The intent of this deck is to try and break God-Pharaoh's Gift. As this is an all in strategy this deck plays out like a combo deck with our goal to get out God-Pharaoh's Gift as early as possible. This deck fairly consistently can get out God-Pharaoh's Gift T4 - T6. The two ways of doing this are to use Gate to the Afterlife or Refurbish. I have chosen to use a Jeskai shell because it filters cards amazingly well.
Strengths: consistently drops a repeatable reanimation engine and a creature threat fairly early in the game. Not intentional but it is also a very cheap budget deck.
Weaknesses: Does not react with opponent. Revolves around 1 card. Weak to graveyard exile.
It was hard choosing the correct reanimation finishers because so many cards are awesome in this deck. The amount of ridiculous options is quite numerous and This could be a flexible set of options that changes with meta. I am happy to report however that after quite a bit of testing Angel of Inventions is our best option.
Important Piloting Note: If someone tries to fatal push your tokens refer them to rule 706.2. When copying an object, the copy acquires the copiable values of the original object's characteristics and, for an object on the stack, choices made when casting or activating it (mode, targets, the value of X, whether a kicker cost was paid, how it will affect multiple targets, and so on). The "copiable values" are the values derived from the text printed on the object (that text being name, mana cost, card type, subtype, supertype, expansion symbol, rules text, power, toughness, and/or loyalty).
Card Choices: Insolent Neonate: The reason this deck runs red and the only red card main board. The ability to filter upon sacrificing is important to this decks strategy. It can put 2 creatures into the grave to help trigger Gate to the Afterlife. This is also a decent reanimation target as a 4/4 menace is pretty sweet. Salvage Drone: Another creature that can put 2 creatures into the grave to help trigger Gate to the Afterlife or dump God-Pharaoh's Gift into the graveyard. It is a good blocker against agro and mid-range decks. Wharf infiltrator is an absolutely incredible card that I had never played with before. It filters on combat and it has an interesting evasion in skulk. It can crank out 3/2's which is a good plan B if you don't have other pieces yet. it is weak against decks that run cards with 0 power. If that becomes common this creature may need to be subbed out. Champion of wits Filtering on a body is strong in this deck and this guy may be the best at it. a 4/4 that draws you 4 cards and discard 2 is a solid reanimation target. Contingency plan This card is absolutely awesome. 5 cards is alot to filter through and this card helps make our deck consistent. God-Pharaoh's Gift The reason to play this deck Refurbish brings back God-Pharaoh's Gift also can target Gate to the Afterlife Gate to the Afterlife both parts of this card help our deck. Angel of Invention this competes with cultivator for the best finisher in the deck because the lifelink and vigialnce allow it to cause such a dramatic swing in the game. We can cast it from hand which we can not do for our other threats. Cultivator of blades Gift practically turns this into craterhoof behemoth. A 6/6 haste that gives your team a +6/+6 is insane in standard play. Noosegraf Mob a 9/9 haste that poops out 2/2's when your opponent casts a spell is a crazy good reanimation target. a good sideboard option for control decks. marionette master this creature protects Gift somewhat and may be good against decks that try to destroy the Gift.
Angel of sanctions We can cast this from our hand and It would be our only removal. Nahiri's wrath I don't know that we need this but if agro is a huge problem this could deal tons of damage. Hour of devastaion this is good against walkers and agro decks. Negate This could help protect us from graveyard hate or other counterspells.
Did not make the cut: Anointed Procession: this seems strictly win more Cathartic Reunion: not as good as contingency plan. Combustible Gearhulk: not a strong enough finisher Bane of Bala Ged: This is really cool but because they get to pick the permanents it doesn't seem as good as other options but, if you swing in with this T4 making them sac 2 lands sounds like fun. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger: To claim that Ulamog isn't good enough for your reanimator deck sounds wrong. As a 4/4 though it is not as strong as our other options. Fraying sanity: this seems too cute and a bit dangerous.
I wonder if Strategic Planning would be more beneficial than the other plan, as it cantrips. Cards that replace themselves tend to be better in general. I understand the strength of look at 5 vs. 3, but to also get back a card holds some merit.
I was just about to post a thread on the potential Refurbish+God-Pharoh's Gift combo. Glad I checked the forums first and I tip my hat to you, good sir, for providing a solid base with which to begin the discussion.
My initial thought is the configuration should be B/u/w, skewing toward control. Lay Bare the Heart, Doomfall, and Fatal Push all give you ways of interacting early and specifically a means of plucking a counterspell from the opponent's grip to more consistently resolve Refurbish. Blue offers enablers by way of Pieces of the Puzzle, Contingency Plan, and Strategic Planning. Of these, I feel like Pieces of the Puzzle could be the most effective as it allows for putting Gift in the yard, with targets, while also putting Refurbish into your hand. T3 pieces into T4 Refurb seems like its about as fast as we can get. Contingency Plan is likely the next alternative though the card disadvantage aspect is a very real cost should you end up in a situation where you're trying to play a more 'fair' game.
I'm unsure on the best package of payoff cards as well. Linvala, the Preserver seems like an important piece to stop aggro as does Noxious Gearhulk. Padeem, Consul of Innovation seems like reasonable protection against control. Other intriguing options could be Marionette Master, as you mentioned, or Angel of Invention. Putting 8 points of evasive power down on T4, 4 of it with haste, could be enough to simply win a damage race. Tons of other options, even in other colors. I'm still not sure that just using Greenwarden of Murasa to immediately return Refurbish to recast and return Gift, in the event of removal, would be wrong.
I would love to incorporate red, if only for Cathartic Reunion, but we're already priced in to playing U/W and I'm not sure that red offers enough interaction to keep you in the game when things go awry.
Those are my scattered thoughts, for now. I'm sure I'll be sharpening my vision over the weekend and would appreciate any input you'd be willing to give.
I really feel like Refurbish as stated would be a great addition into this deck. Maybe even Noose Constrictor? Could easily splash your Aether Hub for a green for it. This has some serious potential I think. Just have to iron out the kinks. Very interested to hear from what your experiences are when you get it running!
Thank you all for your help so far. I have tested out all of your suggestions and have edited the deck according to my findings. Minister of inquiries does a really good job of dumping cards into the grave so I was able to up my refurbish count from 3 to 4. I will update the original post with my thoughts on some of the other suggested cards that did not make the cut. Angel of inquiries has emerged as the best finisher by far. Creating a 12 life differential and then being able to block because of the vigilance can dig us out of a pretty deep hole.
Also I found out that our angel token can not be targeted by fatal push because it actually copies the manna cost.
So....This is still very much a work in progress. I just wanted to offer a slightly different take on the Gift combo. Obviously this version eschews Gate and I dunno if that's right or wrong, but lookng at the concept from multiple angles is rarely a bad thing. The list isn't exactly what I'll try this weekend, as I'm sure a long day of playtesting will lead to changes. Specifically, I expect the mana base to change. Maybe radically. Otherwise, this list incorporates most of the concepts I want to try. Tragic Lesson is a discard hedge that could end up as Hieroglyphic Illumination or something else entirely like Countervailing Winds. Likewise, Consign may well be a different card, Negate could change for Dispel...Mausoleum Wanderer and/or Dreamstealer could make their way in. All that being said, I feel like I'm only toying with about six or so slots. So its sink or swim time, at this point.
Anyhow, salute once again to Albus for starting the thread and to everyone that has chimed in. Hopefully I contributed a little bit of inspiration to the discussion.
Interesting! I did not think of hostile desert but wow that is good in this archtype. I think it may be time for me to drop the red and lose neonate for wanderer. I do think that thraben inspectir should become minister of inquiries in your uw build or atleast 2 for 2 it. I also have gone 7 - 0 and 6 - 0 the past 2 days. Partially the surprise factor is helping us quite a bit as we confuse the opponent G1. Has anyone experienced a matchup that is very bad for us?
As promised, I played a version very close to my posted version to an undefeated 1st at FNM last night. I'll be posting a new thread soon(ish) as my experience leads me to believe, at the very least, there are 2 viable decks at play here. One with Gate and one without. As Gate appears to be a focal point of Albus thread, I don't want to detract from the discussion revolving around it any longer.
Good luck to the intrepid heroes of this thread! Our paths may have diverged, but seeing others intrigued by the potential of a Gift-based deck certainly motivated me to pursue it to a satisfying conclusion.
As a parting gift, I really think that if Gate is the route you want to go, Walking Ballista should likely be there. It offers some limited interaction early, but more importantly, can be cast for zero after you resolve gate, giving you a loot, a life, and a creature in the yard for 0 mana. Gifting it back as a 4/4 that can grow and shoot isn't the worst either. It could be worth trying Endless One for the same free trigger effect, tho it would be far less exciting to Gift back into play.
I took this deck to Standard on Friday and went 3-1, losing a close one against mardu vehicles when he had a turn 2 heart of kiran into abrades and disintegration. Tried out my jeskai list, which I really liked. There were times that the mana felt clunky. I'm really interested in trying out the UW version. Also, Cataclysmic Gearhulk is VERY good. Especially with so many decks going wide and creating a lot of clutter.
So I've been building and tinkering and testing and obsessing and here's where I've gotten with the deck. It seems my independent conclusions have landed pretty close to all the other decks posted here with two exceptions. I found Insolent Neonate to be worse than expected, usually being insufficient at digging/grave setup and languishing in mulligan or otherwise card-light hands. I did miss Angel of Invention which I'm now beginning to test. To be honest, the enablers are there (my average goldfish gets Gift online by turn 5.3) but the reanimation targets kinda suck and I've shockingly had trouble closing out games. I've tested out RUG, RWUG, BUG, and UWR, but the color combo I keep coming back to is Bant. Here's my list:
played 2 friendly leagues (4-1 (punted final game) & 4-1) and 1 competitive league (5-0) with a UW build
this deck is bonkers
other cards to consider Cloudblazer Aven Wind Guide
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Modern U Merfolk U WUBRGPeopleGRBUW U Turbo Turns U UB Fae BU WBG Aristocrats GBW
Wharf infiltrator can be a little beast but often it gets killed before helping us or gets blocked by the many 0 or 1 power creatures seeing play right now. What do people think about switching it out for glint-nest crane?
Just discovered a new cool trick. Saheeli rai copies gift and although the gift leaves EOT the token it created stays. So 2 7/7 lifelink vigilance fliers with haste. The scry helps us dig. It helps against control and shifts preasure against agro. I may switch back to USA aka jeskai.
Most of that list is certainly worse than Ulamog since he can kill in 2 swings and is indestructible. I don't feel like our reanimation targets should be aggressive; stabilizing is certainly the key in this aggro Standard, which is why I've come to respect Angel of Invention. I like your approach to the deck, building a board for the Gifted Angel of Invention to improve on, but I'm not sure about Mausoleum Wanderer and Selfless Spirit since they're poor on defense which makes them weak in the matchups I'm worried about (mostly Mardu, Zombies, and Mono-Red). Also, I understand where you're coming from with wanting the Gift to improve on the P/T of creatures, but I'm more focused on the mana-saving element of reanimating high-CMC creatures. If only Hornet Queen were standard legal, then we could meet in the middle:sunny:. Part of my concern is that reanimating a "fair" target with a slight P/T boost isn't necessarily that much better than what a lot of other midrange decks are doing, and I want our deck to be able to easily go over the top.
I don't see the benefit of green in your current list. A few random manadorks seem lackluster to me as you could run Hedron Crawler in UW if you want ramp. Vessel of Nascency compares poorly to Strategic Planning because you are paying 50% more for 33% increase in effect and Vessel can't, extremely crucially, find Refurbish. I would also avoid running practically uncastable creatures like Noxious Gearhulk and Chaos Maw, double black/red is just too tough to come up with.
These suggestions are mostly great, and I did end up cutting Noxious Gearhulk and replacing Vessel with Strategic Planning. However, I still firmly believe in the manadorks, since they smooth out draws and let me cast the fatties ahead of schedule, and having creatures that produce mana lets me shave lands and have a greater creature density. I'll update my decklist in my first post.
This version is more focused than the previous one and delves pretty deep into graveyard interactions. I have enjoyed Sunscourge Champion and Farm // Market quite a lot as they make Minister of Inquiries better, which previously felt slightly lacking to me despite the selfmill aspect of the deck. Sunscourge and Market also give me additional discard triggers to get any Gifts I might have drawn into yard, very nice.
All in all, I have thirty-something playtest matches played with UW variant of this archetype with a very high winrate and I feel confident taking this into tournaments. Will report after a MTGO league or two.
I'm super hyped about this archetype, haven't had so much fun playing magic since UR tron and dragonstorm decks of the og Ravnica. I actually also ordered a paper version of this latest list so I can crush my local FNM lol.
Love this build. Whats our plan vs U/R Gearhulk? My testing has 2 negates as too few. Also Farm//Table has under performed thus far
Sb in 3 dispel and try to bring back wanderer first unless below 10 life. I run 4 gift 4 refurbish and 4 gate. Those higher numbers really help me against control decks and rdw running 4 abrades mb. It also helps me more reliably get gift out early. Maybe increase your numbers post sb. Against control make sure you crack gate at the correct time not as soon as you have 6 in yard as they can counter the ability.
That UW deck looked fun so I bought most of it. Having trouble getting the angels at the moment. Like the Gearhulk action. I think though some targeted removal would be good. Seeing how the deck runs 0 enchantments so far, adding a Cast Out would not be a problem with Gearhulk compatibility. I wonder if Sphinx of the Final Word or the new card-drawing sphinx would be useful. I'm also wondering what would be a good way to deal with mono-red aggro which I think will tend to run over this deck. Any cheap tough defenders in the UW toolbox who could help?
P.s. the deck will survive rotation. all the important cards will stick around for another year.
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Current Awesome Deck: UWAll-In GiftsWU Consistent, Resiliant, and way overpowered, making multiple 4/4s per turn.
GB Electric Dreams BG Deal 20 in one shot, or discard their hand?
GWUFree Stuff MidrangeUWG Slowly bury the opponent with more threats and answers than they can handle.
I've found UW Monument to be nearly un-loseable but I also play more topend and stabilization tools than everyone else. I'm pretty unconvinced by Mausoleum Wanderer so far but I think the rest of what everyone is playing is great; I just highly urge you all to test a three-color build with mana dorks and possibly some Tamiyos and see for yourself which version you prefer. The Wanderer UW deck is definitely favored against control but being able to quickly go over the top of midrange/aggro decks thanks to the mana dorks is a big deal and I think better for an open tournament environment.
@flapjackwars, have you found a good solution to mono red aggro? That one has been tough for me. I tried authority of consuls or sacred cat or aerial responder but sometimes too slow, or not in opening hand. I wonder if there are some green cards that help out. I really like green for mana dork and better sideboard like trackers and tamiyo/nissa(AKH)
I've found UW Monument to be nearly un-loseable but I also play more topend and stabilization tools than everyone else. I'm pretty unconvinced by Mausoleum Wanderer so far but I think the rest of what everyone is playing is great; I just highly urge you all to test a three-color build with mana dorks and possibly some Tamiyos and see for yourself which version you prefer. The Wanderer UW deck is definitely favored against control but being able to quickly go over the top of midrange/aggro decks thanks to the mana dorks is a big deal and I think better for an open tournament environment.
Show us a list please! Also if you go GUW, maybe some cards from my Free Stuff Midrange deck would come in handy. Narnam Renegade and Blossoming Defense could help against RDW with cards like Kari Zev's expertise and "target creature can't block" effects. I'm not sure how to balance things as the UW build is all about draw/discard/reanimate, and adding ramp/defense might wreck the former plan.
Wanderer just doesn't do enough. I didn't test him long but decided I wanted more interaction so I use 2x Cast Out and 2x Fumigate. I want Sweltering Suns but not sure how the mana for Jeskai will work. Right now the first 4 or 5 turns all my lands come in untapped and I love that. I also use a Noxious Gearhulk for the life gain. It has yet to ever be trapped in my hand as uncastable. Then again I don't use minister either. I hate having my creatures killed off before I can activate them. He dies so fast against mono red as they run shocks and sprays to keep early creatures off. I've been using Oath of Jace to replace the card and it has done well so far.
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The intent of this deck is to try and break God-Pharaoh's Gift. As this is an all in strategy this deck plays out like a combo deck with our goal to get out God-Pharaoh's Gift as early as possible. This deck fairly consistently can get out God-Pharaoh's Gift T4 - T6. The two ways of doing this are to use Gate to the Afterlife or Refurbish. I have chosen to use a Jeskai shell because it filters cards amazingly well.
Strengths: consistently drops a repeatable reanimation engine and a creature threat fairly early in the game. Not intentional but it is also a very cheap budget deck.
Weaknesses: Does not react with opponent. Revolves around 1 card. Weak to graveyard exile.
It was hard choosing the correct reanimation finishers because so many cards are awesome in this deck. The amount of ridiculous options is quite numerous and This could be a flexible set of options that changes with meta. I am happy to report however that after quite a bit of testing Angel of Inventions is our best option.
4 Insolent Neonate
4 Minister of Inquiries
4 Wharf infiltrator
4 Champion of wits
4 Angel of Invention
1 Cultivator of blades
4 Strategic Planning
4 Refurbish
Artifacts:
4 God pharo's Gift
4 Gate to the Afterlife
Lands
1 mountain
3 plains
7 island
4 inspiring vantage
4 aether hub
4 spirebluff canal
Change Log:
7/13: - 1 Cultivator of blades -4 Salvage Drone -4 Contingency plan +4 Strategic Planning +4 Minister of Inquiries +1 Refurbish
Important Piloting Note: If someone tries to fatal push your tokens refer them to rule 706.2. When copying an object, the copy acquires the copiable values of the original object's characteristics and, for an object on the stack, choices made when casting or activating it (mode, targets, the value of X, whether a kicker cost was paid, how it will affect multiple targets, and so on). The "copiable values" are the values derived from the text printed on the object (that text being name, mana cost, card type, subtype, supertype, expansion symbol, rules text, power, toughness, and/or loyalty).
Card Choices:
Insolent Neonate: The reason this deck runs red and the only red card main board. The ability to filter upon sacrificing is important to this decks strategy. It can put 2 creatures into the grave to help trigger Gate to the Afterlife. This is also a decent reanimation target as a 4/4 menace is pretty sweet.
Salvage Drone: Another creature that can put 2 creatures into the grave to help trigger Gate to the Afterlife or dump God-Pharaoh's Gift into the graveyard. It is a good blocker against agro and mid-range decks.
Wharf infiltrator is an absolutely incredible card that I had never played with before. It filters on combat and it has an interesting evasion in skulk. It can crank out 3/2's which is a good plan B if you don't have other pieces yet. it is weak against decks that run cards with 0 power. If that becomes common this creature may need to be subbed out.
Champion of wits Filtering on a body is strong in this deck and this guy may be the best at it. a 4/4 that draws you 4 cards and discard 2 is a solid reanimation target.
Contingency plan This card is absolutely awesome. 5 cards is alot to filter through and this card helps make our deck consistent.
God-Pharaoh's Gift The reason to play this deck
Refurbish brings back God-Pharaoh's Gift also can target Gate to the Afterlife
Gate to the Afterlife both parts of this card help our deck.
Angel of Invention this competes with cultivator for the best finisher in the deck because the lifelink and vigialnce allow it to cause such a dramatic swing in the game. We can cast it from hand which we can not do for our other threats.
Cultivator of blades Gift practically turns this into craterhoof behemoth. A 6/6 haste that gives your team a +6/+6 is insane in standard play.
Noosegraf Mob a 9/9 haste that poops out 2/2's when your opponent casts a spell is a crazy good reanimation target. a good sideboard option for control decks. marionette master this creature protects Gift somewhat and may be good against decks that try to destroy the Gift.
Angel of sanctions We can cast this from our hand and It would be our only removal.
Nahiri's wrath I don't know that we need this but if agro is a huge problem this could deal tons of damage.
Hour of devastaion this is good against walkers and agro decks.
Negate This could help protect us from graveyard hate or other counterspells.
Did not make the cut:
Anointed Procession: this seems strictly win more
Cathartic Reunion: not as good as contingency plan.
Combustible Gearhulk: not a strong enough finisher
Bane of Bala Ged: This is really cool but because they get to pick the permanents it doesn't seem as good as other options but, if you swing in with this T4 making them sac 2 lands sounds like fun.
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger: To claim that Ulamog isn't good enough for your reanimator deck sounds wrong. As a 4/4 though it is not as strong as our other options.
Fraying sanity: this seems too cute and a bit dangerous.
Questions:
Here are some questions I still have about the deck
What should the finishing creature package be? Angel of Invention Noosegraf Mob, Cultivator of blades, marionette master, vizier of many faces others?
what is the correct numbers of Gate to the Afterlife and Refurbish?
Do we even need a finishing creature package? are regular 4/4's good enough? Should we interact with opponent instead? Counterspells? removal?
What should the sideboard be?
P.S. This is my first Primer so let me know what other things I should add or work on?
I wonder if Strategic Planning would be more beneficial than the other plan, as it cantrips. Cards that replace themselves tend to be better in general. I understand the strength of look at 5 vs. 3, but to also get back a card holds some merit.
From a quick glance, other considerations are:
Sunscourge Champion
Striped Riverwinder
Hollow One (unlikely)
Minister of Inquiries
Bomat Courier
My initial thought is the configuration should be B/u/w, skewing toward control. Lay Bare the Heart, Doomfall, and Fatal Push all give you ways of interacting early and specifically a means of plucking a counterspell from the opponent's grip to more consistently resolve Refurbish. Blue offers enablers by way of Pieces of the Puzzle, Contingency Plan, and Strategic Planning. Of these, I feel like Pieces of the Puzzle could be the most effective as it allows for putting Gift in the yard, with targets, while also putting Refurbish into your hand. T3 pieces into T4 Refurb seems like its about as fast as we can get. Contingency Plan is likely the next alternative though the card disadvantage aspect is a very real cost should you end up in a situation where you're trying to play a more 'fair' game.
I'm unsure on the best package of payoff cards as well. Linvala, the Preserver seems like an important piece to stop aggro as does Noxious Gearhulk. Padeem, Consul of Innovation seems like reasonable protection against control. Other intriguing options could be Marionette Master, as you mentioned, or Angel of Invention. Putting 8 points of evasive power down on T4, 4 of it with haste, could be enough to simply win a damage race. Tons of other options, even in other colors. I'm still not sure that just using Greenwarden of Murasa to immediately return Refurbish to recast and return Gift, in the event of removal, would be wrong.
I would love to incorporate red, if only for Cathartic Reunion, but we're already priced in to playing U/W and I'm not sure that red offers enough interaction to keep you in the game when things go awry.
Those are my scattered thoughts, for now. I'm sure I'll be sharpening my vision over the weekend and would appreciate any input you'd be willing to give.
Also I found out that our angel token can not be targeted by fatal push because it actually copies the manna cost.
4 God-Pharaoh's Gift
Creatures (8)
4 Angel of Invention
3 Champion of Wits
1 The Scarab God
Spells (24)
4 Refurbish
4 Pieces of the Puzzle
3 Censor
2 Tragic Lesson
2 Negate
2 Collective Brutality
2 Grasp of Darkness
3 Fatal Push
2 Consign // Oblivion
4 Aether Hub
4 Choked Estuary
4 Concealed Courtyard
3 Port Town
2 Fetid Pools
2 Irrigated Farmland
3 Drownyard Temple
2 Island
So....This is still very much a work in progress. I just wanted to offer a slightly different take on the Gift combo. Obviously this version eschews Gate and I dunno if that's right or wrong, but lookng at the concept from multiple angles is rarely a bad thing. The list isn't exactly what I'll try this weekend, as I'm sure a long day of playtesting will lead to changes. Specifically, I expect the mana base to change. Maybe radically. Otherwise, this list incorporates most of the concepts I want to try. Tragic Lesson is a discard hedge that could end up as Hieroglyphic Illumination or something else entirely like Countervailing Winds. Likewise, Consign may well be a different card, Negate could change for Dispel...Mausoleum Wanderer and/or Dreamstealer could make their way in. All that being said, I feel like I'm only toying with about six or so slots. So its sink or swim time, at this point.
Anyhow, salute once again to Albus for starting the thread and to everyone that has chimed in. Hopefully I contributed a little bit of inspiration to the discussion.
Good luck to the intrepid heroes of this thread! Our paths may have diverged, but seeing others intrigued by the potential of a Gift-based deck certainly motivated me to pursue it to a satisfying conclusion.
As a parting gift, I really think that if Gate is the route you want to go, Walking Ballista should likely be there. It offers some limited interaction early, but more importantly, can be cast for zero after you resolve gate, giving you a loot, a life, and a creature in the yard for 0 mana. Gifting it back as a 4/4 that can grow and shoot isn't the worst either. It could be worth trying Endless One for the same free trigger effect, tho it would be far less exciting to Gift back into play.
Best of luck to you all!
Jeskai List
4 Minister of Inquiries
4 Wharf Infiltrator
4 Champion of Wits
4 Angel of Invention
2 Noxious Gearhulk
4 Cathartic Reunion
4 Refurbish
4 Gate to the Afterlife
4 God-Pharaoh's Gift
4 Inspiring Vantage
4 Spirebluff Canal
2 Wandering Fumarole
5 Island
3 Plains
2 Cataclysmic Gearhulk
2 Linvala, the Preserver
1 Angel of Sanctions
4 Dispel
1 Trophy Mage
1 Padeem, Consul of Innovation
2 Lightning Axe
2 Abrade
And here's a take on metalcrafter's UW version I want to test as well:
4 Minister of Inquiries
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Wharf Infiltrator
4 Champion of Wits
1 Aerial Responder
4 Angel of Invention
1 Cataclysmic Gearhulk
4 Refurbish
4 Gate to the Afterlife
3 God-Pharaoh's Gift
3 Irrigated Farmland
1 Prairie Stream
4 Ipnu Rivulet
2 Hostile Desert
3 Island
6 Plains
1 Aerial Responder
2 Sunscourge Champion
2 Cataclysmic Gearhulk
1 Angel of Sanctions
1 Linvala, the Preserver
4 Dispel
3 Declaration in Stone
2 Dusk // Dawn
4 Botanical Sanctum
2 Canopy Vista
2 Forest
1 Ipnu Rivulet
2 Island
1 Lumbering Falls
2 Plains
3 Port Town
1 Prairie Stream
4 Champion of Wits
4 Minister of Inquiries
3 Wharf Infiltrator
2 Thraben Inspector
2 Naga Vitalist
3 Servant of the Conduit
3 Angel of Invention
3 Angel of Sanctions
2 Cataclysmic Gearhulk
2 God-Pharaoh's Gift
3 Strategic Planning
2 Refurbish
2 Linvala, the Preserver
2 manglehorn
2 Angel of Sanctions
2 Chaos Maw
3 Dispel
2 Sunscourge Champion
2 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
this deck is bonkers
other cards to consider
Cloudblazer
Aven Wind Guide
U Merfolk U
WUBRGPeopleGRBUW
U Turbo Turns U
UB Fae BU
WBG Aristocrats GBW
Most of that list is certainly worse than Ulamog since he can kill in 2 swings and is indestructible. I don't feel like our reanimation targets should be aggressive; stabilizing is certainly the key in this aggro Standard, which is why I've come to respect Angel of Invention. I like your approach to the deck, building a board for the Gifted Angel of Invention to improve on, but I'm not sure about Mausoleum Wanderer and Selfless Spirit since they're poor on defense which makes them weak in the matchups I'm worried about (mostly Mardu, Zombies, and Mono-Red). Also, I understand where you're coming from with wanting the Gift to improve on the P/T of creatures, but I'm more focused on the mana-saving element of reanimating high-CMC creatures. If only Hornet Queen were standard legal, then we could meet in the middle:sunny:. Part of my concern is that reanimating a "fair" target with a slight P/T boost isn't necessarily that much better than what a lot of other midrange decks are doing, and I want our deck to be able to easily go over the top.
These suggestions are mostly great, and I did end up cutting Noxious Gearhulk and replacing Vessel with Strategic Planning. However, I still firmly believe in the manadorks, since they smooth out draws and let me cast the fatties ahead of schedule, and having creatures that produce mana lets me shave lands and have a greater creature density. I'll update my decklist in my first post.
1 God-Pharaoh's Gift is not enough! you will meet lots of :
abrade
negate
Dissenter's Deliverance
cast out
you should play 2 at least or think about refurbish
2 God-Pharaoh's Gift
3 Gate to the Afterlife
could be viable
Love this build. Whats our plan vs U/R Gearhulk? My testing has 2 negates as too few. Also Farm//Table has under performed thus far
Thanks!
P.s. the deck will survive rotation. all the important cards will stick around for another year.
GB Electric Dreams BG Deal 20 in one shot, or discard their hand?
GWU Free Stuff Midrange UWG Slowly bury the opponent with more threats and answers than they can handle.
My greatest hits:
GURFate Reforged Temur Ascendancy COMBORUG
GUDragons of Tarkir Whisperwood Forever UG
Show us a list please! Also if you go GUW, maybe some cards from my Free Stuff Midrange deck would come in handy. Narnam Renegade and Blossoming Defense could help against RDW with cards like Kari Zev's expertise and "target creature can't block" effects. I'm not sure how to balance things as the UW build is all about draw/discard/reanimate, and adding ramp/defense might wreck the former plan.
GB Electric Dreams BG Deal 20 in one shot, or discard their hand?
GWU Free Stuff Midrange UWG Slowly bury the opponent with more threats and answers than they can handle.
My greatest hits:
GURFate Reforged Temur Ascendancy COMBORUG
GUDragons of Tarkir Whisperwood Forever UG
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Servant of the Conduit
4 Champion of Wits
2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
2 Heron's Grace Champion
4 Angel of Invention
4 Strategic Planning
3 Gate to the Afterlife
3 God-Pharaoh's Gift
3 Refurbish
4 Aether Hub
4 Port Town
1 Prairie Stream
3 Fortified Village
2 Canopy Vista
3 Island
2 Plains
2 Forsake the Worldly
3 Authority of the Consuls
3 Tireless Tracker
1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
1 Heron's Grace Champion
1 Manglehorn
2 Tamiyo, Field Researcher
1 Nissa, Steward of Elements
1 Kefnet's Last Word
The new weird cards are to help against burn and the mirror. The kefnet last word i want more to help against ulamog and mirror.