Grave hate is certainly an important aspect when playing mill, but oddly I haven't found enemy graves to be much of an issue in my meta. A lot of my grave hate comes from Bojuka Bog alone, which I can tutor out with a later-game draw of Tolaria West or Expedition Map if the more important lands are already out, or in a bind. I could use one of my catch-all tutors on it also if need be. Bojuka bog aside, Sadistic Sacrament and Praetor's Grasp shut down combo before they begin, and i'm starting to believe they should be in EVERY black deck for this reason if combo is a consistent thing in your group (it isn't terrible in mine, but it could definately be better). Against grave filling decks I also normally tend to grab Bloodchief Ascension early, as it certainly deters their work. Undead Alchemist also acts as a creature-only leyline of the void if he's on field. Shred Memory, alongside many other transmutes were in the deck for a very long time, but most were removed for catch-all tutors as I slowly realized I rarely EVER used the cards for anything but tutoring. In Shred memory's case it was to respond to eldrazi triggers, but holding it in hand for 5+ turns is disappointing playing a waiting game when I could have just tutored.
And most oddly, I think the reason I don't need to pack a ton of grave-hate is because unless I'm up against a dedicated reanimator deck with 15+ spells to recur creatures or I'm fighting a Chainer, I manage to get to their grave before they even have the chance. My friend is making a mono-black deck, and he's thinking of Chainer as commander (he's on the fence between chainer and black mikaeus), and if he choses chainer I'll probably put in Nezumi Graverobber or more likely a Nihil Spellbomb.
As for Trepanation Blade it's a decent addition, but I don't find myself swinging with creatures all too often, and when I do it's rarely just to try and do damage. On average I'd say it hits 4 cards for a +4/+0 bonus, which isn't bad but it's disappointing when you realize you've dumped 5 mana into it, which could be something better.
I do appreciate your taking the time to check it out though. Mill is a oddity in EDH and I think thats why I enjoy playing it so much. Every match up is different because of simply how much it plays out of other people's decks. I think thats why I've spent so much time and effort on it is because it's near impossible for it to be boring if it's different every time!
After re-reading Soul Randsom, I'm considering including one in the deck. I didn't realize that when they discard 2 cards to destroy it you also get to draw two cards, thats insane. in my group I don't doubt I could use it diplomatically as well. (for whatever reason, NO ONE in my group mind's discard. I think they're all insane.)
If I were to include it, what would I take out?
Additionally, I'm still trying to find room for Death Wish, for once get one. I want to stuff a bunch of the more-busted cards that I've specifically excluded from the list in it's wish-board.
Soul Ransom seems funny to play with, but not only is Treachery the best Mind Control variant, Soul Ransom doesn't play well with cards like Windfall or Whispering Madness. An opponent will just discard two irrelevent cards (or cards they'd discard anyway at the end of turn if you Windfall enough where players are discarding down to 7) and go on with their gameplan.
Soul Ransom SEEMS best in scenarios where a player is top decking with no CA engine online....However, if you read the card, ANY opponent can discard two cards to give back the creature to it's owner. So you can steal Opponent A's creature, but Opponent B can discard the two cards to mess with you. So Soul Ransom just isn't up to par with Treachery really unless you play with many players who are frequently top decking. Even then....you could just play Treachery, since it's free after it resolves?
Windfall and Whispering Madness are VERY rarely in opponent's favor. They are best used when my own hand is exhausted, or after someone has tutored or something. It's hand disruption that isn't incredibly mean, but at at the same time, effective at dumping cards into graveyards.
When I saw Soul Ransom my first thought wasn't using it as a mind control variant. Regardless of who chucks 2 cards, It's a 2UB They-discard-2-I-draw-2, the closest variant I can think of being Mindculling. Plus, it's a fun card even if it's not fully functional.
I did talk myself out of it though. Not for the reasons stated but rather that I'm proud that the deck is so tight-nit thematically, and only a few cards are truly outside of the theme (Arcanis, Arena, and Greaves are the only ones really left-field, but they serve a great purpose.)
I want to cut a few lands for basics, and maybe Academy Ruins, and I need recommendations on what to cut.
I want to cut 1 card for a land to put my landbase at 35.
Cards I'm considering are
[B]Death Wish[/B which allows for me to grab gamebreakrs from my sideboard while sticking to the theme of non-combo, and just generally stretching my library a bit father.
[B]Archaeomancer[/b] It was in the deck long ago but has been cut along the way, but using Mystic Retrieval in my Sedris deck reminded me just how good effects like this are, especially in combination with anything related to Demonic Tutor, which I have quite a few of.
[B]Perplex[/b] another card that was once in the deck but was cut. I never realized before how often people will refuse to discard their hand, making it a solid counter, and either way cards are going toward the graveyard, so I'm winning. The flexibility of the tutor is EDH gold also.
[B]Time Stop[/B] Still my favorite blue non-counterspell. Being able to deny a strong player an entire turn is incredibly powerful. It is a bit mana intensive though, which is a concern of mine
It is extremely mana efficient, no one can deny that but it is a 1v1 card. It hits about 13% of someone's library turn 2, but only one player. Because it has no added value beyond its mana efficiency, it isn't worth it here. Mind Funeral was put in its spot because with only 1 more mana it has the potential to hit more cards, especially with the popularity of green and Thawing Glaciers. It also has great synergy with Sadistic Sacrament, which can make it do colossal damage to a library.
Unless ess your doing some kind of Eye of the Storm combo, i'd avoid it. You need to expunge every advantage or boost you can out of a card slot simply because the math is not on your side to support your strategy.
glimpse IS good if you're running Lazav, as in response to our declared blocks you can glimpse and try and land into some big fatty, and it digs deep to do so. However, that's not how my deck does business.
Fair enough, if you ever use Archive Trap id suggest running Ghost Quarter it destroys one of their lands and let's them search for anothr land which would let you play the trap. Granted unless you could get back the trap its one time use only and the group would be wise to the trick.
I've considered Archive Trap for this deck and actually spent the money (1$ woo) to buy one, but I couldn't justify cutting anything for it as it went the same way as Glimpse the Unthinkable. Sure it hits a lot of cards for cheap, or in this case free, but that's all it does and doesn't have any further potential.
Necropotence has been nothing more than a win-moar card lately, and I'm probably going to remove it soon, what for I'm not sure. It trades life for card advantage but could be far more efficient. Syphon Mind is a good pick I think simply for it's draw power for cost and it fills graveyards, even if it is only one per person.
HUGE style changes, as anyone who's seen it before will see. The first half of the primer is completely remodeled, and the second half will be done tomorrow.
Still need to find out what to take Necropotence for, but I'm considering a land slot. 34 is low as it is, but 35 could balance the equation nicely.
Removed Tribute to Hunger for Ashes to Ashes
The biggest reason for tribute was indestructibles, not shroud/hexproof which is much less prevalent in my meta (weird right?). Ashes hits two creatures for the price of one and a small stab, and exiles which is important for Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre both in that it can kill his indestructibleness and make sure he never sees a graveyard or another day ever. I've been trying to hunt an Ashes down forever, and finally found one.
Hi, thanks for the reply in my thread.
I see havengul lich didn't make the cut. I had a lot of fun with that card. It's not necrotic ooze, but it's more like Geth.
It's also a good card versus other graveyard decks.
I once sat down with two other graveyard decks (Jarad and a zombie deck). Havengul lich combined these two graveyards to an infinite combo.
I agree, Havengul Lich is a boss, and for a very long time he was included. He got cut due to lack of slots in general to fit him in. Most of the time, his ability to reanimate things is moot in comparison to some other ability, such as a Geth, Lord of the Vault or a Sheoldred or even just a plain jane Reanimate. Since it's only 2 color, most of the color pie, at least for my group where UB isn't of large abundance, isn't accessible to me and so he falls off a bit more.
I DO love however, that he acts as a Necrotic Ooze #2, as he gets the abilities of any creatures he pings. I'd love to see him make his way back into the deck, but it's hard enough to change cards around, as it is I have to make a cut for one more land to try and increase consistency.
This change was actually done a while ago, but I forgot to update my list.
Removed Ice Floe for Tectonic Edge
Being the slow deck that it is, tempoing lands is proving more and more important each time, and as it is I need to find a card to take out to fit one more land in to try and raise the consistency even more, or maybe add a mana rock in. Ice Floe doesn't tap for mana without Urborg, and even though I normally tutor rush Urborg out, it's not consistent enough to count as a land rather than a spell slot. Tec Edge is one of the cheapest LD lands around next to Ghost Quarter, but GQ has less meanness behind it. If I blow up someones Gaia's Cradle, I want their mana to be stunted. The 4 lands clause is rarely EVER relevant, and it still taps for mana. A logical upgrade if I do say so myself.
Time intensiveness is the best answer. I'd run Trickbind if I had one most likely, because it goes the extra mile and will stop things like Mikaeus, The Unhallowed + Triskellion no questions asked (I guess stifling the undying trigger would also work) and it's much cheaper than Stifle.
I chose to use Praetor's Grasp and Sadistic Sacrament as my primary method of dealing with them, with Undead Alchemist and Ashes to Ashes to try and aid the problem. Eldrazi Titans in general are a big problem, but they aren't TOO abundant in my group, and normally it's one or the other, not both, so it's not too big of a problem.
HUGE update for the primer-to-be. Updated and added sections, going to give it another rundown tomorrow and submit it to the comittee. I am still looking for 1-2 cards to cut for lands. Necropotence is probably going to be the first to be chopped.
One last change before posting it to the primer committee. 34 Lands just wasn't going to cut it for a somewhat-serious deck, even with the draw power and tutoring for lands it does. Changes are in the spoiler below as well as the changelog.
Removed two cards for tired and true budget fetches. Although they are both great cards, 34 lands just isn't going to do it for a deck. 36 is a much more acceptable number, and I feel it will manage much better. Although I'd like 37-38 optimally, removing cards is very hard for this deck because of it's delicate balance, but with the draw power it has I hope that 36 should be a better number. They're fetches also, so I feel pulling lands out of the deck itself will help smooth gameplay a bit also.
Removed Necropotence for Terramorphic Expanse
Necropotence has been looking at the chop block for a good while now. Although it's an absolute powerhouse, it's BBB which makes it very hard to get off early. Mid to late game it falls off as I normally have better options for draw, such as Phyrexian Arena or Arcanis the Omnipotent. I tended to be quite suicidal with Necropotence, drawing 5-10 cards the first go around and chunking my health bar pretty quickly. While this won me some games, it more often recoiled in an infavorable way. Lands have been an issue lately, so as prestated above, these are being added in.
Removed Profane Command for Evolving Wilds
For a long time, my playgroup was unaware that you couldn't do the same ability twice. A judge had told us that you could, but turned out to be incorrect so that automatically limits the cards raw potential. Killing something and reviving something is still quite nice, but to efficiently do it normally you're going to have to invest at least 7 mana to get something decent back or kill a pretty big monster. Ashes to Ashes was introduced recently, so I feel cutting this isn't going to hurt the deck too much overall. Again, 34 lands was just too little, so I hope these additions will do nicely.
No physical card changes, as I haven't been unhappy with any cards as of late or found better cards. However M14 is coming and a few cards have caught my eye (HELLO Rise of Dark Realms!) and I'll address that as the release date draws a bit closer.
Thanks to some advice from the Primer Committee, What DID change is that I condensed and renamed About Me to A Not-So-Brief History, Fixed ALL of the links (to my knowledge), restylized the primer to be more friendly to those not rocking a 1440x1920 monitor, and fixed a few consistency issues, such as mentioning cards that have since been removed. I've also had to move not only the Changelog, which has been in the 2nd post for a while now, but also the alternative card options and Aquire-board (titled Money Sucks) to the second post for being a staggering 4000 words over the 75,000 Word limit for one post. Ouch!
Hey, you got a broken [indent] tag at the start of the strategy section.
Appreciate you telling me, fixed it right away.
Quick MTG14 Set review, only hitting the cards that are both legal and relevant to the deck. I'm not going to include cards such as Coral Merfolk which, under most circumstances, have no place in EDH, let alone an EDH deck with such a specific theme. Onwards!
Blue -Colossal Whale: Its a cool card, and offers psuedo-removal to blue, but is expensive, and too aggressive for the deck and doesn't offer anything flavor wise.
-Dismiss Into Dream: DEFINITELY going in my Azami, Lady of Scrolls deck, as it offers a way to remove creatures in blue, but we have access to Black, so I don't see a need for it. Without a way to reasonably abuse it, I see no reason for it. It's good on flavor but too much on cost.
-Domestication: If I were to use a Take-control it'd be Soul Ransom which is far more flavorful and offers interesting gameplay. I'm going to pass on this one, plus their are older superior versions (cough Control Magic cough). Neat for standard, but not here.
-Elite Arcanist: It's a neat effect, but the most powerful spells in the deck are sorceries, not instants. If I could put Yawgmoth's Will on a stick, then we'd be in buisiness.
-Glimpse the Future: If I were to run this, I may as well be running Forbidden Alchemy, which if you're running UB is basically strictly superior.
-Jace's Mindseeker: NOW we are talking. This guy is definitely going to get a playtest in the deck, and he's the UW's event deck foil making him all the more desirable. At 6mana for a 4/4 flyer, he's not bad body wise. Mill5 on ETB is great, and casting a spell from one of them makes him fun and unpredictable each time. In my group there are times where there won't be a great target for a spell deck, and it makes me sad that it says "target opponent". Using it on yourself would be a really fun and powerful, but oh well.
-Tidebender Mage: I've gotten used to the awkward creature curve, seeing as it starts at 4. This card has color restrictions, making it much better for standard than for EDH obviously. I don't think this guy will see much play in any EDH deck really, but he is strong at 2mana for standard.
-Traumatize: It's a reprint, and I'm already using it. But if I pull a foil I'll swap it out of course. I'm sad it didn't get new art, but I'm happy to see it cycled back into standard.
Black -Dark Prophecy: I'm quite excited to see this printed. It's a good card with neat uses. however, I don't have enough creatures out at one time to take advantage of it enough to deserve a slot. If I were to put another BBB card back in, it'd be Necropotence again.
Grim Return: I'm going to playtest it in place of Animate Dead. It's an interesting steal card at a cheap cost. Things die often in EDH, so using it wont be hard. If nothing else, it's a 2nd life on one of my own creatures, to abuse ETB or something.
Liturgy of Blood: 5CMC destroy target creature that refunds triple black. Whilst not bad, I don't think that it'll dictate a slot. I do want to replace something for Extinction, which basically is 5CMC untargeted spot removal.
Liliana's Reaver: It does nothing for flavor for the deck, but 4CMC for a 4/3 deathtouch is good. Ontop of that, it makes discard happen and makes zombies. It's a goodstuff card through and through, but I'm not sure it's good enough for a slot... I'll probably pass for this deck.
Rise of the Dark Realms: YES. It's a win condition for this deck EASY. Something will be cut for it, I promise.
Shadowborn Demon: This guy is a powerhouse! 5mana for a 5/6 flyer is great, but he basically destroys target creature on ETB!. The 6creature thing kinda sucks, but there's a decent chance that the requirement will be satisfied. Even if it sacs the next turn, it's worth it. He may see a slot, since he's on point with flavor being graveyard related.
Xathrid Necromancer: Good card, no doubt, but it's not for this kind of deck. In a Chainer deck or any sac/recur deck, it'll be a staple no doubt.
Artifacts Millstone: It's an old favorite, but it's weak by today's standard. Passing on it. Great new art.
Ratchet Bomb: A reprint, but I'm glad to see it. It offers untargeted spot removal on the cheap. I may include it in Death's approach's slot, but from a flavor standpoint I can't justify it.
Strionic Resonator: There is a lot of triggered abilities in this deck, so I may give it a run. It seems like a fun silly abusable card.
That concludes the review for this. Feel free to contest any of my thoughts on any of these, but the stars are going to be Rise of the Dark Realms, Jace's Mindseeker, and Grim Return will be the big inclusions of the next set. Not helping the mana curve at all though
Once again, no physical Card changes yet, as I haven't had the funds to get some of the M14 candy that has recently come out, but expect changes before too long.
Made all of the table of contents sublinks actually link to something now, and alphabetized the decklist for each CMC. (Ex at 7CMC Sheoldred now comes after Diluvian Primordial).
Lot's of card changes this time, Overall, I'm excited to see these changes and I think overall it's moved in a positive direction. I've been trying to reduce the "goodstuff list" to strengthen the other core areas, making it more on point with flavor and direction.
Descent Into Madness removed for Grave Consequences
Descent into Madness was a very fun card, but I was never anywhere near the best position to use it and often I was hurt more by it than others. Grave Consequences is much more controlable on just how much it's going to hurt me, and it makes everyone else think as well and I really like that. The additional value of dicking over someone in response to an Eldrazi trigger will be even more satisfying.
Twincast removed for Perplex
Overall, I'm trying to reduce goodstuff, and increase flavor and theme. Perplex does all of these. In addition to acting as a decent tutor with multiple targets, it's a neat counterspell with a browbeat like effect, and I love those types of cards. At a cheap cost, I can't see how it can go wrong. Twincast was fun but UU is sometimes a bit annoying to get early when I really want to do it and adding two mana to a big spell is sometimes taxing.
Puppeteer Clique removed for Jace's Mindseeker
I actually forgot to include Clique on the decklist, and kinda just added the mindseeker in (my bad) but regardless, I asked myself: "out of all my creatures, which one isn't consistently an all star each time. Pup Clique was the answer. Although it acts as grave hate, a steal, and other things all in one, it getting wrathed and persisting on someone else's turn was highly upsetting and it just didn't perform as needed. I don't forsee the mindseeker being quite as much of a let down, but I do suspect it'll have it's flops. At least when it does, it's still a 4/4 flying beater, whereas the clique was a 3/2, and a 2/1 upon persisting.
Liliana Vess removed for Notion Thief
It's an experiment really, I'm unsure how well the thief will do in actual play, but i'm looking forward to using him regardless. Liliana was acting mostly as an overpriced Vampiric Tutor and there are better options. I opted for card draw over replacing it as a tutor, because of the inclusion of Perplex. Her ultimate to this day I still have never gotten to go off anyways.
Death's Approach removed for Talisman of Dominance
Overall, the changes here mostly went up in CMC, so I feel one little boost is helpful. A friend pointed out that death's approach, while good and flavorful, is sorcery speed and won't kill things as early as needed sometime. Still, I don't want to waste time getting to my better removal spells, so the mana rock made sense, which leads to the last change.
Tragic Slip removed for Tribute to Hunger
Tragic slip is still a really good, but it's more situational than tribute. As much as I stab myself, the boost in life is more than welcome as well. The added value of being tutorable with the new Perplex also makes it easier to access in an emergency.
And most oddly, I think the reason I don't need to pack a ton of grave-hate is because unless I'm up against a dedicated reanimator deck with 15+ spells to recur creatures or I'm fighting a Chainer, I manage to get to their grave before they even have the chance. My friend is making a mono-black deck, and he's thinking of Chainer as commander (he's on the fence between chainer and black mikaeus), and if he choses chainer I'll probably put in Nezumi Graverobber or more likely a Nihil Spellbomb.
As for Trepanation Blade it's a decent addition, but I don't find myself swinging with creatures all too often, and when I do it's rarely just to try and do damage. On average I'd say it hits 4 cards for a +4/+0 bonus, which isn't bad but it's disappointing when you realize you've dumped 5 mana into it, which could be something better.
I do appreciate your taking the time to check it out though. Mill is a oddity in EDH and I think thats why I enjoy playing it so much. Every match up is different because of simply how much it plays out of other people's decks. I think thats why I've spent so much time and effort on it is because it's near impossible for it to be boring if it's different every time!
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
If I were to include it, what would I take out?
Additionally, I'm still trying to find room for Death Wish, for once get one. I want to stuff a bunch of the more-busted cards that I've specifically excluded from the list in it's wish-board.
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
Soul Ransom SEEMS best in scenarios where a player is top decking with no CA engine online....However, if you read the card, ANY opponent can discard two cards to give back the creature to it's owner. So you can steal Opponent A's creature, but Opponent B can discard the two cards to mess with you. So Soul Ransom just isn't up to par with Treachery really unless you play with many players who are frequently top decking. Even then....you could just play Treachery, since it's free after it resolves?
When I saw Soul Ransom my first thought wasn't using it as a mind control variant. Regardless of who chucks 2 cards, It's a 2UB They-discard-2-I-draw-2, the closest variant I can think of being Mindculling. Plus, it's a fun card even if it's not fully functional.
I did talk myself out of it though. Not for the reasons stated but rather that I'm proud that the deck is so tight-nit thematically, and only a few cards are truly outside of the theme (Arcanis, Arena, and Greaves are the only ones really left-field, but they serve a great purpose.)
I still need to find cards to cut for the immanent Death Wish inclusion, and possibly Volrath's Stronghold..
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
I want to cut a few lands for basics, and maybe Academy Ruins, and I need recommendations on what to cut.
I want to cut 1 card for a land to put my landbase at 35.
Cards I'm considering are
[B]Death Wish[/B which allows for me to grab gamebreakrs from my sideboard while sticking to the theme of non-combo, and just generally stretching my library a bit father.
[B]Archaeomancer[/b] It was in the deck long ago but has been cut along the way, but using Mystic Retrieval in my Sedris deck reminded me just how good effects like this are, especially in combination with anything related to Demonic Tutor, which I have quite a few of.
[B]Perplex[/b] another card that was once in the deck but was cut. I never realized before how often people will refuse to discard their hand, making it a solid counter, and either way cards are going toward the graveyard, so I'm winning. The flexibility of the tutor is EDH gold also.
[B]Time Stop[/B] Still my favorite blue non-counterspell. Being able to deny a strong player an entire turn is incredibly powerful. It is a bit mana intensive though, which is a concern of mine
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
It is extremely mana efficient, no one can deny that but it is a 1v1 card. It hits about 13% of someone's library turn 2, but only one player. Because it has no added value beyond its mana efficiency, it isn't worth it here. Mind Funeral was put in its spot because with only 1 more mana it has the potential to hit more cards, especially with the popularity of green and Thawing Glaciers. It also has great synergy with Sadistic Sacrament, which can make it do colossal damage to a library.
Unless ess your doing some kind of Eye of the Storm combo, i'd avoid it. You need to expunge every advantage or boost you can out of a card slot simply because the math is not on your side to support your strategy.
glimpse IS good if you're running Lazav, as in response to our declared blocks you can glimpse and try and land into some big fatty, and it digs deep to do so. However, that's not how my deck does business.
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
Still need to find out what to take Necropotence for, but I'm considering a land slot. 34 is low as it is, but 35 could balance the equation nicely.
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
The biggest reason for tribute was indestructibles, not shroud/hexproof which is much less prevalent in my meta (weird right?). Ashes hits two creatures for the price of one and a small stab, and exiles which is important for Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre both in that it can kill his indestructibleness and make sure he never sees a graveyard or another day ever. I've been trying to hunt an Ashes down forever, and finally found one.
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
--Evil
Glad you liked the list! and thanks for noticing that, I'll fix it right away
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
I agree, Havengul Lich is a boss, and for a very long time he was included. He got cut due to lack of slots in general to fit him in. Most of the time, his ability to reanimate things is moot in comparison to some other ability, such as a Geth, Lord of the Vault or a Sheoldred or even just a plain jane Reanimate. Since it's only 2 color, most of the color pie, at least for my group where UB isn't of large abundance, isn't accessible to me and so he falls off a bit more.
I DO love however, that he acts as a Necrotic Ooze #2, as he gets the abilities of any creatures he pings. I'd love to see him make his way back into the deck, but it's hard enough to change cards around, as it is I have to make a cut for one more land to try and increase consistency.
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
Removed Ice Floe for Tectonic Edge
Being the slow deck that it is, tempoing lands is proving more and more important each time, and as it is I need to find a card to take out to fit one more land in to try and raise the consistency even more, or maybe add a mana rock in. Ice Floe doesn't tap for mana without Urborg, and even though I normally tutor rush Urborg out, it's not consistent enough to count as a land rather than a spell slot. Tec Edge is one of the cheapest LD lands around next to Ghost Quarter, but GQ has less meanness behind it. If I blow up someones Gaia's Cradle, I want their mana to be stunted. The 4 lands clause is rarely EVER relevant, and it still taps for mana. A logical upgrade if I do say so myself.
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
Time intensiveness is the best answer. I'd run Trickbind if I had one most likely, because it goes the extra mile and will stop things like Mikaeus, The Unhallowed + Triskellion no questions asked (I guess stifling the undying trigger would also work) and it's much cheaper than Stifle.
I chose to use Praetor's Grasp and Sadistic Sacrament as my primary method of dealing with them, with Undead Alchemist and Ashes to Ashes to try and aid the problem. Eldrazi Titans in general are a big problem, but they aren't TOO abundant in my group, and normally it's one or the other, not both, so it's not too big of a problem.
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
Removed two cards for tired and true budget fetches. Although they are both great cards, 34 lands just isn't going to do it for a deck. 36 is a much more acceptable number, and I feel it will manage much better. Although I'd like 37-38 optimally, removing cards is very hard for this deck because of it's delicate balance, but with the draw power it has I hope that 36 should be a better number. They're fetches also, so I feel pulling lands out of the deck itself will help smooth gameplay a bit also.
Removed Necropotence for Terramorphic Expanse
Necropotence has been looking at the chop block for a good while now. Although it's an absolute powerhouse, it's BBB which makes it very hard to get off early. Mid to late game it falls off as I normally have better options for draw, such as Phyrexian Arena or Arcanis the Omnipotent. I tended to be quite suicidal with Necropotence, drawing 5-10 cards the first go around and chunking my health bar pretty quickly. While this won me some games, it more often recoiled in an infavorable way. Lands have been an issue lately, so as prestated above, these are being added in.
Removed Profane Command for Evolving Wilds
For a long time, my playgroup was unaware that you couldn't do the same ability twice. A judge had told us that you could, but turned out to be incorrect so that automatically limits the cards raw potential. Killing something and reviving something is still quite nice, but to efficiently do it normally you're going to have to invest at least 7 mana to get something decent back or kill a pretty big monster. Ashes to Ashes was introduced recently, so I feel cutting this isn't going to hurt the deck too much overall. Again, 34 lands was just too little, so I hope these additions will do nicely.
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
Thanks to some advice from the Primer Committee, What DID change is that I condensed and renamed About Me to A Not-So-Brief History, Fixed ALL of the links (to my knowledge), restylized the primer to be more friendly to those not rocking a 1440x1920 monitor, and fixed a few consistency issues, such as mentioning cards that have since been removed. I've also had to move not only the Changelog, which has been in the 2nd post for a while now, but also the alternative card options and Aquire-board (titled Money Sucks) to the second post for being a staggering 4000 words over the 75,000 Word limit for one post. Ouch!
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GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Appreciate you telling me, fixed it right away.
Quick MTG14 Set review, only hitting the cards that are both legal and relevant to the deck. I'm not going to include cards such as Coral Merfolk which, under most circumstances, have no place in EDH, let alone an EDH deck with such a specific theme. Onwards!
Blue
-Colossal Whale: Its a cool card, and offers psuedo-removal to blue, but is expensive, and too aggressive for the deck and doesn't offer anything flavor wise.
-Dismiss Into Dream: DEFINITELY going in my Azami, Lady of Scrolls deck, as it offers a way to remove creatures in blue, but we have access to Black, so I don't see a need for it. Without a way to reasonably abuse it, I see no reason for it. It's good on flavor but too much on cost.
-Domestication: If I were to use a Take-control it'd be Soul Ransom which is far more flavorful and offers interesting gameplay. I'm going to pass on this one, plus their are older superior versions (cough Control Magic cough). Neat for standard, but not here.
-Elite Arcanist: It's a neat effect, but the most powerful spells in the deck are sorceries, not instants. If I could put Yawgmoth's Will on a stick, then we'd be in buisiness.
-Glimpse the Future: If I were to run this, I may as well be running Forbidden Alchemy, which if you're running UB is basically strictly superior.
-Jace's Mindseeker: NOW we are talking. This guy is definitely going to get a playtest in the deck, and he's the UW's event deck foil making him all the more desirable. At 6mana for a 4/4 flyer, he's not bad body wise. Mill5 on ETB is great, and casting a spell from one of them makes him fun and unpredictable each time. In my group there are times where there won't be a great target for a spell deck, and it makes me sad that it says "target opponent". Using it on yourself would be a really fun and powerful, but oh well.
-Tidebender Mage: I've gotten used to the awkward creature curve, seeing as it starts at 4. This card has color restrictions, making it much better for standard than for EDH obviously. I don't think this guy will see much play in any EDH deck really, but he is strong at 2mana for standard.
-Traumatize: It's a reprint, and I'm already using it. But if I pull a foil I'll swap it out of course. I'm sad it didn't get new art, but I'm happy to see it cycled back into standard.
Black
-Dark Prophecy: I'm quite excited to see this printed. It's a good card with neat uses. however, I don't have enough creatures out at one time to take advantage of it enough to deserve a slot. If I were to put another BBB card back in, it'd be Necropotence again.
Grim Return: I'm going to playtest it in place of Animate Dead. It's an interesting steal card at a cheap cost. Things die often in EDH, so using it wont be hard. If nothing else, it's a 2nd life on one of my own creatures, to abuse ETB or something.
Liturgy of Blood: 5CMC destroy target creature that refunds triple black. Whilst not bad, I don't think that it'll dictate a slot. I do want to replace something for Extinction, which basically is 5CMC untargeted spot removal.
Liliana's Reaver: It does nothing for flavor for the deck, but 4CMC for a 4/3 deathtouch is good. Ontop of that, it makes discard happen and makes zombies. It's a goodstuff card through and through, but I'm not sure it's good enough for a slot... I'll probably pass for this deck.
Rise of the Dark Realms: YES. It's a win condition for this deck EASY. Something will be cut for it, I promise.
Shadowborn Demon: This guy is a powerhouse! 5mana for a 5/6 flyer is great, but he basically destroys target creature on ETB!. The 6creature thing kinda sucks, but there's a decent chance that the requirement will be satisfied. Even if it sacs the next turn, it's worth it. He may see a slot, since he's on point with flavor being graveyard related.
Xathrid Necromancer: Good card, no doubt, but it's not for this kind of deck. In a Chainer deck or any sac/recur deck, it'll be a staple no doubt.
Artifacts
Millstone: It's an old favorite, but it's weak by today's standard. Passing on it. Great new art.
Ratchet Bomb: A reprint, but I'm glad to see it. It offers untargeted spot removal on the cheap. I may include it in Death's approach's slot, but from a flavor standpoint I can't justify it.
Strionic Resonator: There is a lot of triggered abilities in this deck, so I may give it a run. It seems like a fun silly abusable card.
That concludes the review for this. Feel free to contest any of my thoughts on any of these, but the stars are going to be Rise of the Dark Realms, Jace's Mindseeker, and Grim Return will be the big inclusions of the next set. Not helping the mana curve at all though
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Made all of the table of contents sublinks actually link to something now, and alphabetized the decklist for each CMC. (Ex at 7CMC Sheoldred now comes after Diluvian Primordial).
UBRSedris, the Necromancer KingUBR
Lot's of card changes this time, Overall, I'm excited to see these changes and I think overall it's moved in a positive direction. I've been trying to reduce the "goodstuff list" to strengthen the other core areas, making it more on point with flavor and direction.
Descent Into Madness removed for Grave Consequences
Descent into Madness was a very fun card, but I was never anywhere near the best position to use it and often I was hurt more by it than others. Grave Consequences is much more controlable on just how much it's going to hurt me, and it makes everyone else think as well and I really like that. The additional value of dicking over someone in response to an Eldrazi trigger will be even more satisfying.
Twincast removed for Perplex
Overall, I'm trying to reduce goodstuff, and increase flavor and theme. Perplex does all of these. In addition to acting as a decent tutor with multiple targets, it's a neat counterspell with a browbeat like effect, and I love those types of cards. At a cheap cost, I can't see how it can go wrong. Twincast was fun but UU is sometimes a bit annoying to get early when I really want to do it and adding two mana to a big spell is sometimes taxing.
Puppeteer Clique removed for Jace's Mindseeker
I actually forgot to include Clique on the decklist, and kinda just added the mindseeker in (my bad) but regardless, I asked myself: "out of all my creatures, which one isn't consistently an all star each time. Pup Clique was the answer. Although it acts as grave hate, a steal, and other things all in one, it getting wrathed and persisting on someone else's turn was highly upsetting and it just didn't perform as needed. I don't forsee the mindseeker being quite as much of a let down, but I do suspect it'll have it's flops. At least when it does, it's still a 4/4 flying beater, whereas the clique was a 3/2, and a 2/1 upon persisting.
Liliana Vess removed for Notion Thief
It's an experiment really, I'm unsure how well the thief will do in actual play, but i'm looking forward to using him regardless. Liliana was acting mostly as an overpriced Vampiric Tutor and there are better options. I opted for card draw over replacing it as a tutor, because of the inclusion of Perplex. Her ultimate to this day I still have never gotten to go off anyways.
Death's Approach removed for Talisman of Dominance
Overall, the changes here mostly went up in CMC, so I feel one little boost is helpful. A friend pointed out that death's approach, while good and flavorful, is sorcery speed and won't kill things as early as needed sometime. Still, I don't want to waste time getting to my better removal spells, so the mana rock made sense, which leads to the last change.
Tragic Slip removed for Tribute to Hunger
Tragic slip is still a really good, but it's more situational than tribute. As much as I stab myself, the boost in life is more than welcome as well. The added value of being tutorable with the new Perplex also makes it easier to access in an emergency.
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