The easiest change I could see without looking too hard was Armillary Sphere for Solemn Simulacrum. Also, the Overbeing of Myth and Sunscape Familiar are fairly unexciting, I would switch them out for Duplicant and Eternal Witness. Witness is a need in any green deck.
With Rafiq, equipment like the Sword of Fire and Ice and Sword of Light and Shadow are fantastic. Even something like the Warhammer would be good.
I'm pretty sure I have a sword or two lying around somewhere...maybe they're with my warhammer and witness... >_> Good ideas, I'll try to find those cards. I like the Overbeing, though. The extra cards add up.
I like Abeyance in a Rafiq deck. When you want to go all in (for general damage), it's nice to know when there is next to nothing that your opponent can do to stop you.
IMO, gifts is the most busted card/best tutor (it's a singleton format anyway), especially in G/U as you can use the genesis/witness/regrowth to tutor for any card (repeatedly) or the loam/3 cycling lands gifts to land uncounterable draw. Both are amazing card advantage engines.
Also, rafiq as general dmg or just as a color choice? I could see him being amazing with hammer/imperial armor/anything that pumps power. he'd be into the 21 general dmg pretty damn fast. The white/blue aura (unblockable/lifelink) would also kick some here.
I'm finally gonna get my hands on a few cards I've been looking for for a while. Rout's in the mail and will be replacing Martial Coup. This deck can't really use a bunch of tokens and the instant-speed is always useful, so Rout is now the 7-mana wrath of choice. But more importantly, in a week or two I'm gonna be getting Force of Will and Sword of Fire and Ice, replacing Stonewood Invocation and Empyrial Plate respectively. The Invocation is good, but one-shot pump is only so useful in multiplayer and I've found myself more often saving it to counter removal than not. FoW will be a much stronger upgrade to fill generally the same role and more, not to mention that unlike Stonewood Invocation it also actually works with Guile when countering things. SoFI may not pump as much as the Plate, but the protection and triggers are much better in a deck that wants evasion and ways to take advantage of doublestrike. Oh, and I'll also be getting a Minamo, School at Water's Edge to replace an Island. That card has been much more of a pain to find than its green and white counterparts for some reason...
Edit: As always, comments, suggestions, criticisms, and ridicule are always welcome and appreciated.
Edit 2: Looks like replacing Stonewood Invocation was a good move, seeing as how it just became even more narrow thanks to the new combat rules. The only other card I might consider removing due to the new rules is Crystal Shard, but that's mostly used to abuse 187 creatures/Reveillark/reset Glen Elendra Archmage, so I'm leaving it for now.
1 Rafiq of the Many
Creatures (28)
1 Mother of Runes
1 Noble Hierarch
1 Invisible Stalker
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Spellskite
1 Auramancer
1 Eternal Witness
1 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Thada Adel, Acquisitor
1 Trygon Predator
1 Academy Rector
1 Lu Xun, Scholar General
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Battlegrace Angel
1 Blinding Angel
1 Reveillark
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Duplicant
1 Hydra Omnivore
1 Sovereigns of Lost Alara
1 Sun Titan
1 Sunblast Angel
1 Treva, the Renewer
1 Drogskol Reaver
Planeswalkers (1)
1 Venser, the Sojourner
1 Greater Auramancy
1 Sterling Grove
1 Sylvan Library
1 Aura Shards
1 Snake Umbra
1 Angelic Destiny
1 Defense of the Heart
1 Faith's Fetters
1 Glare of Subdual
1 Finest Hour
1 Future Sight
1 Mirari's Wake
1 Privileged Position
1 Treachery
1 Take Possession
1 Eldrazi Conscription
Artifacts (7)
1 Explorer's Scope
1 Sol Ring
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Mind Stone
1 Loxodon Warhammer
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
Instants (5)
1 Eladamri's Call
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Negate
1 Bant Charm
1 Return to Dust
Sorceries (5)
1 Farseek
1 Nature's Lore
1 Cultivate
1 Search for Tomorrow
1 Rout
1 Breeding Pool
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Command Tower
1 Flooded Grove
1 Flooded Strand
4 Forest
1 Gavony Township
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 High Market
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Horizon Canopy
4 Island
1 Krosan Verge
1 Mistveil Plains
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Mosswort Bridge
1 Mystic Gate
4 Plains
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Savannah
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Temple Garden
1 Temple of the False God
1 Tropical Island
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Bastion
1 Yavimaya Hollow
Scavenging Ooze for Mothe of Runes
Thrun, the Last Troll for Treva, the Renewer
Primeval Titan for Explorer's Scope
Survival of the Fittest for Eladamri's Call
Nature's Will for Sword of Feast and Famine
Opposition for Glare of Subdual
Celestial Mantle for Loxodon Warhammer
Swiftfoot Boots for Lightning Greaves
Hindering Light for Mother of Runes
Explore for Mind Stone
Kodama's Reach for Search for Tomorrow
Replenish for Auramancer
Winds of Rath for Rout
Serra's Sanctum for Plains
Tundra for Island
With Rafiq, equipment like the Sword of Fire and Ice and Sword of Light and Shadow are fantastic. Even something like the Warhammer would be good.
IMO, gifts is the most busted card/best tutor (it's a singleton format anyway), especially in G/U as you can use the genesis/witness/regrowth to tutor for any card (repeatedly) or the loam/3 cycling lands gifts to land uncounterable draw. Both are amazing card advantage engines.
Also, rafiq as general dmg or just as a color choice? I could see him being amazing with hammer/imperial armor/anything that pumps power. he'd be into the 21 general dmg pretty damn fast. The white/blue aura (unblockable/lifelink) would also kick some here.
Also, I chose Rafiq both for the colors and his abilities.
Edit: As always, comments, suggestions, criticisms, and ridicule are always welcome and appreciated.
Edit 2: Looks like replacing Stonewood Invocation was a good move, seeing as how it just became even more narrow thanks to the new combat rules. The only other card I might consider removing due to the new rules is Crystal Shard, but that's mostly used to abuse 187 creatures/Reveillark/reset Glen Elendra Archmage, so I'm leaving it for now.
Spells
-1 Battlegrace Angel, +1 Baneslayer Angel
-1 Voidslime, +1 Cryptic Command
-1 Stoic Angel, +1 Day of Judgment
-1 Vigor, +1 Sun Quan, Lord of Wu
-1 Cold-Eyed Selkie, +1 Trinket Mage
-1 Spitting Image, +1 Mirari's Wake
-1 Simic Sky Swallower, +1 Opportunity
Lands
-1 Adarkar Wastes, +1 Flooded Strand
-1 Brushland, +1 Reflecting Pool
-1 Yavimaya Coast, +1 Misty Rainforest
-1 Forest, +1 Savannah
-1 Island, +1 Tundra
-1 Plains, +1 Tropical Island
-1 Horizon Canopy, +1 Academy Ruins
-1 Pendelhaven, +1 Winding Canyons