nice to have cards that double as lands when you're stuck on 4 or whatever.
Holy crap I forgot Supreme Will was a card. Tax counters are much better than people give them credit for and when that mode becomes irrelevant it trades out for something that is. Excellent choice. Peer is on the cusp of playable but it seems miserable on turn 2 when you need a land.
Even the 1 cmc sorceries are great to me. "U: Trade a card in your hand for the best card you find on top" is incredibly versatile and powerful at a bargain bin cost. I'm never sad to see them because early on they smooth out land drops and later on they become wipes, spot removal, or counters as you need them. Boring as they may be, they do so much work it's absurd. I couldn't imagine playing a heavily blue-based deck without them.
EDIT: Ha, I had already cut Holistic Wisdom. I guess I'll cut AEtherize as it seems redundant with all the other fog/protection spells I'm running.
Oh, also, when do you try to run Phelddy out? Sorry if you've gone over this elsewhere but I've had trouble timing it properly. T6 or T7 seems like a good choice to be able to hold up mana for emergency removal, protection, or whatever else, but that's typically when you start seeing wraths deployed.
You might try illusionist's gambit. And don't forget settle the wreckage. Stuff like tangle can be a good way to punish "misplaced aggression" too and it has that quality of only dealing with the situation temporarily, so that people are motivated to deal with it more permanently themselves.
I'll chew on these tonight at work. Gambit and Tangle seem great but I'm incredibly skeptical of Settle. Low cost, instant pseudo-Wraths are nice but I just view the nightmare scenario of them going wide and getting 5+ lands out of the deal. Beats dying, though.
I'm a little surprised to see counterspells like negate and dissolve in your list. Not everyone wants to shell out for a mana drain, but still, I'd think there are better options for most budgets.
How have the cantrip spells like preordain and ponder been? And the ramp spells? Personally I'd be more tempted to play wargate over kodama's etc, since it can hit kor haven and the like. Which, btw, you should probably be running if you want ways to deter attacks.
Keep in mind I've only been able to play with my brother over the Internet in 1v1 games (which is probably the worst way to test this deck) but...
Negate has been just fine. Obviously it's no Mana Drain, but it's still an easily castable 2cmc hard counter. While it can't stop powerful ETB critters, it stops all other sorts of problems like bomb card draw spells, other counters, and game-ending haymakers. I think it's underrated in the format, honestly. Give it a shot, you may be surprised. Dissolve on the other hand is adequate at best. I waver between it and Dismiss at times but 4cmc for a counter is a bit much even if it cantrips. Memory Lapse might be better.
The cantrips are fantastic. I don't run tutors, so they improve the consistency of the deck as best they can without drawing hate (in theory). I've even been thinking of adding Impulse, Anticipate, and Telling Time. Okay, maybe not the last two, but digging for answers four and three deep at instant speed seems strong.
Cultivate et al. do what they say on the tin. +1 ramp is fairly innocuous and my manabase is a little weak without fetches so they're fine. Wargate is actually a great idea. I'll add some more techy lands in and a few more permanents like Lignify and Search for Azcanta and make a package of it.
I think I've finally come up with a rough draft that I kind of like. I haven't been able to play Magic in person for some time so the emphasis here is on rough. I've made a few concessions to budget and I'm playing cards that Dirk has already criticized, namely powerful recursive cards like Forbid, Seasons Past, Holistic Wisdom, and Constant Mists because I really like them and I don't have anywhere else to play them. While they all have lots of raw power and increase how much information you're giving away, since I'm running mostly answers and my gameplan is "survive until you're playing 1v1 against your preferred target," I feel like the trade-off of making yourself more of a threat is balanced out by being able to use your spells to bolster up weaker opponents and thus make allies against the current Big Bad. Besides, after the novelty of the deck has worn off in certain playgroups I think powerful cards are necessary to not fall behind when your opponents inevitably figure out what you're doing.
Phelddagrif: The War on Hugs
"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." - Sun Tzu
The roolz:
1) No tutors. In this case I would prefer consistency instead of relying on silver bullets. This is to the detriment of the deck intentionally.
2) No creatures. Aren't they just the worst? Seriously, I'm going to be blowing up the world with alarming regularity so they become just one more thing to worry about.
3) Nothing particularly pricy. Let's say anything over $20 is unnecessary. Again, this is to keep the deck's raw power down. Ideally this will help lower the deck's threat profile.
I hate to be that guy but I think more 'aikido' style cards would be good here. I want to run enough cards that make people less likely to attack me because they know I can I can make doing so extremely unprofitable. This would further the element of psychological warfare the deck already has. So, what are some more cards like Domineering Will, Comeuppance, Reins of Power, and thebetterfogs?
Nah, it's all good; you have much, much more experience playing this kind of deck so I was just fishing for more reasoning behind certain choices or omissions.
Is Future Sight too good to run here? Probably. It's a one-card card advantage engine which typically places a large target on your head. Maybe Holistic Wisdom as a recursion engine to generate powerful card selection? It's a card I think is woefully underplayed but once people read it and see it in action it might generate too much attention. You can have your Tasigur and eat it, too!
What's your reasoning behind not running any of blue's cantrips? They're deceptively powerful even in EDH which seems to go hand in hand with the deck's core. Obviously they're most powerful on turns 1-4 to smooth out land drops and such but no one bats an eye at a turn 8 Ponder despite the fact that it's still a powerful play.
I'm thinking of going tutorless in my list. Tutoring always raises an eyebrow with the people I play with even if the card has to be revealed, so cutting them in favor of more redundancy and card draw seems like a decent move towards keeping my threat profile low. I suppose there's a certain political element that comes with the reveal, but that's outweighed by the undue hate you get if you tutor for juicy targets even if they're not combo pieces and you can always freely expose what's in your hand for a similar effect. What are your typical tutor targets? Telepathy, Pulse of the Grid, and generic answer A to problem B seem like the ones you use most if I remember correctly.
Probably my favorite thing about this list is that it's really a 1v1 control deck masquerading as an EDH deck. Once a control deck establishes dominance it really doesn't matter what their win condition is (see: Pauper UB Teachings and Evincar's Justice or Curse of the Bloody Tome). Combining your win condition with abilities that help you get to that 1v1 stage where the deck is strongest is pretty ingenious honestly.
I'm working on a pseudo-budget list for this deck concept before I commit to it fully, but I was wondering about your opinion on a few cards. Note: I have a break due to work where I can't play EDH for awhile so I won't be able to test things out until the project is finished.
What about theVowcycle? They seem a bit ham handed and stick-y (as opposed to carrot-y) but I do like that they throw attacks elsewhere and act as either Pacifisms or Hippo pumpers when you get to the 1v1 phase. Reducing the number of attacks Phelddagrif needs to make before killing with commander damage from six to four (three with Wildness) seems decent.
On the subject of speeding up kills, have you considered Runechanter's Pike? Again, it's ham handed and threatening but being able to randomly knock people out of the game in one or two attacks is very powerful. I jam that card into every spellslinger deck I can and it's always been good to me. Like the Tasigur deck idea I shamelessly copied from you I can see games taking forever with this deck and having a way to close things out quickly is considerate of your opponents' time.
I see you're running Bant Charm but no Treva's Charm. Treva's is notably worse since its last option is just awful, but I love modal spells because they're basically virtual card advantage. Indeed, I think including more modal spells might be the key to keeping your threat profile fairly low while still having plenty of options. You're already running a lot of the good ones, though, so I'm not sure what there is left to add.
I'm surprised you're not running Curse of the Swine as a board wipe. It's very, very good, and fits with the political reparations theme going on. Sorry I exiled your Blightsteel Colossus, here's a piggy and a hippo.
Glad you keep updating this thread and explaining the philosophy behind the deck. You may have converted me into a hippo player. I don't have a list yet and consequentially no meaningful feedback, but I'm watching this thread.
I want to believe that Everdream is good because it's very, very cool, but I think it'll end up being a worse Whispers of the Muse. Turning all your spells into cantrips is somewhat efficient for 2U but I would be wary about the conditional nature of it.
What do you think of Waterlogged Grove and, by extension, Horizon Canopy?
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
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[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
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You registered an account just to post this?
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
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EDIT: Some minor changes:
- Oona's Grace
- Imprisoned in the Moon
- Exclude
- Negate
- Into the Roil (Blink of an Eye has better art)
+ Pull from Tomorrow
+ Dream Fracture
+ Dissolve
+ Strip Mine
+ Mystifying Maze
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Arcane Lighthouse
1 Arch of Orazca
1 Breeding Pool
1 Brushland
1 Command Tower
1 Eiganjo Castle
3 Forest
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Hinterland Harbor
8 Island
1 Kor Haven
1 Maze of Ith
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Mystifying Maze
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Path of Ancestry
4 Plains
1 Scavenger Grounds
1 Seaside Citadel
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Strip Mine
1 Temple Garden
1 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Temple of Plenty
1 Yavimaya Coast
Board Wipes: 10
1 AEtherspouts
1 Austere Command
1 Cleansing Nova
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Evacuation
1 Hour of Revelation
1 Rout
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Tragic Arrogance
1 Wrath of God
1 Beast Within
1 Blink of an Eye
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Council's Judgment
1 Krosan Grip
1 Nature's Claim
1 Path to Exile
1 Pongify
1 Rapid Hybridization
1 Reality Shift
1 Song of the Dryads
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Unexpectedly Absent
Countermagic: 12
1 Arcane Denial
1 Counterspell
1 Cryptic Command
1 Delay
1 Disallow
1 Dissolve
1 Dream Fracture
1 Forbid
1 Mystic Confluence
1 Render Silent
1 Swan Song
1 Voidslime
Card Selection/Draw: 13
1 Brainstorm
1 Dig Through Time
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Impulse
1 Mystic Speculation
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Pull from Tomorrow
1 Pulse of the Grid
1 Serum Visions
1 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Sylvan Library
1 Whispers of the Muse
1 Bant Charm
1 Comeuppance
1 Commit // Memory
1 Exploration
1 Moment's Peace
1 Pulse of the Fields
1 Supreme Will
1 Tangle
1 Teferi's Protection
1 Telepathy
1 Sol Ring
Probably a good call. I'm also thinking of replacing the other with Condescend. At the very least X is 0 and you get to Scry 2, otherwise you get a lot of value for a small investment. Tax counters do lose steam over time but in the early and mid game when people are frequently tapping out it functions as a 2cmc counter with a solid upside. Dissolve is also on the fringe. Better than Sinister Sabotage due to a lack of recursion in my list and you don't give away information.
Good point.
Pull From Tomorrow is a viable candidate for an addition big, bursty draw spell to replace Oona's. Your analysis is likely correct there, I hadn't considered the negative synergy. As for the land count, 38 mana producers (37 lands + Sol Ring) means there's a land every ~2.6 cards, which averages out to ~3 in your starting hand. I suppose that's too few for a reactive deck without ramp. Coming from a mono-black deck playing 8 cheap rocks and a general that draws cards has probably spoiled me with regards to land counts. I could cut something for Mystifying Maze and maybe another basic.
¡Próspero año y felicidad! Enjoy your vacation and move across the pond.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
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On the subject of tokens, what's your opinion on this beautiful boy:
I love the aesthetic but I feel like its expression might give away the gameplan too much. Too menacing, or what?
I'm still a big advocate for the cheap cantrips. When you get a chance to play after you move I'd try to find room for some of them to at least test them out for your analysis section. I've never been disappointed to see them in any of my other blue-based control decks so I would think they would be incredible here.
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Arcane Lighthouse
1 Arch of Orazca
1 Breeding Pool
1 Brushland
1 Command Tower
1 Eiganjo Castle
3 Forest
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Hinterland Harbor
8 Island
1 Kor Haven
1 Maze of Ith
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Path of Ancestry
4 Plains
1 Scavenger Grounds
1 Seaside Citadel
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Temple Garden
1 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Temple of Plenty
1 Yavimaya Coast
Sorceries: 12
1 Austere Command
1 Cleansing Nova
1 Council's Judgment
1 Hour of Revelation
1 Mystic Speculation
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Rout
1 Serum Visions
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Tragic Arrogance
1 Wrath of God
1 AEtherspouts
1 Arcane Denial
1 Bant Charm
1 Beast Within
1 Blink of an Eye
1 Brainstorm
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Comeuppance
1 Commit // Memory
1 Counterspell
1 Cryptic Command
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Delay
1 Dig Through Time
1 Disallow
1 Evacuation
1 Exclude
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Forbid
1 Impulse
1 Into the Roil
1 Krosan Grip
1 Moment's Peace
1 Mystic Confluence
1 Nature's Claim
1 Negate
1 Oona's Grace
1 Path to Exile
1 Pongify
1 Pulse of the Fields
1 Pulse of the Grid
1 Rapid Hybridization
1 Reality Shift
1 Render Silent
1 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Supreme Will
1 Swan Song
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Tangle
1 Teferi's Protection
1 Unexpectedly Absent
1 Voidslime
1 Whispers of the Muse
1 Exploration
1 Imprisoned in the Moon
1 Song of the Dryads
1 Sylvan Library
1 Telepathy
Artifact: 1
1 Sol Ring
Somewhere between your budget list and your non-budget list, with lots of room for tuning. Notes:
As always, the omissions of Mystical Tutor and Wargate are intentional.
I prefer Austere Command over Akroma's Vengeance because of the potential political implications. I don't want to blow up poor Timmy's mana rocks if he's in last place if I can avoid it. Command is a tactical nuke as opposed to thermonuclear annihilation. I suppose I could run both?
I'm running 13.5 counterspells which is approximately one in seven cards, which means statistically I'm likely to have one in my opening grip and thus theoretically prepared for early/mid game shenanigans. Since many of my counters are 3cmc+ I don't think I'll be storming any cEDH tables anytime soon, but I'm okay with that. I'm thinking of replacing one with Dream Fracture, probably Exclude or Negate.
Is Sylvan Library really non-threatening enough to run? I usually groan to see it on turn 2 because in Erebos I don't have any good answers to it and that player typically runs away with the game. I suppose the plan is to use it as a pseudo-Brainstorm every turn and use it as a card advantage engine only when necessary?
I took out my ramp package because I think you're right that there's really nothing to ramp into and it's unnecessarily threatening. Not that threatening, but still. Is Exploration worth running alongside Oona's Grace? I feel like pitching late game lands when you have 10+ mana available is stronger than putting extras into play. Outside of heavy ramp decks and lands.dec I've never been too terribly impressed with Exploration so I'm thinking of cutting it for more interaction or draw.
How does my draw/selection package look to you? 5.5 cantrips, 2.5 filterers, and 4.5 actual card advantage spells seems a bit light compared to what I'm used to playing with. I guess the deck doesn't commit too much to the board and only plays spells when absolutely necessary so running too many risks raising our threat profile to uncomfortable levels. Seems like 4, possibly 5 cards in hand is where you would want to be for most of the game to have enough answers without appearing like you're sculpting a combo-hand.
Sorry if you think these are all answered by reading the primer. I'm just trying to find a solid base to start with to go ahead and order before fine-tuning.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
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Have you considered Rogue's Passage? Not only does it obviously help Phelddy get through fliers, it can also help out opponents get combat damage through on another player. Just another interactive tool to get people to do what you want them to do. Could be threatening if your opponents fear the Hippo, though.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
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Also, I'm going to buy a bunch of plastic mini hippo figures from alibaba for my tokens. I figure the cuter the tokens, the more likely I am to make successful deals.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
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Because every time I try to brew a blue-based control deck I get bored and keep coming back to this concept because it's more interesting.
Also, sweet alter. It could have more anime girls in bikinis, but otherwise a solid 9/10.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
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I agree that versatility is great. I love modal spells and planeswalkers because of the pseudo-virtual card advantage inherent in them, so I can definitely get behind that idea. Commit // Memory seems pretty good. Disruption that later refills your hand in an emergency is nice and I like the fact that it buys you more than one turn like Memory Lapse does. 4cmc can be awkward but you're right about sitting on a healthy amount of mana. The deck plays out like BBS/Draw, Go decks of old so playing the more expensive instants is acceptable.
Holy crap I forgot Supreme Will was a card. Tax counters are much better than people give them credit for and when that mode becomes irrelevant it trades out for something that is. Excellent choice. Peer is on the cusp of playable but it seems miserable on turn 2 when you need a land.
Even the 1 cmc sorceries are great to me. "U: Trade a card in your hand for the best card you find on top" is incredibly versatile and powerful at a bargain bin cost. I'm never sad to see them because early on they smooth out land drops and later on they become wipes, spot removal, or counters as you need them. Boring as they may be, they do so much work it's absurd. I couldn't imagine playing a heavily blue-based deck without them.
- Constant Mists
- Capsize
- AEtherize
- Wildest Dreams
- Thaumatic Compass
- Dissolve
- Hour of Revelation
- Blue Sun's Zenith
- 3 Temples
- Plains
+ Supreme Will
+ Commit // Memory
+ Settle the Wreckage
+ Search for Azcanta
+ Stroke of Genius
+ Spell Swindle
+ Wargate
+ Lignify
+ Maze of Ith
+ Kor Haven
+ Forest
+ Island
EDIT: Ha, I had already cut Holistic Wisdom. I guess I'll cut AEtherize as it seems redundant with all the other fog/protection spells I'm running.
Oh, also, when do you try to run Phelddy out? Sorry if you've gone over this elsewhere but I've had trouble timing it properly. T6 or T7 seems like a good choice to be able to hold up mana for emergency removal, protection, or whatever else, but that's typically when you start seeing wraths deployed.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
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I'll chew on these tonight at work. Gambit and Tangle seem great but I'm incredibly skeptical of Settle. Low cost, instant pseudo-Wraths are nice but I just view the nightmare scenario of them going wide and getting 5+ lands out of the deal. Beats dying, though.
Keep in mind I've only been able to play with my brother over the Internet in 1v1 games (which is probably the worst way to test this deck) but...
Negate has been just fine. Obviously it's no Mana Drain, but it's still an easily castable 2cmc hard counter. While it can't stop powerful ETB critters, it stops all other sorts of problems like bomb card draw spells, other counters, and game-ending haymakers. I think it's underrated in the format, honestly. Give it a shot, you may be surprised. Dissolve on the other hand is adequate at best. I waver between it and Dismiss at times but 4cmc for a counter is a bit much even if it cantrips. Memory Lapse might be better.
The cantrips are fantastic. I don't run tutors, so they improve the consistency of the deck as best they can without drawing hate (in theory). I've even been thinking of adding Impulse, Anticipate, and Telling Time. Okay, maybe not the last two, but digging for answers four and three deep at instant speed seems strong.
Cultivate et al. do what they say on the tin. +1 ramp is fairly innocuous and my manabase is a little weak without fetches so they're fine. Wargate is actually a great idea. I'll add some more techy lands in and a few more permanents like Lignify and Search for Azcanta and make a package of it.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
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"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." - Sun Tzu
The roolz:
1) No tutors. In this case I would prefer consistency instead of relying on silver bullets. This is to the detriment of the deck intentionally.
2) No creatures. Aren't they just the worst? Seriously, I'm going to be blowing up the world with alarming regularity so they become just one more thing to worry about.
3) Nothing particularly pricy. Let's say anything over $20 is unnecessary. Again, this is to keep the deck's raw power down. Ideally this will help lower the deck's threat profile.
1 Phelddagrif
Instants: 41
1x AEtherspouts
1x Arcane Denial
1x Bant Charm
1x Beast Within
1x Brainstorm
1x Comeuppance
1x Commit // Memory
1x Condescend
1x Counterspell
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Dig Through Time
1x Disallow
1x Dissolve
1x Domineering Will
1x Dream Fracture
1x Evacuation
1x Exclude
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Impulse
1x Insidious Will
1x Into the Roil
1x Krosan Grip
1x Moment's Peace
1x Nature's Claim
1x Negate
1x Path to Exile
1x Pongify
1x Pulse of the Grid
1x Rapid Hybridization
1x Reality Shift
1x Reins of Power
1x Settle the Wreckage
1x Spell Swindle
1x Sphinx's Revelation
1x Stroke of Genius
1x Supreme Will
1x Swan Song
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Sylvan Reclamation
1x Teferi's Protection
1x Voidslime
1x Akroma's Vengeance
1x Austere Command
1x Cultivate
1x Hallowed Burial
1x Kodama's Reach
1x Mystic Speculation
1x Ponder
1x Preordain
1x Regrowth
1x Rout
1x Seasons Past
1x Serum Visions
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Tragic Arrogance
1x Treasure Cruise
1x Wargate
Enchantments: 6
1x Darksteel Mutation
1x Imprisoned in the Moon
1x Lignify
1x Search for Azcanta
1x Song of the Dryads
1x Telepathy
Artifacts: 1
1x Sol Ring
Land: 36
1x Adarkar Wastes
1x Breeding Pool
1x Brushland
1x Command Tower
7x Forest
1x Glacial Fortress
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Hinterland Harbor
11x Island
1x Kor Haven
1x Maze of Ith
5x Plains
1x Seaside Citadel
1x Sunpetal Grove
1x Temple Garden
1x Yavimaya Coast
I hate to be that guy but I think more 'aikido' style cards would be good here. I want to run enough cards that make people less likely to attack me because they know I can I can make doing so extremely unprofitable. This would further the element of psychological warfare the deck already has. So, what are some more cards like Domineering Will, Comeuppance, Reins of Power, and the better fogs?
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
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Nah, it's all good; you have much, much more experience playing this kind of deck so I was just fishing for more reasoning behind certain choices or omissions.
Is Future Sight too good to run here? Probably. It's a one-card card advantage engine which typically places a large target on your head. Maybe Holistic Wisdom as a recursion engine to generate powerful card selection? It's a card I think is woefully underplayed but once people read it and see it in action it might generate too much attention. You can have your Tasigur and eat it, too!
What's your reasoning behind not running any of blue's cantrips? They're deceptively powerful even in EDH which seems to go hand in hand with the deck's core. Obviously they're most powerful on turns 1-4 to smooth out land drops and such but no one bats an eye at a turn 8 Ponder despite the fact that it's still a powerful play.
I'm thinking of going tutorless in my list. Tutoring always raises an eyebrow with the people I play with even if the card has to be revealed, so cutting them in favor of more redundancy and card draw seems like a decent move towards keeping my threat profile low. I suppose there's a certain political element that comes with the reveal, but that's outweighed by the undue hate you get if you tutor for juicy targets even if they're not combo pieces and you can always freely expose what's in your hand for a similar effect. What are your typical tutor targets? Telepathy, Pulse of the Grid, and generic answer A to problem B seem like the ones you use most if I remember correctly.
Probably my favorite thing about this list is that it's really a 1v1 control deck masquerading as an EDH deck. Once a control deck establishes dominance it really doesn't matter what their win condition is (see: Pauper UB Teachings and Evincar's Justice or Curse of the Bloody Tome). Combining your win condition with abilities that help you get to that 1v1 stage where the deck is strongest is pretty ingenious honestly.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
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What about the Vow cycle? They seem a bit ham handed and stick-y (as opposed to carrot-y) but I do like that they throw attacks elsewhere and act as either Pacifisms or Hippo pumpers when you get to the 1v1 phase. Reducing the number of attacks Phelddagrif needs to make before killing with commander damage from six to four (three with Wildness) seems decent.
On the subject of speeding up kills, have you considered Runechanter's Pike? Again, it's ham handed and threatening but being able to randomly knock people out of the game in one or two attacks is very powerful. I jam that card into every spellslinger deck I can and it's always been good to me. Like the Tasigur deck idea I shamelessly copied from you I can see games taking forever with this deck and having a way to close things out quickly is considerate of your opponents' time.
I see you're running Bant Charm but no Treva's Charm. Treva's is notably worse since its last option is just awful, but I love modal spells because they're basically virtual card advantage. Indeed, I think including more modal spells might be the key to keeping your threat profile fairly low while still having plenty of options. You're already running a lot of the good ones, though, so I'm not sure what there is left to add.
I'm surprised you're not running Curse of the Swine as a board wipe. It's very, very good, and fits with the political reparations theme going on. Sorry I exiled your Blightsteel Colossus, here's a piggy and a hippo.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK