This used to be called 'Terrible Talrand' because it was cards I had literally slapped together with a Talrand I happened to have. I am quite happy with the deck's evolution and have hence changed the name of the Talrand deck.
Why Murmuring Sphinx-Bone?
There have been quite a few Talrands around here parts, but very few of them use Sphinx-Bone Staff which can get out of hand quite quickly. Cantrips that help the early game are still relevant late, even without the main man himself. I also have enough ways to win now without our Merfolk Wizard.
Murmuring because no one else uses Murmurs from Beyond. It seems to be the only 3 mana Instant that draws you two cards. Sure, your opponent picks the card you don't get out of three, but I don't really care since you're in for the long haul. You just needed more fuel. Plus mine is foiled. You jelly?
Arcane Melee -> Jace's Sanctum - Provides spell discount at an earlier point, even if it is for half, but smoothing my draws with Scrying is so much better.
Island -> Terrain Generator - A way to gain a lot more mana when nothing of note happens.
Repulse -> Into the Roil - Curves easier and can be placed onto an Isochron Scepter and Kick. Turns into a form of draw engine and card advantage at that point.
Confound -> Spell Crumple - This change was made before the changes to Tucking, so Spell Crumple will probably need to be dropped.
Gave the splash page a 'face lift' with switching around the Changelog to be the most recent. I also added a list by CMC and the like.
Merfolk Looter -> Prescient Chimera - I did not like what the Looter did, as I would prefer to go through my deck rather than discard. Chimera will smooth over my draws, will not feel like a complete waste if I Staff into it and is large enough to send weenies elsewhere. 3 Power Flier is also potentially a clock versus a 1/1 whimpy. I know the Chimera is a placeholder until I get Windreader Sphinx but we'll see how it performs.
Opportunity -> Recurring Insight - EOT I usually had more important things to do than cast Opportunity; Hell, Whispers of the Muse was a more welcome sight for the amount of Drakes I could create. Recurring Insight will give me two Castings and draw a substantial more cards. The second cast of Recurring Insight, unlike Whispers or any other Buyback cards, will be a welcome bonus.
Confiscate -> Stolen Identity - Stolen Identity is a Sorcery-Clone, which will create a Drake, and if that Clone/Drake hits, its another Clone and Drake. Stolen Identity has a lot more staying power, especially if I Clone a powerhouse that connects. Confiscate may stop me from losing, but I can see riding Stolen Identity to victory.
Lunar Mystic -> Diluvian Primordial - The gradual advantage Lunar Mystic affords me is not nearly as powerful as what a 5/5 Flier that just cast me X spells is. Also, a perfect Proteus target that I would be happy to see pop up.
Repeal -> Isochron Scepter - Scepter is incredibly useful advantage, Repeal is a card I wouldn't want on the Scepter. That is the only reason why I switched them around.
Switcheroo -> Arcane Melee - Switcheroo feels like any regular Enchantment effect, so Arcane was put in its place for what I think will be a much bigger effect.
Lightning Greaves -> Uncovered Clues - I didn't find too much hate aimed at Talrand, I didn't find that Talrand needs the Greaves as badly as my new Silvos/Kahmahl deck. I found that I needed more Sorceries and Instants to create Drakes, dig deeper and faster and Uncovered Clues did that so in it went.
Augur of Bolas -> Relearn - I got tired of seeing Augur of Bolas and how it'd ranodmly whiff. I decided to kill two birds with one stone: add what I lack by removing what whiffs.
Blustersquall -> Opposition - I need to leave mana open for Blustersquall, which is good to do other things if my opponents do nothing; however, being able to proactively do something is important. Opposition gives me more control and also allows my General to turn sideways in a productive manner.
Thought Scouter -> Opt - I never found the mill two useful. I need my cantrips to dig, dig, dig and Opt does that on a budget.
Helm of Awakening -> Gauntlet of Power - I didn't like everybody being able to utilize the Helm, Gauntlet still helps all Blue players but it isn't as universal. I also really need the mana for this hungry, hungry Merman.
Prismatic Lens -> Sol Ring - I was told today that Commander decks aren't 99 plus General, but 98 plus General and Sol Ring. Prismatic was random mana ramp I had, Sol Ring is a staple of the format.
Echoing Truth -> Brainstorm - Dealing with swarms of tokens isn't as big as a problem I thought it would be, so I re-added this cantrip.
Island -> Caged Sun - Another land cut, but I feel that 36 is as low as I can get. With the amount of filtering I have available, it is easy to get to the lands I need. Caged Sun, once in pay, is simply amazing. This is certainly another must have of mono-coloured decks.
Mind Stone -> Helm of Awakening - This is kind of a trial choice. As pure control, I don't really care about how much their stuff costs, even if this Helm is contradictary with Rhystic Study, the idea of ensuring that my mana is available for clutch spells is important.
Talrand's Invocation -> Rite of Replication - Kicked or no, Rite is probably still a better choice than Invocaion. And Kicking this will probably cause me to win the game.
Spire Golem -> Proteus Staff - Spire Golem was in for fun and nostalgia, the Staff sets up a win con and if I'm desperate I can Staff their stuff too. The Golem may be free, but the Staff's fodder - namely drakes - is also.
Guardian Idol -> Sphinx-Bone Wand - I wasn't really a fan of the Idol and I was desiring more win cons than just Drakes or stalling the game. With the Wand, I can actually speed up the game once I have control.
Fog Bank -> Guile - I like Fog Bank, but as I now able to setup for the Staff package. The Fog Bank was the worst contributor to bombing my opponents out of the game. Guile lets my heavy counterspell package actually do something!
Concentrate -> Fact or Fiction - Both are good card draw, but I didn't like the Sorcery nature of Concentrate. Fact seemed like the obvious shoe-in.
Bosium Strip -> Vedalken Shackles - Bosium Strip seems nice in theory, but you'd be surprised as how much land ended up on my yard, cutting off my Strip streaks. That sounds wrong. Anyway, Shackles is a win-con and awesome at that.
Urza's Factory -> Island - I never used the activated ability and I wanted to be ale to have blue mana. Easy switch.
Island -> Gitaxian Probe - I added a lot of cantrips with this update, felt I could cut one Island. The Probe is the selection that doesn't even need to rely on me having mana.
Archaeomancer -> Spire Golem - Recurring spells wasn't the problem with my smaller dudes, it was surviving the quick rush. The Spire Golem's mana cost is near 0 and it flies, it'll do for protection for now.
Wipe Away -> Turnabout - Temporary, uncounterable solution for what could be a back breaking play. At worst, Turnabout can just be a mere temporary solution.
Dispel -> Time Stop - Solution for Solution, but Time Stop is much more flexible, even if it comes with the higher mana cost.
Compulsion -> Preordain - Card draw for card draw. Preordain lets me setup much faster, while Compuslion has more staying power, I found myself usually too busy to have time to filter through my cards.
Thwart -> Muddle the Mixture - Counters what I need to be countered, but can also tutor for what I need.
Telling Time -> Sleight of Hand - I disliked Telling Time, it put what I didn't want on top of my library. If I cast an Instant I wanted a solution and then get those cards out of the way. Sleight of Hand does so, even if it is slowed down.
Dream Cache -> Ponder - A cantrip that costed 1 mana instead of 3. Simple switch.
Mulldrifter -> Desertion - 9/10, I wanted to draw cards over actually having to spend the mana on Mulldrifter. With Desertion, I'll get a creature I actually want and power Talrand.
Favorable Winds -> Cyclonic Rift - Winds doesn't help me win. Sure, it makes my guys scarier and turn sideways better; however, I am monoblue. I have all the time in the world. I don't need these temporary buffs, when I need something to happen I need to make it happen and hence Rift replaces Winds. I was thinking of replacing Echoing Truth in favour of Rift, perhaps [b]Blusterquall[/c] but both of those cards directly deal with massed threats which is always a mono-blue problem. I want to alleviate that, not switch it around. Plus my Instant count goes up.
Soratami Savant -> Stormtide Leviathan - As much as I like the Savant's ability to deny the table, it draws too much hate and sets me back on land drops. And Talrand sure is greedy for mana, especially since I lack any sort of ways to ramp up. Leviathan Moats me is a win-con all by himself. There's a reason why you see him in all the Talrand decks. The other contender for the cut was Fog Bank who I think is far too useful at such a small cost. It can block all day and most things people can turn sideways, its a permanent that puts people at ease that I am not comboing off yet also deters attempts to attack.
Faerie Conclave -> Island - I was happier if I drew a basic Island than this card. The comes into play tapped was a real drag, I never used it as an attacker or blocker because I was too busy using my mana as mana than as man lands.
Flow of Ideas -> Whispers of the Muse - I never wanted to tap out for Flow, I would draw a billion cards but I would be vulnerable. Whispers I can do EOT and make myself more drakes at any time in a controlled environment.
Divination -> Dream Cache - Dream Cache feels strictly superior because it digs deeper and gets rid of stuff I don't need.
Cancel -> Forbid - Strictly superior and Forbid is some nasty dirty stuff, especially if you have enough cards or board advantage you don't care about pitching a few extra.
Thieving Magpie -> Reins of Power - This cut hurt. Thieving Magpie was the sole creature that wasn't a win condition or drew me cards right way. Sure, it could draw me over time but I am playing Mono-U, I've got all the time in the world - it is the surprise upsets that can cost me. Just as they can cost my opponents. This train of thought led me to Reins of Power.
Man-o'-War -> Exclude - Man-O'-War was to undo a creature, Exclude does one better and draws me a card.
Rainbow Efreet -> Fog Bank - Efreet is in there was a hard to remove defensive creature. Fog Bank is cheaper, does a very similar job and is one less thing I need to be concerned about for keeping mana open. This could be a case of making things worse to make them better.
Truth or Tale -> Impulse - I still only get one card but there is a lot less work involved, even if I dig one less deeper.
Lost in the Mist -> Dominate - Cutting possibly troublesome Counterspell for something that can just nab whatever I let through my Counterwall.
Brainstorm -> Frantic Search - They are both the same: Instants to dig for answers. Mystical Tutor was in the running as a replacement, but I realized that I didn't have anything that I would look for specifically. This isn't Combo, it's Control. Frantic Search won out because it can actually generate me mana on top of just being a digging spell, even if it causes card parity.
Confound -> Memory Lapse - Both hard counters but Confound deals with it permanently even with the narrow requirement, but it does draw me a card.
Spine of Ish Sah -> Thwart - If I need to play Spine, then a Thwart could possibly leave me in a better position rather than letting whatever it was resolve. And another Counter to feign helplessness.
Dream Fracture -> Foil - Dream Fracture is the cheapest and worst hard counter I had. Foil is even cheaper if you consider it can happen for free, allowing me to hold cards in my hand. Also feign weakness by tapping out.
Spell Burst -> Mind Games - Much more reliable Buyback, as I do not need a Spell on the Stack to cast Mind Games for Drakes. Furthermore, with late game spells being who knows how big, X might be too much to ask for.
Can't really make many suggestions if you aren't willing/able to get new cards without knowing the other cards in your collection, so I'll just pretend like this is a budget list.
I had Augur of Bolas but I cut him because he kept whiffing. After a few games of EDH, I see that having a 1 drop isn't so great so Kraken Hatchling quickly got the axe.
Man-O-War cut is noted and I am looking for the Mnemonic Wall, but it'll be a random time before I hunt him down.
Library of Leng, and while you may not pull off her ultimate every game, in my own Talrand deck Tamiyo, the Moon Sage could run the board once her ultimate went off. Oddly enough getting her there is not nearly as hard as it seems too, in a deck with Talrand at the helm. She's a bit spendy yet (I got lucky and pulled her at a sealed tournament), but if you ever manage to get your hands on her I'd recommend popping her in for a try.
Ponder is a good option, and similar cards like it. The newly reprinted Index might be a cheap way to control some of your drawing.
Also you might consider running a few of the Clone creature options, like, of course, Clone itself, or Sakashima's Student. I've found they can come in pretty handy depending on the tempo of the game.
Favorable Winds -> Cyclonic Rift - Winds doesn't help me win. Sure, it makes my guys scarier and turn sideways better; however, I am monoblue. I have all the time in the world. I don't need these temporary buffs, when I need something to happen I need to make it happen and hence Rift replaces Winds. I was thinking of replacing Echoing Truth in favour of Rift, perhaps Blusterquall but both of those cards directly deal with massed threats which is always a mono-blue problem. I want to alleviate that, not switch it around. Plus my Instant count goes up.
Soratami Savant -> Stormtide Leviathan - As much as I like the Savant's ability to deny the table, it draws too much hate and sets me back on land drops. And Talrand sure is greedy for mana, especially since I lack any sort of ways to ramp up. Leviathan Moats me is a win-con all by himself. There's a reason why you see him in all the Talrand decks. The other contender for the cut was Fog Bank who I think is far too useful at such a small cost. It can block all day and most things people can turn sideways, its a permanent that puts people at ease that I am not comboing off yet also deters attempts to attack.
Faerie Conclave -> Island - I was happier if I drew a basic Island than this card. The comes into play tapped was a real drag, I never used it as an attacker or blocker because I was too busy using my mana as mana than as man lands.
Flow of Ideas -> Whispers of the Muse - I never wanted to tap out for Flow, I would draw a billion cards but I would be vulnerable. Whispers I can do EOT and make myself more drakes at any time in a controlled environment.
Concentrate -> Fact or Fiction - Both are good card draw, but I didn't like the Sorcery nature of Concentrate. Fact seemed like the obvious shoe-in.
Bosium Strip -> Vedalken Shackles - Bosium Strip seems nice in theory, but you'd be surprised as how much land ended up on my yard, cutting off my Strip streaks. That sounds wrong. Anyway, Shackles is a win-con and awesome at that.
Urza's Factory -> Island - I never used the activated ability and I wanted to be ale to have blue mana. Easy switch.
Island -> Gitaxian Probe - I added a lot of cantrips with this update, felt I could cut one Island. The Probe is the selection that doesn't even need to rely on me having mana.
Archaeomancer -> Spire Golem - Recurring spells wasn't the problem with my smaller dudes, it was surviving the quick rush. The Spire Golem's mana cost is near 0 and it flies, it'll do for protection for now.
Wipe Away -> Turnabout - Temporary, uncounterable solution for what could be a back breaking play. At worst, Turnabout can just be a mere temporary solution.
Dispel -> Time Stop - Solution for Solution, but Time Stop is much more flexible, even if it comes with the higher mana cost.
Compulsion -> Preordain - Card draw for card draw. Preordain lets me setup much faster, while Compuslion has more staying power, I found myself usually too busy to have time to filter through my cards.
Thwart -> Muddle the Mixture - Counters what I need to be countered, but can also tutor for what I need.
Telling Time -> Sleight of Hand - I disliked Telling Time, it put what I didn't want on top of my library. If I cast an Instant I wanted a solution and then get those cards out of the way. Sleight of Hand does so, even if it is slowed down.
Dream Cache -> Ponder - A cantrip that costed 1 mana instead of 3. Simple switch.
Mulldrifter -> Desertion - 9/10, I wanted to draw cards over actually having to spend the mana on Mulldrifter. With Desertion, I'll get a creature I actually want and power Talrand.
Hey, I was looking through your decklist. A lot of it is pretty solid, but there are a few things I think you can do better on.
Blustersquall is a card I would cut immediately. It's just not a fantastic effect for what it does. It'll certainly have some good, limited situations, but Cryptic Command is just better.
Confound is another card that I think is just way too limited. I'd take straight Counterspell over Confound. A variety of counterspells is nice for Talrand as it gives you defense and offense all in one card.
Talrand's Invocation is super rough in EDH. All it does it makes 3 drakes with Talrand around. It's just not a large enough effect for what it does. There are a million cards better than this.
One thing I suggest doing is a gatherer search at gatherer.wizards.com. Here you can perform an advanced search for all cards not Red, White, Black or Green and sort by descending Community Rating. This will show you a lot of the best blue/artifact cards possible to run. Perhaps do this and just search for Instants/Sorceries, you'll certainly get a lot of great results.
I definitely suggest running Time Warp as well as Time Spiral. Time warp gives you a drake, untaps your lands, draws you a card, gives you an extra combat phase... It's just perfect. Time Spiral makes a drake, pays for itself, fills your hand, recycles your graveyard, and with mana doublers makes a ton of mana. This is also the same reason I suggest running both Turnabout as well as Reset.
Another card I suggest is Tidespout Tyrant. Simply put, it's synergy with your general. It triggers off of casting spells, just like Talrand. It turns Mystic Speculation into a cheaper, better Capsize.
Cryptic Command is also $20 but that is a good point that Blustersquall isn't that good. Time Spiral also seems a little passe, where it is very expensive and does nothing but a combo. A lot of my players execute combo players with extreme prejudice, so I don't want to show them that when I am not going to combo out. And $50 price tag astounds me.
I already have Counterspell, so Confound is just there to Cantrip which can be incredibly useful.
Talrand's Invocation... I do wiffle waffle with that. Sometimes I like Drakes, other times I would like to get more than just 2/2 Fliers with a 4 mana Sorcery. Actually, thank you for pointing Invocation out, it let me easily make a cut.
Already have the Tyrant, in fact, I am adding the Proteus Staff package to the deck. I got Guile as well, to do something with my counterspells than annoy my opponents. Its another win con as well.
I made the following changes to the deck: Talrand's Invocation -> Rite of Replication - Kicked or no, Rite is probably still a better choice than Invocaion. And Kicking this will probably cause me to win the game.
Spire Golem -> Proteus Staff - Spire Golem was in for fun and nostalgia, the Staff sets up a win con and if I'm desperate I can Staff their stuff too. The Golem may be free, but the Staff's fodder - namely drakes - is also.
Guardian Idol -> Sphinx-Bone Wand - I wasn't really a fan of the Idol and I was desiring more win cons than just Drakes or stalling the game. With the Wand, I can actually speed up the game once I have control.
Fog Bank -> Guile - I like Fog Bank, but as I now able to setup for the Staff package. The Fog Bank was the worst contributor to bombing my opponents out of the game. Guile lets my heavy counterspell package actually do something!
I am already really happy with Guile's ability to turn my stupid counterspells into win cons. Sphinx-Bone Wand can quickly get out of hand, especially with random EOT Buyback. Proteus package is credit to team, and can hate on enemy commanders but it is risky because they can just windmill slam some far worse onto the table.
Prismatic Lens -> Sol Ring - I was told today that Commander decks aren't 99 plus General, but 98 plus General and Sol Ring. Prismatic was random mana ramp I had, Sol Ring is a staple of the format.
Echoing Truth -> Brainstorm - Dealing with swarms of tokens isn't as big as a problem I thought it would be, so I re-added this cantrip.
Island -> Caged Sun - Another land cut, but I feel that 36 is as low as I can get. With the amount of filtering I have available, it is easy to get to the lands I need. Caged Sun, once in pay, is simply amazing. This is certainly another must have of mono-coloured decks.
Mind Stone -> Helm of Awakening - This is kind of a trial choice. As pure control, I don't really care about how much their stuff costs, even if this Helm is contradictary with Rhystic Study, the idea of ensuring that my mana is available for clutch spells is important.
I also changed my Wants and Cuts. Any suggestions there?
Holy hell. I was under the impression that Sphinx-Bone Wand dealt damage based on cards drawn, not instants/sorceries cast. Totally stealing that idea.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
EDH
BGJumpin' JaradsGB BB Furry Rat Lady: The Deck BB UU I Don't Ever Want To Explain How Knowledge Pool Works Ever Again UU RR This Is My Suika Cosplay Lightning Bolt Deck RR WW Mangara exiles both permanents and friends RWG Marath Sunforger RWG WUBRG Cromat and Friends WUBRG
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Haven't updated in a long while. Sorry if this is considered a 'necro'.
I made the following changes:
Blustersquall -> Opposition - I need to leave mana open for Blustersquall, which is good to do other things if my opponents do nothing; however, being able to proactively do something is important. Opposition gives me more control and also allows my General to turn sideways in a productive manner.
Thought Scouter -> Opt - I never found the mill two useful. I need my cantrips to dig, dig, dig and Opt does that on a budget.
Helm of Awakening -> Gauntlet of Power - I didn't like everybody being able to utilize the Helm, Gauntlet still helps all Blue players but it isn't as universal. I also really need the mana for this hungry, hungry Merman.
One thing I didn't noticed before was Arcane Melee which I think is pretty much mandatory in Talrand. I need to get me one of those.
Also, I find that too many of my creatures end up in my hand where I can't cheat them, and until I already have control with Gauntlet/Caged Sun, they're a ***** to hardcast. Any suggestions aside from main phase Brainstorm into Proteus Staff to get these guys back in my library?
Lack of Riptide Laboratory is disturbing, come on, recurs all your return dudes and allows you to basically be a late game killer with Bone Wand, easily add that in over Confiscate.
Lightning Greaves -> Uncovered Clues - I didn't find too much hate aimed at Talrand, I didn't find that Talrand needs the Greaves as badly as my new Silvos/Kahmahl deck. I found that I needed more Sorceries and Instants to create Drakes, dig deeper and faster and Uncovered Clues did that so in it went.
Augur of Bolas -> Relearn - I got tired of seeing Augur of Bolas and how it'd ranodmly whiff. I decided to kill two birds with one stone: add what I lack by removing what whiffs.
Edit:
I see you also have High Tide in your Talrand. How do you actually utilize it?
Usually, it's my #1 Isochron Scepter target, usually but I find myself throwing removal under it more so then normal, so I usually only play it the turn I'm either going to win or cast a lot of spells.
Edit:
I see you also have High Tide in your Talrand. How do you actually utilize it?
I run High Tide in my Talrand EDH deck. So far its pretty fanatic and can general huge mana with Turnabout or Time Spiral. i use it to general storm count and finish off with Mind's Desire or just 1 really big turn for talrand
Lunar Mystic -> Diluvian Primordial - The gradual advantage Lunar Mystic affords me is not nearly as powerful as what a 5/5 Flier that just cast me X spells is. Also, a perfect Proteus target that I would be happy to see pop up.
Repeal -> Isochron Scepter - Scepter is incredibly useful advantage, Repeal is a card I wouldn't want on the Scepter. That is the only reason why I switched them around.
Switcheroo -> Arcane Melee - Switcheroo feels like any regular Enchantment effect, so Arcane was put in its place for what I think will be a much bigger effect.
Isochron Scepter is something I"m going to excitedly test out.
Change Log 09/29/13:
Gave the splash page a 'face lift' with switching around the Changelog to be the most recent. I also added a list by CMC and the like.
Merfolk Looter -> Prescient Chimera - I did not like what the Looter did, as I would prefer to go through my deck rather than discard. Chimera will smooth over my draws, will not feel like a complete waste if I Staff into it and is large enough to send weenies elsewhere. 3 Power Flier is also potentially a clock versus a 1/1 whimpy. I know the Chimera is a placeholder until I get Windreader Sphinx but we'll see how it performs.
Opportunity -> Recurring Insight - EOT I usually had more important things to do than cast Opportunity; Hell, Whispers of the Muse was a more welcome sight for the amount of Drakes I could create. Recurring Insight will give me two Castings and draw a substantial more cards. The second cast of Recurring Insight, unlike Whispers or any other Buyback cards, will be a welcome bonus.
Confiscate -> Stolen Identity - Stolen Identity is a Sorcery-Clone, which will create a Drake, and if that Clone/Drake hits, its another Clone and Drake. Stolen Identity has a lot more staying power, especially if I Clone a powerhouse that connects. Confiscate may stop me from losing, but I can see riding Stolen Identity to victory.
Wants: Repulse or Confound for Into the Roil - Into the Roil's Kicker allows you to draw a card, but importantly ItR costs 2 which is enough to slap on an Isochron Scepter. This means I can bounce more often and if I have some spare mana, draw cards.
Prescient Chimera for Windreader Sphinx - Sphinx does what I want: draw cards, fly, be big guy for Proteus. Chimera is just filler at the moment.
Wayfarer's Bauble for Druidic Satchel - When you're playing this type of deck, you want Ramp and you want Life Gain. Since the creature count is so low, it is unlikely you'll pop out a 1/1. Placing more and more lands into play or gaining life, that is something you'll see often and want to continue to see.
High Tide also seems like a great card but I'm not quite sure on what to cut.
Arcane Melee -> Jace's Sanctum - Provides spell discount at an earlier point, even if it is for half, but smoothing my draws with Scrying is so much better.
Island -> Terrain Generator - A way to gain a lot more mana when nothing of note happens.
Repulse -> Into the Roil - Curves easier and can be placed onto an Isochron Scepter and Kick. Turns into a form of draw engine and card advantage at that point.
Confound -> Spell Crumple - This change was made before the changes to Tucking, so Spell Crumple will probably need to be dropped.
Dig Through Time - It's another Delving draw spell. Not sure if I could handle 2 of them, but something to consider.
Mind's Dilation - This looks like a candidate to replace Sphinx-Bone Wand, as it's a 7 drop that gets me more drakes if my opponents are slinging spells but also puts huge pressure on my opponents to not cast spells which works out well for me.
I got a Treasure Cruise so I took out two cards that cared about my Graveyard. Now, whatever gets pitched isn't going to come back. My other addition was a Sapphire Medallion. The cuts were Relearn and Spelltwine.
While Sphinx was good, I found that if I was disappointed when I Staffed it in. I wanted a big change. You can't attack me or I get to copy all of your spells. Something my other bomb creatures could do. Saheeli's Artistry is a Sorcery, meaning it won't take up space in the Proteus Staff targets, it makes Drakes and it copies two things - the best Artifact and best Creature. The ETB Trigger on the Sphinx also mattered because of my next change.
Torpor Orb should be an auto-include in Talrand, Sky Summoner decks. Half of the reason why people play creatures is their broken ETB effects and ways they can be abused. If their ETB doesn't matter, then I don't need to worry about Countering them. This gives me more breathing room to cast spells I want, instead of being forced to need to Counter whatever they play. Unfortunately, the Sphinx-Bone, the namesake has been cut. Sadness all around. It just cost too much and felt like a 'win more' if I ever stuck it.
Recurring Insight is two nice spells, but tapping out to cast it was painful at the best of times. I spotted Talent of the Telepath on another Talrand EDH and I was immediately intrigued. This could net you up to three drakes for one card. I'm also confident in Spell Mastery even with the addition of all of these Delve cards. The cheapness, card advantage and Drakiness is why I made the change.
I had a real hard time figuring out which Instant to cut for Dig Through Time but I eventually settled on Exclude. Exclude draws a card and counters a creature, lacking in flexibility for card draw. Dig can be cheaper and gets me a wide selection of my deck for targets. I have found with Treasure Cruise it was easy to get to minimum cost, let's see if my deck can support both of these Delve cards.
I also wish to increase my fast mana angle. Getting Talrand out ASAP, possibly protected, would be great. The game gets hard when I need to worry about when I can tap out to play Talrand in the mid-game.
Why Murmuring Sphinx-Bone?
There have been quite a few Talrands around here parts, but very few of them use Sphinx-Bone Staff which can get out of hand quite quickly. Cantrips that help the early game are still relevant late, even without the main man himself. I also have enough ways to win now without our Merfolk Wizard.
Murmuring because no one else uses Murmurs from Beyond. It seems to be the only 3 mana Instant that draws you two cards. Sure, your opponent picks the card you don't get out of three, but I don't really care since you're in for the long haul. You just needed more fuel. Plus mine is foiled. You jelly?
Here's my deck:
4 Talrand, Sky Summoner
Creatures - 4
6 Guile
7 Windreader Sphinx
8 Stormtide Leviathan
8 Tidespout Tyrant
Artifacts - 13
1 Sol Ring
2 Coldsteel Heart
2 Isochron Scepter
2 Mind Stone
2 Sapphire Medallion
2 Sky Diamond
2 Thought Vessel
2 Torpor Orb
3 Extraplanar Lens
3 Proteus Staff
3 Vedalken Shackles
5 Gauntlet of Power
6 Caged Sun
Enchantments - 4
3 Propaganda
3 Rhystic Study
4 Jace's Sanctum
5 Metallurgic Summonings
Instants - 28
1 Abjure
1 Brainstorm
1 Mind Games
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Opt
1 Pongify
1 Whispers of the Muse
2 Counterspell
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Impulse
2 Into the Roil
2 Muddle the Mixture
2 Peer Through Depths
2 Think Twice
3 Capsize
3 Dissipate
3 Forbid
3 Frantic Search
3 Hinder
3 Murmurs from Beyond
4 Cryptic Command
4 Dismiss
4 Fact or Fiction
4 Foil
4 Rewind
6 Time Stop
8 Dig Through Time
Sorceries - 16
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Serum Visions
1 Sleight of Hand
2 Merchant Scroll
3 Compulsive Research
3 Pieces of the Puzzle
3 Uncovered Clues
4 Deep Analysis
4 Rite of Replication
4 Talent of the Telepath
6 Stolen Identity
8 Treasure Cruise
11 Temporal Trespass
Lands - 35
0 Blighted Cataract
0 Myriad Landscape
0 Reliquary Tower
0 Soldevi Excavations
0 Temple of the False God
0 Terrain Generator
29 Islands
1 High Tide
2 Anticipate
3 Blue Sun's Zenith
3 Faerie Trickery
3 Polymorphist's Jest
4 Insidious Will
7 Temporal Mastery
9 Expropriate
Enchantments
7 Mind's Dilation
Land
0 City of Shadows
0 Scrying Sheets
29 Snow-Covered Island
1 Cryptic Command
1 Curse of the Swine
1 Desertion
1 Saheeli's Artistry
1 Metallurgic Summonings
1 Dominate
1 Abjure
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Thought Vessel
1 Sky Diamond
1 Mind Stone
1 Soldevi Excavations
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Temporal Trespass
1 Spell Crumple
1 Mystic Speculation
1 Turnabout
1 Reins of Power
1 Diluvian Primordial
1 Opposition
2 Islands
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Island
1 Saheeli's Artistry
1 Torpor Orb
1 Dig Through Time
1 Talent of the Telepath
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
1 Sphinx-Bone Wand
1 Exclude
1 Recurring Insight
1 Pieces of the Puzzle
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Sapphire Medalion
1 Treasure Cruise
1 Relearn
1 Spelltwine
Island -> Terrain Generator - A way to gain a lot more mana when nothing of note happens.
Island -> Blighted Cataract - Card draw as I go into the late game.
Prescience Chimera -> Windreader Sphinx - Always was a placeholder for one of Talrand's strongest draw engines when using Proteus.
Wayfarer's Bauble -> Extraplanar Lens - Ramp for much better ramp.
Repulse -> Into the Roil - Curves easier and can be placed onto an Isochron Scepter and Kick. Turns into a form of draw engine and card advantage at that point.
Confound -> Spell Crumple - This change was made before the changes to Tucking, so Spell Crumple will probably need to be dropped.
Merfolk Looter -> Prescient Chimera - I did not like what the Looter did, as I would prefer to go through my deck rather than discard. Chimera will smooth over my draws, will not feel like a complete waste if I Staff into it and is large enough to send weenies elsewhere. 3 Power Flier is also potentially a clock versus a 1/1 whimpy. I know the Chimera is a placeholder until I get Windreader Sphinx but we'll see how it performs.
Opportunity -> Recurring Insight - EOT I usually had more important things to do than cast Opportunity; Hell, Whispers of the Muse was a more welcome sight for the amount of Drakes I could create. Recurring Insight will give me two Castings and draw a substantial more cards. The second cast of Recurring Insight, unlike Whispers or any other Buyback cards, will be a welcome bonus.
Confiscate -> Stolen Identity - Stolen Identity is a Sorcery-Clone, which will create a Drake, and if that Clone/Drake hits, its another Clone and Drake. Stolen Identity has a lot more staying power, especially if I Clone a powerhouse that connects. Confiscate may stop me from losing, but I can see riding Stolen Identity to victory.
Repeal -> Isochron Scepter - Scepter is incredibly useful advantage, Repeal is a card I wouldn't want on the Scepter. That is the only reason why I switched them around.
Switcheroo -> Arcane Melee - Switcheroo feels like any regular Enchantment effect, so Arcane was put in its place for what I think will be a much bigger effect.
Augur of Bolas -> Relearn - I got tired of seeing Augur of Bolas and how it'd ranodmly whiff. I decided to kill two birds with one stone: add what I lack by removing what whiffs.
Thought Scouter -> Opt - I never found the mill two useful. I need my cantrips to dig, dig, dig and Opt does that on a budget.
Helm of Awakening -> Gauntlet of Power - I didn't like everybody being able to utilize the Helm, Gauntlet still helps all Blue players but it isn't as universal. I also really need the mana for this hungry, hungry Merman.
Echoing Truth -> Brainstorm - Dealing with swarms of tokens isn't as big as a problem I thought it would be, so I re-added this cantrip.
Island -> Caged Sun - Another land cut, but I feel that 36 is as low as I can get. With the amount of filtering I have available, it is easy to get to the lands I need. Caged Sun, once in pay, is simply amazing. This is certainly another must have of mono-coloured decks.
Mind Stone -> Helm of Awakening - This is kind of a trial choice. As pure control, I don't really care about how much their stuff costs, even if this Helm is contradictary with Rhystic Study, the idea of ensuring that my mana is available for clutch spells is important.
Spire Golem -> Proteus Staff - Spire Golem was in for fun and nostalgia, the Staff sets up a win con and if I'm desperate I can Staff their stuff too. The Golem may be free, but the Staff's fodder - namely drakes - is also.
Guardian Idol -> Sphinx-Bone Wand - I wasn't really a fan of the Idol and I was desiring more win cons than just Drakes or stalling the game. With the Wand, I can actually speed up the game once I have control.
Fog Bank -> Guile - I like Fog Bank, but as I now able to setup for the Staff package. The Fog Bank was the worst contributor to bombing my opponents out of the game. Guile lets my heavy counterspell package actually do something!
Bosium Strip -> Vedalken Shackles - Bosium Strip seems nice in theory, but you'd be surprised as how much land ended up on my yard, cutting off my Strip streaks. That sounds wrong. Anyway, Shackles is a win-con and awesome at that.
Urza's Factory -> Island - I never used the activated ability and I wanted to be ale to have blue mana. Easy switch.
Island -> Gitaxian Probe - I added a lot of cantrips with this update, felt I could cut one Island. The Probe is the selection that doesn't even need to rely on me having mana.
Archaeomancer -> Spire Golem - Recurring spells wasn't the problem with my smaller dudes, it was surviving the quick rush. The Spire Golem's mana cost is near 0 and it flies, it'll do for protection for now.
Wipe Away -> Turnabout - Temporary, uncounterable solution for what could be a back breaking play. At worst, Turnabout can just be a mere temporary solution.
Dispel -> Time Stop - Solution for Solution, but Time Stop is much more flexible, even if it comes with the higher mana cost.
Compulsion -> Preordain - Card draw for card draw. Preordain lets me setup much faster, while Compuslion has more staying power, I found myself usually too busy to have time to filter through my cards.
Thwart -> Muddle the Mixture - Counters what I need to be countered, but can also tutor for what I need.
Telling Time -> Sleight of Hand - I disliked Telling Time, it put what I didn't want on top of my library. If I cast an Instant I wanted a solution and then get those cards out of the way. Sleight of Hand does so, even if it is slowed down.
Dream Cache -> Ponder - A cantrip that costed 1 mana instead of 3. Simple switch.
Mulldrifter -> Desertion - 9/10, I wanted to draw cards over actually having to spend the mana on Mulldrifter. With Desertion, I'll get a creature I actually want and power Talrand.
Soratami Savant -> Stormtide Leviathan - As much as I like the Savant's ability to deny the table, it draws too much hate and sets me back on land drops. And Talrand sure is greedy for mana, especially since I lack any sort of ways to ramp up. Leviathan Moats me is a win-con all by himself. There's a reason why you see him in all the Talrand decks. The other contender for the cut was Fog Bank who I think is far too useful at such a small cost. It can block all day and most things people can turn sideways, its a permanent that puts people at ease that I am not comboing off yet also deters attempts to attack.
Faerie Conclave -> Island - I was happier if I drew a basic Island than this card. The comes into play tapped was a real drag, I never used it as an attacker or blocker because I was too busy using my mana as mana than as man lands.
Flow of Ideas -> Whispers of the Muse - I never wanted to tap out for Flow, I would draw a billion cards but I would be vulnerable. Whispers I can do EOT and make myself more drakes at any time in a controlled environment.
Cancel -> Forbid - Strictly superior and Forbid is some nasty dirty stuff, especially if you have enough cards or board advantage you don't care about pitching a few extra.
Thieving Magpie -> Reins of Power - This cut hurt. Thieving Magpie was the sole creature that wasn't a win condition or drew me cards right way. Sure, it could draw me over time but I am playing Mono-U, I've got all the time in the world - it is the surprise upsets that can cost me. Just as they can cost my opponents. This train of thought led me to Reins of Power.
Man-o'-War -> Exclude - Man-O'-War was to undo a creature, Exclude does one better and draws me a card.
Rainbow Efreet -> Fog Bank - Efreet is in there was a hard to remove defensive creature. Fog Bank is cheaper, does a very similar job and is one less thing I need to be concerned about for keeping mana open. This could be a case of making things worse to make them better.
Recurring Insight -> Opportunity - Tapping out for cards, even if it is double, is pretty poopy.
Truth or Tale -> Impulse - I still only get one card but there is a lot less work involved, even if I dig one less deeper.
Lost in the Mist -> Dominate - Cutting possibly troublesome Counterspell for something that can just nab whatever I let through my Counterwall.
Brainstorm -> Frantic Search - They are both the same: Instants to dig for answers. Mystical Tutor was in the running as a replacement, but I realized that I didn't have anything that I would look for specifically. This isn't Combo, it's Control. Frantic Search won out because it can actually generate me mana on top of just being a digging spell, even if it causes card parity.
Confound -> Memory Lapse - Both hard counters but Confound deals with it permanently even with the narrow requirement, but it does draw me a card.
Spine of Ish Sah -> Thwart - If I need to play Spine, then a Thwart could possibly leave me in a better position rather than letting whatever it was resolve. And another Counter to feign helplessness.
Dream Fracture -> Foil - Dream Fracture is the cheapest and worst hard counter I had. Foil is even cheaper if you consider it can happen for free, allowing me to hold cards in my hand. Also feign weakness by tapping out.
Spell Burst -> Mind Games - Much more reliable Buyback, as I do not need a Spell on the Stack to cast Mind Games for Drakes. Furthermore, with late game spells being who knows how big, X might be too much to ask for.
Drift of Phantasms -> Merchant Scroll - Tutor for better Tutor.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
-Honden of Seeing Winds, +Mind Unbound or Recurring Insight.
-Kraken Hatchling, -Man-o'-War, +Augur of Bolas, +Mnemonic Wall. The idea of early defense in EDH doesn't work like you think it does... You want the cards to still be usable late game.
-Errant Epheremon, +Aeon Chronicler/Deep-Sea Kraken. Not a fan of the suspend stuff, but if you insist...
-Lost in Mist, +Fact or Fiction. I'm guessing you don't have FoF though... Failing that, +Foresee.
Steel Hellkite
Turn Aside
Confound
Intervene
Twincast
Redirect
Divination - Don't underestimate low cost draw spells in Talrand, even sorceries
Favorable Winds
Even if you don't go for any of these cards, please, you must drop the Bottle Gnomes
I had Augur of Bolas but I cut him because he kept whiffing. After a few games of EDH, I see that having a 1 drop isn't so great so Kraken Hatchling quickly got the axe.
Man-O-War cut is noted and I am looking for the Mnemonic Wall, but it'll be a random time before I hunt him down.
Currently, I don't know of any more improvements aside from getting better cards. Impulse over Truth or Tale, Desertion over Lost in the Mist, Fact or Fiction over Concentrate, et cetera.
I didn't even know Switcheroo existed but it makes me laugh. Here's a tapped Drake, I have a new Drake and I got your super awesome guy.
I did cut Bottle Gnomes.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Ponder is a good option, and similar cards like it. The newly reprinted Index might be a cheap way to control some of your drawing.
Also you might consider running a few of the Clone creature options, like, of course, Clone itself, or Sakashima's Student. I've found they can come in pretty handy depending on the tempo of the game.
Soon I can change this from Terrible Talrand to Synonym-That-Starts-With-T-That's-Mediocre Talrand.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Soratami Savant -> Stormtide Leviathan - As much as I like the Savant's ability to deny the table, it draws too much hate and sets me back on land drops. And Talrand sure is greedy for mana, especially since I lack any sort of ways to ramp up. Leviathan Moats me is a win-con all by himself. There's a reason why you see him in all the Talrand decks. The other contender for the cut was Fog Bank who I think is far too useful at such a small cost. It can block all day and most things people can turn sideways, its a permanent that puts people at ease that I am not comboing off yet also deters attempts to attack.
Faerie Conclave -> Island - I was happier if I drew a basic Island than this card. The comes into play tapped was a real drag, I never used it as an attacker or blocker because I was too busy using my mana as mana than as man lands.
Flow of Ideas -> Whispers of the Muse - I never wanted to tap out for Flow, I would draw a billion cards but I would be vulnerable. Whispers I can do EOT and make myself more drakes at any time in a controlled environment.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Bosium Strip -> Vedalken Shackles - Bosium Strip seems nice in theory, but you'd be surprised as how much land ended up on my yard, cutting off my Strip streaks. That sounds wrong. Anyway, Shackles is a win-con and awesome at that.
Urza's Factory -> Island - I never used the activated ability and I wanted to be ale to have blue mana. Easy switch.
Island -> Gitaxian Probe - I added a lot of cantrips with this update, felt I could cut one Island. The Probe is the selection that doesn't even need to rely on me having mana.
Archaeomancer -> Spire Golem - Recurring spells wasn't the problem with my smaller dudes, it was surviving the quick rush. The Spire Golem's mana cost is near 0 and it flies, it'll do for protection for now.
Wipe Away -> Turnabout - Temporary, uncounterable solution for what could be a back breaking play. At worst, Turnabout can just be a mere temporary solution.
Dispel -> Time Stop - Solution for Solution, but Time Stop is much more flexible, even if it comes with the higher mana cost.
Compulsion -> Preordain - Card draw for card draw. Preordain lets me setup much faster, while Compuslion has more staying power, I found myself usually too busy to have time to filter through my cards.
Thwart -> Muddle the Mixture - Counters what I need to be countered, but can also tutor for what I need.
Telling Time -> Sleight of Hand - I disliked Telling Time, it put what I didn't want on top of my library. If I cast an Instant I wanted a solution and then get those cards out of the way. Sleight of Hand does so, even if it is slowed down.
Dream Cache -> Ponder - A cantrip that costed 1 mana instead of 3. Simple switch.
Mulldrifter -> Desertion - 9/10, I wanted to draw cards over actually having to spend the mana on Mulldrifter. With Desertion, I'll get a creature I actually want and power Talrand.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Blustersquall is a card I would cut immediately. It's just not a fantastic effect for what it does. It'll certainly have some good, limited situations, but Cryptic Command is just better.
Confound is another card that I think is just way too limited. I'd take straight Counterspell over Confound. A variety of counterspells is nice for Talrand as it gives you defense and offense all in one card.
Talrand's Invocation is super rough in EDH. All it does it makes 3 drakes with Talrand around. It's just not a large enough effect for what it does. There are a million cards better than this.
One thing I suggest doing is a gatherer search at gatherer.wizards.com. Here you can perform an advanced search for all cards not Red, White, Black or Green and sort by descending Community Rating. This will show you a lot of the best blue/artifact cards possible to run. Perhaps do this and just search for Instants/Sorceries, you'll certainly get a lot of great results.
I definitely suggest running Time Warp as well as Time Spiral. Time warp gives you a drake, untaps your lands, draws you a card, gives you an extra combat phase... It's just perfect. Time Spiral makes a drake, pays for itself, fills your hand, recycles your graveyard, and with mana doublers makes a ton of mana. This is also the same reason I suggest running both Turnabout as well as Reset.
Another card I suggest is Tidespout Tyrant. Simply put, it's synergy with your general. It triggers off of casting spells, just like Talrand. It turns Mystic Speculation into a cheaper, better Capsize.
Cryptic Command is also $20 but that is a good point that Blustersquall isn't that good. Time Spiral also seems a little passe, where it is very expensive and does nothing but a combo. A lot of my players execute combo players with extreme prejudice, so I don't want to show them that when I am not going to combo out. And $50 price tag astounds me.
I already have Counterspell, so Confound is just there to Cantrip which can be incredibly useful.
Talrand's Invocation... I do wiffle waffle with that. Sometimes I like Drakes, other times I would like to get more than just 2/2 Fliers with a 4 mana Sorcery. Actually, thank you for pointing Invocation out, it let me easily make a cut.
Already have the Tyrant, in fact, I am adding the Proteus Staff package to the deck. I got Guile as well, to do something with my counterspells than annoy my opponents. Its another win con as well.
I made the following changes to the deck:
Talrand's Invocation -> Rite of Replication - Kicked or no, Rite is probably still a better choice than Invocaion. And Kicking this will probably cause me to win the game.
Spire Golem -> Proteus Staff - Spire Golem was in for fun and nostalgia, the Staff sets up a win con and if I'm desperate I can Staff their stuff too. The Golem may be free, but the Staff's fodder - namely drakes - is also.
Guardian Idol -> Sphinx-Bone Wand - I wasn't really a fan of the Idol and I was desiring more win cons than just Drakes or stalling the game. With the Wand, I can actually speed up the game once I have control.
Fog Bank -> Guile - I like Fog Bank, but as I now able to setup for the Staff package. The Fog Bank was the worst contributor to bombing my opponents out of the game. Guile lets my heavy counterspell package actually do something!
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
I am already really happy with Guile's ability to turn my stupid counterspells into win cons. Sphinx-Bone Wand can quickly get out of hand, especially with random EOT Buyback. Proteus package is credit to team, and can hate on enemy commanders but it is risky because they can just windmill slam some far worse onto the table.
Prismatic Lens -> Sol Ring - I was told today that Commander decks aren't 99 plus General, but 98 plus General and Sol Ring. Prismatic was random mana ramp I had, Sol Ring is a staple of the format.
Echoing Truth -> Brainstorm - Dealing with swarms of tokens isn't as big as a problem I thought it would be, so I re-added this cantrip.
Island -> Caged Sun - Another land cut, but I feel that 36 is as low as I can get. With the amount of filtering I have available, it is easy to get to the lands I need. Caged Sun, once in pay, is simply amazing. This is certainly another must have of mono-coloured decks.
Mind Stone -> Helm of Awakening - This is kind of a trial choice. As pure control, I don't really care about how much their stuff costs, even if this Helm is contradictary with Rhystic Study, the idea of ensuring that my mana is available for clutch spells is important.
I also changed my Wants and Cuts. Any suggestions there?
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
BG Jumpin' JaradsGB
BB Furry Rat Lady: The Deck BB
UU I Don't Ever Want To Explain How Knowledge Pool Works Ever Again UU
RR This Is My Suika Cosplay Lightning Bolt Deck RR
WW Mangara exiles both permanents and friends
RWG Marath Sunforger RWG
WUBRG Cromat and Friends WUBRG
--
BG Savra, Rocking Attrition (retired) GB
BB">Shauku, Envoy of the End (retired) BB
BU Wrexial, the Tentacled H beast(retired)UB
BB Endrek Sahr, Master Commander (retired )BB
UU [PRIMER] Talrand's Terrible Tempo Terror Teatime (retired) UU
UBW Senator Trio - Three Heads Are Better Than One (retired) UBW
BB MONSTRUAL BLEEDING EREBOS SADISM (retired) BB
I made the following changes:
Blustersquall -> Opposition - I need to leave mana open for Blustersquall, which is good to do other things if my opponents do nothing; however, being able to proactively do something is important. Opposition gives me more control and also allows my General to turn sideways in a productive manner.
Thought Scouter -> Opt - I never found the mill two useful. I need my cantrips to dig, dig, dig and Opt does that on a budget.
Helm of Awakening -> Gauntlet of Power - I didn't like everybody being able to utilize the Helm, Gauntlet still helps all Blue players but it isn't as universal. I also really need the mana for this hungry, hungry Merman.
One thing I didn't noticed before was Arcane Melee which I think is pretty much mandatory in Talrand. I need to get me one of those.
Also, I find that too many of my creatures end up in my hand where I can't cheat them, and until I already have control with Gauntlet/Caged Sun, they're a ***** to hardcast. Any suggestions aside from main phase Brainstorm into Proteus Staff to get these guys back in my library?
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
EDH:1 vs 1
Talrand, Sky Summoner Retired.
EDH Multiplayer
Drana. Kalastria Bloodchief
Talrand, Sky Summoner
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Edit:
I see you also have High Tide in your Talrand. How do you actually utilize it?
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Augur of Bolas -> Relearn - I got tired of seeing Augur of Bolas and how it'd ranodmly whiff. I decided to kill two birds with one stone: add what I lack by removing what whiffs.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Usually, it's my #1 Isochron Scepter target, usually but I find myself throwing removal under it more so then normal, so I usually only play it the turn I'm either going to win or cast a lot of spells.
EDH:1 vs 1
Talrand, Sky Summoner Retired.
EDH Multiplayer
Drana. Kalastria Bloodchief
Talrand, Sky Summoner
My Blog -
Tips to Writing
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I run High Tide in my Talrand EDH deck. So far its pretty fanatic and can general huge mana with Turnabout or Time Spiral. i use it to general storm count and finish off with Mind's Desire or just 1 really big turn for talrand
Repeal -> Isochron Scepter - Scepter is incredibly useful advantage, Repeal is a card I wouldn't want on the Scepter. That is the only reason why I switched them around.
Switcheroo -> Arcane Melee - Switcheroo feels like any regular Enchantment effect, so Arcane was put in its place for what I think will be a much bigger effect.
Isochron Scepter is something I"m going to excitedly test out.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Gave the splash page a 'face lift' with switching around the Changelog to be the most recent. I also added a list by CMC and the like.
Merfolk Looter -> Prescient Chimera - I did not like what the Looter did, as I would prefer to go through my deck rather than discard. Chimera will smooth over my draws, will not feel like a complete waste if I Staff into it and is large enough to send weenies elsewhere. 3 Power Flier is also potentially a clock versus a 1/1 whimpy. I know the Chimera is a placeholder until I get Windreader Sphinx but we'll see how it performs.
Opportunity -> Recurring Insight - EOT I usually had more important things to do than cast Opportunity; Hell, Whispers of the Muse was a more welcome sight for the amount of Drakes I could create. Recurring Insight will give me two Castings and draw a substantial more cards. The second cast of Recurring Insight, unlike Whispers or any other Buyback cards, will be a welcome bonus.
Confiscate -> Stolen Identity - Stolen Identity is a Sorcery-Clone, which will create a Drake, and if that Clone/Drake hits, its another Clone and Drake. Stolen Identity has a lot more staying power, especially if I Clone a powerhouse that connects. Confiscate may stop me from losing, but I can see riding Stolen Identity to victory.
Wants:
Repulse or Confound for Into the Roil - Into the Roil's Kicker allows you to draw a card, but importantly ItR costs 2 which is enough to slap on an Isochron Scepter. This means I can bounce more often and if I have some spare mana, draw cards.
Prescient Chimera for Windreader Sphinx - Sphinx does what I want: draw cards, fly, be big guy for Proteus. Chimera is just filler at the moment.
Wayfarer's Bauble for Druidic Satchel - When you're playing this type of deck, you want Ramp and you want Life Gain. Since the creature count is so low, it is unlikely you'll pop out a 1/1. Placing more and more lands into play or gaining life, that is something you'll see often and want to continue to see.
High Tide also seems like a great card but I'm not quite sure on what to cut.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Island -> Terrain Generator - A way to gain a lot more mana when nothing of note happens.
Island -> Blighted Cataract - Card draw as I go into the late game.
Prescience Chimera -> Windreader Sphinx - Always was a placeholder for one of Talrand's strongest draw engines when using Proteus.
Wayfarer's Bauble -> Extraplanar Lens - Ramp for much better ramp.
Repulse -> Into the Roil - Curves easier and can be placed onto an Isochron Scepter and Kick. Turns into a form of draw engine and card advantage at that point.
Confound -> Spell Crumple - This change was made before the changes to Tucking, so Spell Crumple will probably need to be dropped.
Updated Wants:
Faerie Trickery - Seems like an instant shoe-in for Spell Crumple.
Treasure Cruise - Seems like a really good draw spell. I should probably add Thought Scour back in, just to fill up my yard faster.
Pieces of the Puzzle - Strictly superior to Uncovered Clues, especially if I'm looking towards adding Treasure Cruise.
Dig Through Time - It's another Delving draw spell. Not sure if I could handle 2 of them, but something to consider.
Mind's Dilation - This looks like a candidate to replace Sphinx-Bone Wand, as it's a 7 drop that gets me more drakes if my opponents are slinging spells but also puts huge pressure on my opponents to not cast spells which works out well for me.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Saheeli's Artistry
1 Torpor Orb
1 Dig Through Time
1 Talent of the Telepath
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
1 Sphinx-Bone Wand
1 Exclude
1 Recurring Insight
Torpor Orb should be an auto-include in Talrand, Sky Summoner decks. Half of the reason why people play creatures is their broken ETB effects and ways they can be abused. If their ETB doesn't matter, then I don't need to worry about Countering them. This gives me more breathing room to cast spells I want, instead of being forced to need to Counter whatever they play. Unfortunately, the Sphinx-Bone, the namesake has been cut. Sadness all around. It just cost too much and felt like a 'win more' if I ever stuck it.
Recurring Insight is two nice spells, but tapping out to cast it was painful at the best of times. I spotted Talent of the Telepath on another Talrand EDH and I was immediately intrigued. This could net you up to three drakes for one card. I'm also confident in Spell Mastery even with the addition of all of these Delve cards. The cheapness, card advantage and Drakiness is why I made the change.
I had a real hard time figuring out which Instant to cut for Dig Through Time but I eventually settled on Exclude. Exclude draws a card and counters a creature, lacking in flexibility for card draw. Dig can be cheaper and gets me a wide selection of my deck for targets. I have found with Treasure Cruise it was easy to get to minimum cost, let's see if my deck can support both of these Delve cards.
I also wish to increase my fast mana angle. Getting Talrand out ASAP, possibly protected, would be great. The game gets hard when I need to worry about when I can tap out to play Talrand in the mid-game.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
In Progress
GBIshkanah, Grafwidow ~ BWGRTymna the Weaver & Tana, the Bloodsower ~ UGRashmi, Eternities Crafter ~ RGAtarka, World Render