I run it in my Lavinia deck. Very versatile card, even if you don't use it as a counterspell. The triple blue cost isn't much of a hindrance in a 2 color deck. Not much more to say, amazing blue card.
Alright, I gotta give it a try ASAP. Do you guys think that it would be better then Vanish into Memory?
I feel like having a couple more counters will increase the late game power of the deck. I can protect my combos and/or my board. Aura of Silence is a great early game answer to artifacts and enchantments. Pretty happy with these changes, let me know how you guys feel.
Cryptic Command is too mana intensive for me. Lots of stuff happens early game and if I need a counter that is (mostly) just a counter, I'd like it to be at least a little cheaper.
Good to see you adding Aura of Silence. The card is just fantastic.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DCI Level 1 Judge-
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane for the awesome Sig.
EEh well if I find that it isn't working for me I will cut it. I normally only use counters as a way to secure a win. So I will probably be using it on turn 7+. Ill be sure to report on its affectiveness.
I redid some of the layout on the first post to try and make the thread easier to read and digest. I added all the card descriptions and explanations to the second post. I think that this will make the thread easier to read.
Learn about Rasputin, my history with him, and then straight to the decklists. This is my biggest problem though. For some crazy reason, may be my own screen, I cant seem to get the two decklists to coexist next to each other. If I zoom out a tiny bit it works, but if I use the normal zoom it gets all messed up. Is this a personal problem or is it happening for everyone?
M14 is very lacking in the realm of ETB creatures. Due to this, there are not many creatures that upgrade the deck in a meaningful way. I will go over most of the creatures that are unique or new that might be playable.
White:
Ajani’s Chosen: Not a bad card if blinking permanents is your thing. I would not suggest running this in my build.
Angelic Accord: Powerful in a token/lifegain deck. This is obviously not for this build of Rasputin. I don’t see it being that powerful in EDH at all really, but I would love to be proven wrong.
Archangel of Thune: This card has some awesome potential. I don’t see it doing anything in this deck, but the fact that it goes infinite with Kitchen Finks and a sac outlet is something to think about.
Banisher Priest: This card is pretty awesome. It has an ETB affect, but sadly it is one we have seen before. Fiend Hunter is a thing, as I’m sure you know. Maybe the 2/2 is more appealing to you then the 1/3. Otherwise I think Banisher Priest has better art. If you’re in the market for a creature that can Oblivion Ring a creature, these cards are for you. It is also important to know that this card prevents you from the permanent exile trick.
Devout Invocation: This card is okay. It seems win-more to me as it requires you to already have creatures in play. You will not see it in my decklists, but some might enjoy it.
Fiendslayer Paladin: I doubt this card will see much play in EDH. It just doesn’t do much against the format. It’s great for standard, but it isn’t good here.
Imposing Sovereign: This guy is pretty cool. I don’t think that it does much for Rasputin decks, unless they are heavy control based. It seems like a great card for white EDH in general though.
Path of Bravery: Seems like another card for the tokens/lifegain. Not a bad card, just not really something we want in this deck.
Colossal Whale: This costs a ton of mana and doesn’t interact well with the deck. It seems like a huge bomb in sealed. Not so much in EDH.
Dismiss into Dream: DiD is a cool card. I don’t think you will see me running it, but it has some cool tricks. Crystal Shard and other repeatable target cards like Tradewind Rider can become removal spells.
Elite Arcanist: Now here is the first ETB creature with a cool ability. This card will probably see play in the format, although I don’t know how good it is. A 1/1 is pretty tiny, and it requires a lot of investing to be powerful. Do you want to be on the receiving end of a two for one when he dies? He doesn’t go so well with flicker either, so I don’t think he is making the deck. An interesting card though.
Jace’s Mindseeker: Not a bad card at all. It depends on the meta, but if you have a deck that uses a lot of spells and not its graveyard, then you might like this guy. It seems very good against any spellslinger deck.
Tidebinder Mage: Meh, its restricted to two colors. I’m not sure if flickering it will allow you to tap multiple creatures, but it gets better if you can. Mostly a meta choice.
Windreader Sphinx: This seems like an awesome card in a Isperia deck. It isn’t amazing here, but if someone wanted to build U/W Rasputin fliers, this card would be awesome.
I don't think any card from M14 will be making it's way into my deck :/
I totally agree. None of the cards really add anything to my deck. It's okay though, this is a normal cycle. U/W cards have been pretty good for a long time. The new block will probably have something powerful for us.
I actually forgot the most important card in M14, Strionic Resonator. This card is very interesting and its potential isn't quite known to me. It has the potential to be a very busted card in a deck like this, but it also could be quite 'win more.' Only testing can tell.
I actually forgot the most important card in M14, Strionic Resonator. This card is very interesting and its potential isn't quite know to me. It has the potential to be a very busted card in a deck like this, but it also could be quite 'win more.' Only testing can tell.
I'm getting the win more vibe from it. I also feel like it will make me play worse (holding onto spells so I can get more value out of them, even if it's in my best interest to cast it right then)
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DCI Level 1 Judge-
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane for the awesome Sig.
I'm getting the win more vibe from it. I also feel like it will make me play worse (holding onto spells so I can get more value out of them, even if it's in my best interest to cast it right then)
I feel the same way. I'm not sure that its worth a slot.
I don't think any card from M14 will be making it's way into my deck :/
Well, everything's spoiled and pretty much yeah. Strionic Resonator is the only contender and it's not even a must-include. Great job on the M14 review, and might I add that while I'm a bit disappointed, I think it's only right that "we" don't get anything in this set, since blink decks have been getting top-class stuff set after set (I'm looking at you, Avacyn Restored)!
Another thing: Tidebinder Mage is just Dungeon Geists Lite!, and I don't think that many Rasputin decks even run Dungeon Geists since tapping things down such a substandard form of removal in EDH (unless you're running stuff like Winter Orb, in which case I hate you ). Tidebinder may be REALLY good in normal 60-card Magic (Tarmogoyf is green, btw), but really falls short in EDH.
Yeah that is true. We got a lot from the last few sets. I'm actually very impressed with M14 for my black deck. Lots of good cards there. If a set has a lot for my favorite deck and not my second favorite... I can forgive it lol.
Yeah that is true. We got a lot from the last few sets. I'm actually very impressed with M14 for my black deck. Lots of good cards there. If a set has a lot for my favorite deck and not my second favorite... I can forgive it lol.
Yup, not sure I'll try anything for Rasputin from this set, but I'm definitely putting Dark Prophecy in Ghost Dad, and will try out Artificer's Hex in a few decks.
I think you might be underestimating Strionic Resonator for this deck. Once we get good mana (i.e. very quickly), Resonator's 2 and tap doubles up on ANY enter the battlefield ability, and with said mana we will very often have excess available. Being able to double the graveyard recursion effects like Archaeomancer or Karmic Guide seems especially back-breaking.
I see where it could be win-more sometimes but with something like a Restoration Angel flash-in or Galepowder Mage attack you could both reset Rasputin's counters AND do something offensive/productive like blink a Mulldrifter or Duplicant. Being more consistently able to have a board-state where Rasputin's "shields are down" less often seems strong.
There are just tons of crazy interactions. Stonehorn Dignitary goes from being not really worth it to potentially locking combat. Gilded Drake can create a 3-player switch of creatures, and on, and on, and on...
I think you might be underestimating Strionic Resonator for this deck. Once we get good mana (i.e. very quickly), Resonator's 2 and tap doubles up on ANY enter the battlefield ability, and with said mana we will very often have excess available. Being able to double the graveyard recursion effects like Archaeomancer or Karmic Guide seems especially back-breaking.
I see where it could be win-more sometimes but with something like a Restoration Angel flash-in or Galepowder Mage attack you could both reset Rasputin's counters AND do something offensive/productive like blink a Mulldrifter or Duplicant. Being more consistently able to have a board-state where Rasputin's "shields are down" less often seems strong.
There are just tons of crazy interactions. Stonehorn Dignitary goes from being not really worth it to potentially locking combat. Gilded Drake can create a 3-player switch of creatures, and on, and on, and on...
I'm going to test the card. I'm not totally writing it off. There are a few reasons why I don't think it will make the final list though.
1.) I feel like I need one or two more draw spells. The deck list is so tight I don't know how I'm supposed to find room for it.
2.) Flicker is better in general. When I test Strionic Resonator it will probably be in the place of Momentary Blink. Momentary Blink can flicker for general value and save creatures from all sorts of stuff. Resonator just copies triggers.
3.) It's slightly win-more. It isn't a huge offender in a deck designed to abuse triggers.
Does dismiss into dream have a home here? Nice colorless versus colored mana cost and if you target an opponents creature they have to sac it. Seems like an easy way to wipe their board.
Does dismiss into dream have a home here? Nice colorless versus colored mana cost and if you target an opponents creature they have to sac it. Seems like an easy way to wipe their board.
I think it is a card worth trying. At first glance it looks like it could be a house, but only testing will tell.
It seems okay with certain cards I'm already running. Crystal Shard and Kor Haven most notably. It doesn't seem too bad with Angel of Serenity either. It interacts poorly with Duplicant and Luminate Primordial though. The exile is the main reason to run them and it sorta negates that.
I'm not super excited to be casting that card though. Seven mana is a lot for a card that doesn't do anything on its own.
On Dismiss into Dream, I really want to run it, but I'm unsure. It's strong, and Rasputin is the Dreamweaver after all, haha. As mentioned above, the 6 colorless mana in the cost just screams Rasputin too. Something like Spine of Ish Sah might be better though, which can be Resonator'd too. I'll be testing the tuning fork for sure.
On Dismiss into Dream, I really want to run it, but I'm unsure. It's strong, and Rasputin is the Dreamweaver after all, haha. As mentioned above, the 6 colorless mana in the cost just screams Rasputin too. Something like Spine of Ish Sah might be better though, which can be Resonator'd too. I'll be testing the tuning fork for sure.
Well resonator is not card draw by itself. It interacts well with the Sphinx but so does anything. I really want to test Recurring Insight in the place of Stroke of Genius but I'm not sure if it really matters in my meta.
Alright, I gotta give it a try ASAP. Do you guys think that it would be better then Vanish into Memory?
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
In: Cryptic Command, Aura of Silence, and Pact of Negation
I feel like having a couple more counters will increase the late game power of the deck. I can protect my combos and/or my board. Aura of Silence is a great early game answer to artifacts and enchantments. Pretty happy with these changes, let me know how you guys feel.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
This deck has been featured in Gathering Magic by Carlos Gutierrez
Good to see you adding Aura of Silence. The card is just fantastic.
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane for the awesome Sig.
Currently Playing- EDH
GGGOmnath, Locus of the LifestreamGGG
BBBShirei, Lord of PoniesBBB
UWRasputin Dreamweaver, Russia's Greatest Love MachineUW
UBWZur, Killer of FunUBW
UGWTreva, Princess of CanterlotUGW
RWTajic, Master of the Reverse BladeRW
RRRZirilan, How to Train Your DragonRRR
PDH Decks
Gelectrode
Ascended Lawmage
Blaze Commando
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Learn about Rasputin, my history with him, and then straight to the decklists. This is my biggest problem though. For some crazy reason, may be my own screen, I cant seem to get the two decklists to coexist next to each other. If I zoom out a tiny bit it works, but if I use the normal zoom it gets all messed up. Is this a personal problem or is it happening for everyone?
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Thanks for the reply. For some reason on my screen my signature is all cramped between them. It looks really weird. I even tried a new monitor lol.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
White:
Ajani’s Chosen: Not a bad card if blinking permanents is your thing. I would not suggest running this in my build.
Angelic Accord: Powerful in a token/lifegain deck. This is obviously not for this build of Rasputin. I don’t see it being that powerful in EDH at all really, but I would love to be proven wrong.
Archangel of Thune: This card has some awesome potential. I don’t see it doing anything in this deck, but the fact that it goes infinite with Kitchen Finks and a sac outlet is something to think about.
Banisher Priest: This card is pretty awesome. It has an ETB affect, but sadly it is one we have seen before. Fiend Hunter is a thing, as I’m sure you know. Maybe the 2/2 is more appealing to you then the 1/3. Otherwise I think Banisher Priest has better art. If you’re in the market for a creature that can Oblivion Ring a creature, these cards are for you. It is also important to know that this card prevents you from the permanent exile trick.
Devout Invocation: This card is okay. It seems win-more to me as it requires you to already have creatures in play. You will not see it in my decklists, but some might enjoy it.
Fiendslayer Paladin: I doubt this card will see much play in EDH. It just doesn’t do much against the format. It’s great for standard, but it isn’t good here.
Imposing Sovereign: This guy is pretty cool. I don’t think that it does much for Rasputin decks, unless they are heavy control based. It seems like a great card for white EDH in general though.
Path of Bravery: Seems like another card for the tokens/lifegain. Not a bad card, just not really something we want in this deck.
Seraph of the Sword: Seems pretty bad for us. It might be okay for a deck that runs Basandra, Battle Seraph as it’s general.
Blue:
Colossal Whale: This costs a ton of mana and doesn’t interact well with the deck. It seems like a huge bomb in sealed. Not so much in EDH.
Dismiss into Dream: DiD is a cool card. I don’t think you will see me running it, but it has some cool tricks. Crystal Shard and other repeatable target cards like Tradewind Rider can become removal spells.
Elite Arcanist: Now here is the first ETB creature with a cool ability. This card will probably see play in the format, although I don’t know how good it is. A 1/1 is pretty tiny, and it requires a lot of investing to be powerful. Do you want to be on the receiving end of a two for one when he dies? He doesn’t go so well with flicker either, so I don’t think he is making the deck. An interesting card though.
Glimpse the Future: A powerful dig spell, we have access to all the blue draw spells though and its much worse than Impulse or Brainstorm.
Jace’s Mindseeker: Not a bad card at all. It depends on the meta, but if you have a deck that uses a lot of spells and not its graveyard, then you might like this guy. It seems very good against any spellslinger deck.
Tidebinder Mage: Meh, its restricted to two colors. I’m not sure if flickering it will allow you to tap multiple creatures, but it gets better if you can. Mostly a meta choice.
Windreader Sphinx: This seems like an awesome card in a Isperia deck. It isn’t amazing here, but if someone wanted to build U/W Rasputin fliers, this card would be awesome.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane for the awesome Sig.
Currently Playing- EDH
GGGOmnath, Locus of the LifestreamGGG
BBBShirei, Lord of PoniesBBB
UWRasputin Dreamweaver, Russia's Greatest Love MachineUW
UBWZur, Killer of FunUBW
UGWTreva, Princess of CanterlotUGW
RWTajic, Master of the Reverse BladeRW
RRRZirilan, How to Train Your DragonRRR
PDH Decks
Gelectrode
Ascended Lawmage
Blaze Commando
I totally agree. None of the cards really add anything to my deck. It's okay though, this is a normal cycle. U/W cards have been pretty good for a long time. The new block will probably have something powerful for us.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
I'm getting the win more vibe from it. I also feel like it will make me play worse (holding onto spells so I can get more value out of them, even if it's in my best interest to cast it right then)
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane for the awesome Sig.
Currently Playing- EDH
GGGOmnath, Locus of the LifestreamGGG
BBBShirei, Lord of PoniesBBB
UWRasputin Dreamweaver, Russia's Greatest Love MachineUW
UBWZur, Killer of FunUBW
UGWTreva, Princess of CanterlotUGW
RWTajic, Master of the Reverse BladeRW
RRRZirilan, How to Train Your DragonRRR
PDH Decks
Gelectrode
Ascended Lawmage
Blaze Commando
I feel the same way. I'm not sure that its worth a slot.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Well, everything's spoiled and pretty much yeah. Strionic Resonator is the only contender and it's not even a must-include. Great job on the M14 review, and might I add that while I'm a bit disappointed, I think it's only right that "we" don't get anything in this set, since blink decks have been getting top-class stuff set after set (I'm looking at you, Avacyn Restored)!
Another thing: Tidebinder Mage is just Dungeon Geists Lite!, and I don't think that many Rasputin decks even run Dungeon Geists since tapping things down such a substandard form of removal in EDH (unless you're running stuff like Winter Orb, in which case I hate you ). Tidebinder may be REALLY good in normal 60-card Magic (Tarmogoyf is green, btw), but really falls short in EDH.
Augustin, Rasputin, Bruna, Brago, Ojutai
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Yup, not sure I'll try anything for Rasputin from this set, but I'm definitely putting Dark Prophecy in Ghost Dad, and will try out Artificer's Hex in a few decks.
I see where it could be win-more sometimes but with something like a Restoration Angel flash-in or Galepowder Mage attack you could both reset Rasputin's counters AND do something offensive/productive like blink a Mulldrifter or Duplicant. Being more consistently able to have a board-state where Rasputin's "shields are down" less often seems strong.
There are just tons of crazy interactions. Stonehorn Dignitary goes from being not really worth it to potentially locking combat. Gilded Drake can create a 3-player switch of creatures, and on, and on, and on...
I'm going to test the card. I'm not totally writing it off. There are a few reasons why I don't think it will make the final list though.
1.) I feel like I need one or two more draw spells. The deck list is so tight I don't know how I'm supposed to find room for it.
2.) Flicker is better in general. When I test Strionic Resonator it will probably be in the place of Momentary Blink. Momentary Blink can flicker for general value and save creatures from all sorts of stuff. Resonator just copies triggers.
3.) It's slightly win-more. It isn't a huge offender in a deck designed to abuse triggers.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
I think it is a card worth trying. At first glance it looks like it could be a house, but only testing will tell.
I'm not super excited to be casting that card though. Seven mana is a lot for a card that doesn't do anything on its own.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Rebound is a triggered ability so Recurring Insight can be Resonator'd.
And there's always Sphinx of Fact or Fiction.
On Dismiss into Dream, I really want to run it, but I'm unsure. It's strong, and Rasputin is the Dreamweaver after all, haha. As mentioned above, the 6 colorless mana in the cost just screams Rasputin too. Something like Spine of Ish Sah might be better though, which can be Resonator'd too. I'll be testing the tuning fork for sure.
Well resonator is not card draw by itself. It interacts well with the Sphinx but so does anything. I really want to test Recurring Insight in the place of Stroke of Genius but I'm not sure if it really matters in my meta.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG