It seems I just can't get my head off that new Prime Speaker, so I finally gave in and am trying to build my own version of the deck.
I simply love drawing cards and there's no other general around, that could possibly draw more or more efficiently in one go.
One thing that came up while pondering was what to do with all the lands you will inevitably draw, either prior to or when casting Zegana?
Why, play them of course and profit from it! So the subtheme will be landfall, which coincidentally will also help to cast the Commander.
Also, Zegana lends itself marvelously to some ETB-shenanigans.
This is a work in constant evolution, so I'm always looking for ideas how to optimize that list. I play in a rather competetive meta, where all strategies are accepted.
Current Considerations:
What still intrigues me, is putting in Patron of the Moon and Meloku, the Clouded Mirror, which will go produce infinite illusions with Lotus Cobra and Simic Growth Chamber or Cloudstone Curio.
Also Patron, Cobra and Curio or the Growth Chamber provide an arbitrary amount of landfall triggers, which would support the initial landfall idea.
What would you guys add? I'm sure I missed some good stuff, despite very attentively reading various other Zegana lists on these forums.
What would you remove for being sub-optimal?
Such a nice creature curve and no Birthing Pod? Seems like a crime. Also this is no landfall deck without Roil Elemental. I'd cut Palnchron and stick with flavor here if it was me.
@Hallucigenia Biomancer's static ability puts 2 +1/+1 counters on Primus. It doesn't care what's on him already. Then a -1/-1 and a +1/+1 counter each are removed immediately as a state-based action, and he's left with a +1/+1 counter and very much able to persist again if he dies again. It's pretty strong.
@Hallucigenia Biomancer's static ability puts 2 +1/+1 counters on Primus. It doesn't care what's on him already. Then a -1/-1 and a +1/+1 counter each are removed immediately as a state-based action, and he's left with a +1/+1 counter and very much able to persist again if he dies again. It's pretty strong.
Yeah, I know about counters cancelling, but I just took the "additional" part overly serious. It sounded like it only adds them if you already have +1/+1 counters. This guy's much better than I was thinking, then.
Wow, quite a number of new Zegana decks sprouted up over the weekend it seems. Still haven't had the chance to look through all of them.
Nice catch on the creature curve, SuperSonik! I guess I just didn't think of using Birthing Pod without being readily able to reanimate the creatures sacrificed after "leveling up". I'm definitely going to try this.
I might cut the green Praetor for it, especially if I remove Palinchron.
Despite having the landfall theme I'm not really too thrilled by Roil Elemental. While it has a cool effect, it's just so damn fragile. I remember trying this in 60-cards, when it was just newly released ... and it sadly never worked out.
Also Nantuko Cultivator and Trade Routes look nice. Just have to find room to test them ... Mind Over Matter doesn't really synergize here, other than putting excess lands to a different use than laying them on the battlefield.
I actually find that Edric deck quite intriguing, bubskees0708. I might borrow one ore two pages out of that book.
What do you guys think about the Patron of the Moon synergies here? Also, is Meloku worth running. Seems he's just really good if I have additional land drops available, or do I underestimate him?
Other ideas I had during the weekend were adding Sunder and Natural Balance. Both good with additional land drops after they hit. Natural Balance seems nice for when the game threatens to turn into a ramp fest. Also I should be able to recover rather quickly from those two.
So, I got some test games in with the initial build in the first post against Jarad and Brion mainly. The deck is definitely a blast to play, with loads of card advantage (draw), answers and threats.
The first game I could totally control the table after neutralizing a threatening Inkmoth Nexus that had put me on 8 Poison with the help of Slayer's Stronghold. Had Seedborn Muse online with Alchemist's Refuge and finally got to use Tamiyo's Ultimate to go infinite with Time Warp.
Except for that first game, no game I won with any combo, but by simply beating down.
I'm not sure how resilient the deck really is, but so far in all games I outdrew the table and was always THE threat.
MVPs: Tamiyo, Sylvan Primordial, Woodfall Primus + Master Biomancer + High Market.
Also: Having no maximum handsize is really good in a deck like this, thus Praetor's Counsel is definitely worth it on more than the recursion level.
There's still quite a number of cards I haven't seen yet, so don't know how they play live. So I'll try and test the current version a bit more. 5 games won is not a representative insight, I guess. However, the first change will be putting in Birthing Pod, once I find a card to remove.
Ardeyn
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
- A single spark of passion can change a man forever. -
After a couple more games, mainly against Rafiq and Jor Kadeen the first changes are incoming:
In: Birthing Pod - Out: Doubling Season, which is just underwhelming in this. It's mainly win more. *sigh*
In: Plasm Capture - Out: Jace, Architect of Thought - I just opened a Capture in one of the Prerelease Prizepacks I won, so that needs to be tried out. ;-) Jace, albeit good, is just not spectacular enough and I want some more counterspells as well as ramp. So Plasm Capture fills both roles - kind of.
Do you have any other DGM cards that I should take a closer look at? So far nothing screams: Try me! it seems.
Ardeyn
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
- A single spark of passion can change a man forever. -
You're running fewer creatures than my version, but Conjurer's closet is still a good consideration for its interaction with Zegana and any other ETB's and Tawnos's Coffin can protect/awkward blink/and hose other commanders as well as remove a particular creature in a niche scenario.
I agree with a lot of your choices that I haven't included in mine as your list is competitive orientated due to your play group etc.
I don't think adding Tooth and Nail or Rite of Replication could hurt either and on that note if you want such big spells to resolve/stay alive in general I'd add Force of Will and Pact of Negation, staples in competitive play. I've also found Urban Evolution to be quite often underwhelming as it can eat up a turn without producing a body and is not guarantying an extra land.
I think Master Biomancer is cool and all, but he is often underwhelming without a large number of strategies to increase his power or the counters and is especially a big target for a cut if you cut doubling season.
Also I'd greatly recommend playing Tezzeret the Seeker for tutoring artifacts straight to the field and he can be quite versatile as he also ramps untapping sol ring and mana crypt.
Speaking of which, you can argue against it, but I think the list can benefit from Sol Ring, Mana Crypt and Sensei's Divining Top and even Sylvan Library as you cannot ALWAYS rely on Zegana to get you there.
I also disagree with any tapped lands that don't carry a spell (Mosswort Bridge is amazing), Evolving Wilds, Simic Growth Chamber (But fine for comboing obv) could be cut for basics, the cyclers are great with loam of course.
For competitive also I recommend K-Grip can avoid losing the game quite often due to its split second even though you run dudes who blow up artifacts/enchantments.
Regal Force and Craterhoof behemoth are great considerations especially if you include Tooth and Nail and you have Mystical Tutor already (Goes great with Avenger of Zendikar), you don't always have to win with Palinchron + Anything.
Holistic Wisdom seems interesting, I'm almost certain its a combo piece, if not I might cut it.
If you cut Palinchron I'd say Cloudstone Curio can often be awkward and is cheaper but less value than Equilibrium which can bounce their dudes.
I'm not sure if you often combo with seer's sundial but it seems slow and bulky and might be warranted for cut.
I personally don't like dryad arbor outside of 1v1 constructed, not sure how often you plan to GSZ for 0. I have a great distaste for yavimaya coast and painlands in general I don't think cutting it would hurt very much, reflecting pool appeals to me much more.
Chord of Calling could be a nice add seeing your creature tool box. Also unless you are aggressively comboing im not sure overall how useful birthing pod will be considering your average creature density despite the nice curve, Its a great card, deserves testing, might not be worth the slot and depends on the ultimate direction you wish to go in terms of game plan and win conditions.
Overall nice deck, could do with some tuning, but thats really true of any EDH deck as there is never truly a perfect list, even if there was cards would be banned until it became imperfect :P. It would be cool if you could check out my list and give me your opinions of it (keep in mind semi-casual, no inf combos etc). Regardless, Prime Speaker Zegana is a lot of fun to play, after all who doesn't love drawing cards?
Link is in my sig if interested, any feedback appreciated.
This came up in a Mimeoplasm deck, but I'm fairly certain there are situations where Manabond would be epic for your deck.
1) End step, use Manabond's triggered ability to dump your hand, most of which is lands because you just cast all the spells you drew. Landfall triggers galore.
You're running fewer creatures than my version, but Conjurer's closet is still a good consideration for its interaction with Zegana and any other ETB's and Tawnos's Coffin can protect/awkward blink/and hose other commanders as well as remove a particular creature in a niche scenario.
Interesting suggestions here. In my experience, the Closet is a bit clunky, but I'll keep it in mind and see how important reusing my ETB abilities will be.
I agree with a lot of your choices that I haven't included in mine as your list is competitive orientated due to your play group etc.
I don't think adding Tooth and Nail or Rite of Replication could hurt either and on that note if you want such big spells to resolve/stay alive in general I'd add Force of Will and Pact of Negation, staples in competitive play. I've also found Urban Evolution to be quite often underwhelming as it can eat up a turn without producing a body and is not guarantying an extra land.
[...]
Regal Force and Craterhoof behemoth are great considerations especially if you include Tooth and Nail and you have Mystical Tutor already (Goes great with Avenger of Zendikar), you don't always have to win with Palinchron + Anything.
Thank you for your support of my choices here. I can see where you're coming from regarding the "good stuff" cards, they are certainly not a bad inclusion in any list. And they would definitely shine if I included Regal Force and/or Craterhoof Behemoth. Still, I'd like to avoid adding too many high cost cards, the average CMC is already quite high in this deck. But I'll keep them in mind.
I also see the shortcomings of Urban Evolution, it has been so and so. Force of Will is a card I will definitely add and it will go in over the Evolution probably.
I think Master Biomancer is cool and all, but he is often underwhelming without a large number of strategies to increase his power or the counters and is especially a big target for a cut if you cut doubling season.
Also I'd greatly recommend playing Tezzeret the Seeker for tutoring artifacts straight to the field and he can be quite versatile as he also ramps untapping sol ring and mana crypt.
Speaking of which, you can argue against it, but I think the list can benefit from Sol Ring, Mana Crypt and Sensei's Divining Top and even Sylvan Library as you cannot ALWAYS rely on Zegana to get you there.
Master Biomancer has been really good to me so far. Either drawing me two more cards with Zegana or creating a recurring Woodfall Primus. These synergies alone make him quite worthwhile. Besides he makes even a lowly Beast token into a 5/5. I will keep him for now and probably even add Glen Elendra Arch Mage to give him another buddy.
For Tezzeret to earn a spot I'd have to add more artifacts, though Birthing Pod alone might warrant the inclusion. I haven't drawn the card since I added it though.
For the time being I'll refrain from adding all the mana rocks, they seem so crutch and sometimes even dangerous since people began to play Creeping Corrosion and Vandalblast. Going for the additional land drops, provides triggers and enough mana so far.
I also disagree with any tapped lands that don't carry a spell (Mosswort Bridge is amazing), Evolving Wilds, Simic Growth Chamber (But fine for comboing obv) could be cut for basics, the cyclers are great with loam of course.
[...]
I personally don't like dryad arbor outside of 1v1 constructed, not sure how often you plan to GSZ for 0. I have a great distaste for yavimaya coast and painlands in general I don't think cutting it would hurt very much, reflecting pool appeals to me much more.
I totally support this view usually, but here the bounce land and Evolving Wilds (I'm not to keen on running the "off-color" fetches for aesthetic reasons - weird I know ;)) provide more landfall triggers and also ensure color stability. The Dryad Arbor might go though, despite its flexibilty and Glacial Chasm has been unnecessary so far, even a hindrance. Yavimaya Coast has been good color fixing without too much drawback so far.
For competitive also I recommend K-Grip can avoid losing the game quite often due to its split second even though you run dudes who blow up artifacts/enchantments.
[...]
Holistic Wisdom seems interesting, I'm almost certain its a combo piece, if not I might cut it.
If you cut Palinchron I'd say Cloudstone Curio can often be awkward and is cheaper but less value than Equilibrium which can bounce their dudes.
I'm not sure if you often combo with seer's sundial but it seems slow and bulky and might be warranted for cut.
[...]
Chord of Calling could be a nice add seeing your creature tool box. Also unless you are aggressively comboing im not sure overall how useful birthing pod will be considering your average creature density despite the nice curve, Its a great card, deserves testing, might not be worth the slot and depends on the ultimate direction you wish to go in terms of game plan and win conditions.
I haven't missed Krosan Grip so far, since Artifacts and Enchantments can be dealt with quite efficiently in this deck, but I'm aware, that it can be a life saver sometimes. Holistic Wisdom is just unconventional but effective recursion, which is good to have. So far it has not let me down. Cloudstone Curio and Equilibrium are both great in their own ways and both worth keeping. Also, Curio can bounce your lands, which makes it quite versatile and probably the better option over Conjurer's Closet. Palinchron will stay on merits of being an all around good (and free) creature, which happens to be a combo piece. I actually won one game, just beating down with it and bouncing it out of reach of every removal spell aimed at it.
The Sundial I haven't drawn in any game yet, so I can't comment on it, until I have at least once seen it in (un)action. Chord of Calling, man, I love that card. Just, the playset I own is currently in another deck and with all the draw in Zegana, I'm not sure it's necessary here. But if Birthing Pod doesn't work out, Chord is a serious candidate for that slot.
Overall nice deck, could do with some tuning, but thats really true of any EDH deck as there is never truly a perfect list, even if there was cards would be banned until it became imperfect :P. It would be cool if you could check out my list and give me your opinions of it (keep in mind semi-casual, no inf combos etc). Regardless, Prime Speaker Zegana is a lot of fun to play, after all who doesn't love drawing cards?
Link is in my sig if interested, any feedback appreciated.
Thank you! That's why I posted this deck: to strive for it being as perfect as it can be for me. ...and that's why suggestions and insights from others such as you are so valuable.
Also, if you decide to put up your own list again, I'd be happy to give you some feedback.
Thank you, frenzy776, I'm glad you like the deck and took some inspiration from it! Unfortunately I couldn't find your take under the link you provided.
Infinite Reflection seems a bit unwieldy and sets you up for a negative two for one. Great fun when it works, but very fragile. Progenitor Mimic, however, might earn a spot here. Copying Psychosis Crawler can dish out quite some pain and with the new rules change, it's even fun to copy Zegana.
I'm totally with you on the Leyline, though I wonder where to find the room. Flash for everything is just awesome in this deck, but space is really precious and the enchantment doesn't do anything else. Probably Teferi and Alchemist's Refuge are enough.
I haven't seen the need for Laboratory Maniac yet, but I love the alternate win condition it provides, especially with Enter the Infinite. However, the deck is quite efficient as is, and I don't want to include a ten mana card. If so, I'd rather have Omniscience - and I still think the names of those two cards should be reversed.
This came up in a Mimeoplasm deck, but I'm fairly certain there are situations where Manabond would be epic for your deck.
1) End step, use Manabond's triggered ability to dump your hand, most of which is lands because you just cast all the spells you drew. Landfall triggers galore.
Interesting idea! Unfortunately I just recently traded away my only Mana Bond, despite it being a contender for my own Mimeoplasm deck. Nice to hear it works well with that General - which means I might have to trade for a new one.
Still, I think it's too narrow for Zegana. While the potentially massive landfall might be great, I think, it's better in Mimeo, where you can also profit from the discard of whatever creature you might have in hand.
Thank you, for looking in on this deck. I'll try and play it again as soon as possible and will continue working on it.
Always looking for some more ideas!
While Urban Evolution is nice draw, I have enough of that already. Sunder can flat out win games.
In a couple of games now I was outramped and subsequently outgunned by a Maelstrom Wanderer Deck and the other times by an Intet deck. Both were tough times. Sunder might help here, since I'll be able to replay the lands a lot faster usually.
Also I'm looking for a bit more value. Does anybody have some experience with the new Primeval Bounty? Is it worthwhile?
Ardeyn
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
- A single spark of passion can change a man forever. -
It's been a while since I last updated this list, but in the past months I found some real gems for this deck - especially Courser and Prophet of Kruphix.
But also the printing of Titania, Protector of Argoth lent itself marvelously to a new twist on the land(fall) theme of this deck.
I simply love drawing cards and there's no other general around, that could possibly draw more or more efficiently in one go.
One thing that came up while pondering was what to do with all the lands you will inevitably draw, either prior to or when casting Zegana?
Why, play them of course and profit from it! So the subtheme will be landfall, which coincidentally will also help to cast the Commander.
Also, Zegana lends itself marvelously to some ETB-shenanigans.
This is a work in constant evolution, so I'm always looking for ideas how to optimize that list. I play in a rather competetive meta, where all strategies are accepted.
6 Prime Speaker Zegana
Creatures (26)
1 Groundskeeper
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
2 Lotus Cobra
2 Scavenging Ooze
3 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
3 Courser of Kruphix
3 Eternal Witness
3 Reclamation Sage
4 Oracle of Mul Daya
4 Venser Shaper Savant
4 Mystic Snake
4 Master Biomancer
4 Glen Elendra Archmage
5 Psychosis Crawler
5 Prophet of Kruphix
5 Teferi Mage of Zhalfir
5 Thragtusk
5 Titania, Protector of Argoth
6 Deadeye Navigator
6 Consecrated Sphinx
6 Rampaging Baloths
6 Duplicant
6 Progenitor Mimic
7 Avenger of Zendikar
7 Palinchron
8 Woodfall Primus
Enchantments (5)
1 Burgeoning
1 Exploration
2 Trade Routes
3 Equilibrium
3 Holistic Wisdom
3 Crucible of Worlds
3 Cloudstone Curio
3 Oblivion Stone
4 Seer's Sundial
Planeswalkers (2)
5 Tamiyo the Moon Sage
5 Garruk, Primal Hunter
Instants (15)
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Pongify
1 Rapid Hybridization
2 Constant Mists
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Counterspell
3 Voidslime
3 Forbid
3 Beast Within
3 Capsize
4 Plasm Capture
4 Thwart
5 Evacuation
5 Sunder
Sorceries (10)
2 Life from the Loam
3 Kodama's Reach
3 Cultivate
4 Scapeshift
5 Time Warp
6 Recurring Insight
6 Spitting Image
6 Walk the Aeons
8 Praetor's Counsel
0 Riptide Laboratory
0 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
0 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
0 Alchemist's Refuge
0 Tolaria West
0 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
0 Temple of Mystery
0 Dust Bowl
0 Reliquary Tower
0 Strip Mine
0 Misty Rainforest
0 Tropical Island
0 Breeding Pool
0 Yavimaya Coast
0 Flooded Grove
0 Hinterland Harbor
0 Simic Growth Chamber
0 Command Tower
0 Evolving Wilds
0 High Market
0 Lonely Sandbar
0 Tranquil Thicket
0 Yavimaya Hollow
7 Forest
7 Island
Notable interactions as of the most recent update:
Crucible of Worlds+ Azusa + Walk the Aeons = infinite turns
Palinchron + Deadeye Navigator = infinite mana
Zegana + Deadeye Navigator + Psychosis Crawler = double your handsize for 1U and have each opponent lose life equal to the number of cards you had in hand before the doubling iteration.
Woodfall Primus / Glen Elendra Archmage + Master Biomancer = undying Primus / Archmage
Progenitor Mimic (5 Mana) / Deadeye Navigator (7 Mana) / Capsize (14 Mana) + Eternal Witness + Time Warp = infinite turns
Current Considerations:
What still intrigues me, is putting in Patron of the Moon and Meloku, the Clouded Mirror, which will go produce infinite illusions with Lotus Cobra and Simic Growth Chamber or Cloudstone Curio.
Also Patron, Cobra and Curio or the Growth Chamber provide an arbitrary amount of landfall triggers, which would support the initial landfall idea.
Cards on the Watch List:
What would you remove for being sub-optimal?
Any comments appreciated!
Ardeyn
Decklist Update! 01042015
EDH Decks:
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
Tajic, Blade of the Legion
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
Purphoros, God of the Forge
Ezuri, Renegade Leader 1v1
Prossh, Skyraider of Kher 1v1
Hythonia the Cruel
Trying to build:
Jenara, Asura of War
Designing a Custom Set:
Clash of the Cultures: 5 Wedges, 5 Cultures
Providing Artwork for:
Archester: Frontier of Steam
Sphinx of the Chimes says nonland.
GW BenedictioWG
I don't understand? Biomancer says "additional +1/+1 counters", meaning wouldn't the counters have to be positive for his ability to trigger?
Playtesting | Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Narset, Enlightened Master | Ephara, God of the Polis
Established | Gahiji, Honored One | Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker | Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo | Rubinia Soulsinger
Retired | Medomai the Ageless | Diaochan, Artful Beauty
@Hallucigenia Biomancer's static ability puts 2 +1/+1 counters on Primus. It doesn't care what's on him already. Then a -1/-1 and a +1/+1 counter each are removed immediately as a state-based action, and he's left with a +1/+1 counter and very much able to persist again if he dies again. It's pretty strong.
:symu::symr: Melek WheelStorm
:symw::symg: Trostani Enchantress (updated 6/5)
:symg::symr::symu: Unexpected Results.dec
Thada Adel Stax WIP
Yeah, I know about counters cancelling, but I just took the "additional" part overly serious. It sounded like it only adds them if you already have +1/+1 counters. This guy's much better than I was thinking, then.
Playtesting | Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Narset, Enlightened Master | Ephara, God of the Polis
Established | Gahiji, Honored One | Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker | Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo | Rubinia Soulsinger
Retired | Medomai the Ageless | Diaochan, Artful Beauty
Nice catch on the creature curve, SuperSonik! I guess I just didn't think of using Birthing Pod without being readily able to reanimate the creatures sacrificed after "leveling up". I'm definitely going to try this.
I might cut the green Praetor for it, especially if I remove Palinchron.
Despite having the landfall theme I'm not really too thrilled by Roil Elemental. While it has a cool effect, it's just so damn fragile. I remember trying this in 60-cards, when it was just newly released ... and it sadly never worked out.
Also Nantuko Cultivator and Trade Routes look nice. Just have to find room to test them ...
Mind Over Matter doesn't really synergize here, other than putting excess lands to a different use than laying them on the battlefield.
I actually find that Edric deck quite intriguing, bubskees0708. I might borrow one ore two pages out of that book.
What do you guys think about the Patron of the Moon synergies here? Also, is Meloku worth running. Seems he's just really good if I have additional land drops available, or do I underestimate him?
Other ideas I had during the weekend were adding Sunder and Natural Balance. Both good with additional land drops after they hit. Natural Balance seems nice for when the game threatens to turn into a ramp fest. Also I should be able to recover rather quickly from those two.
Final question (for now): Is Creeping Renaissance worth running? Maybe over Praetor's Counsel as this seems really expensive.
Ardeyn
The first game I could totally control the table after neutralizing a threatening Inkmoth Nexus that had put me on 8 Poison with the help of Slayer's Stronghold. Had Seedborn Muse online with Alchemist's Refuge and finally got to use Tamiyo's Ultimate to go infinite with Time Warp.
Except for that first game, no game I won with any combo, but by simply beating down.
I'm not sure how resilient the deck really is, but so far in all games I outdrew the table and was always THE threat.
MVPs: Tamiyo, Sylvan Primordial, Woodfall Primus + Master Biomancer + High Market.
Also: Having no maximum handsize is really good in a deck like this, thus Praetor's Counsel is definitely worth it on more than the recursion level.
There's still quite a number of cards I haven't seen yet, so don't know how they play live. So I'll try and test the current version a bit more. 5 games won is not a representative insight, I guess. However, the first change will be putting in Birthing Pod, once I find a card to remove.
Ardeyn
In: Birthing Pod - Out: Doubling Season, which is just underwhelming in this. It's mainly win more. *sigh*
In: Plasm Capture - Out: Jace, Architect of Thought - I just opened a Capture in one of the Prerelease Prizepacks I won, so that needs to be tried out. ;-) Jace, albeit good, is just not spectacular enough and I want some more counterspells as well as ramp. So Plasm Capture fills both roles - kind of.
Do you have any other DGM cards that I should take a closer look at? So far nothing screams: Try me! it seems.
Ardeyn
I agree with a lot of your choices that I haven't included in mine as your list is competitive orientated due to your play group etc.
I don't think adding Tooth and Nail or Rite of Replication could hurt either and on that note if you want such big spells to resolve/stay alive in general I'd add Force of Will and Pact of Negation, staples in competitive play. I've also found Urban Evolution to be quite often underwhelming as it can eat up a turn without producing a body and is not guarantying an extra land.
I think Master Biomancer is cool and all, but he is often underwhelming without a large number of strategies to increase his power or the counters and is especially a big target for a cut if you cut doubling season.
Also I'd greatly recommend playing Tezzeret the Seeker for tutoring artifacts straight to the field and he can be quite versatile as he also ramps untapping sol ring and mana crypt.
Speaking of which, you can argue against it, but I think the list can benefit from Sol Ring, Mana Crypt and Sensei's Divining Top and even Sylvan Library as you cannot ALWAYS rely on Zegana to get you there.
I also disagree with any tapped lands that don't carry a spell (Mosswort Bridge is amazing), Evolving Wilds, Simic Growth Chamber (But fine for comboing obv) could be cut for basics, the cyclers are great with loam of course.
For competitive also I recommend K-Grip can avoid losing the game quite often due to its split second even though you run dudes who blow up artifacts/enchantments.
Regal Force and Craterhoof behemoth are great considerations especially if you include Tooth and Nail and you have Mystical Tutor already (Goes great with Avenger of Zendikar), you don't always have to win with Palinchron + Anything.
Holistic Wisdom seems interesting, I'm almost certain its a combo piece, if not I might cut it.
If you cut Palinchron I'd say Cloudstone Curio can often be awkward and is cheaper but less value than Equilibrium which can bounce their dudes.
I'm not sure if you often combo with seer's sundial but it seems slow and bulky and might be warranted for cut.
I personally don't like dryad arbor outside of 1v1 constructed, not sure how often you plan to GSZ for 0. I have a great distaste for yavimaya coast and painlands in general I don't think cutting it would hurt very much, reflecting pool appeals to me much more.
Chord of Calling could be a nice add seeing your creature tool box. Also unless you are aggressively comboing im not sure overall how useful birthing pod will be considering your average creature density despite the nice curve, Its a great card, deserves testing, might not be worth the slot and depends on the ultimate direction you wish to go in terms of game plan and win conditions.
Overall nice deck, could do with some tuning, but thats really true of any EDH deck as there is never truly a perfect list, even if there was cards would be banned until it became imperfect :P. It would be cool if you could check out my list and give me your opinions of it (keep in mind semi-casual, no inf combos etc). Regardless, Prime Speaker Zegana is a lot of fun to play, after all who doesn't love drawing cards?
Link is in my sig if interested, any feedback appreciated.
Modern - The Rock
My List Constantly Updated
http://deckstats.net/index.php?lng=en
I couple of synergies I have that you may want to look at.
Infinite Reflection + Psychosis Crawler/ Consecrated Sphinx/Progenitor Mimic/Overbeing of Myth or anything you can copy while your trying to get your board together. Copy cards are so versatile they can help you early on and then bounced back to your hand later in the game to be recast FTW.
Consecrated Sphinx + Rite of Replication kicked Psychosis Crawler generally get's my meta to scoop.
I also included Enter the Infinite and Laboratory Maniac just in case I draw to many cards where I will deck myself. I'm thinking of also pulling Conjurer's Closet in favor of a Leyline of Anticipation as I generally win with Alchemist's Refuge. Increasing the draw of a flash outlet would be sweet.
1) End step, use Manabond's triggered ability to dump your hand, most of which is lands because you just cast all the spells you drew. Landfall triggers galore.
2) Cast your general to draw a fresh grip of cards with Winding Canyons, Alchemist's Refuge, Leyline of Anticipation, Vedalkan Orrery, Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, Flash, etc.
Sydri's Magical Castle WUB
Chainer, Dementia Master: "Bring out your dead!" BBB
Riku Because Copying Decimate URG
Xira Arien, Jund StaxBRG
The Sylvan-Primordial-PlasmBUG
Trostani ComboGW
Vizkopa Guildmage - Peasant VariantBW
Interesting suggestions here. In my experience, the Closet is a bit clunky, but I'll keep it in mind and see how important reusing my ETB abilities will be.
Thank you for your support of my choices here. I can see where you're coming from regarding the "good stuff" cards, they are certainly not a bad inclusion in any list. And they would definitely shine if I included Regal Force and/or Craterhoof Behemoth. Still, I'd like to avoid adding too many high cost cards, the average CMC is already quite high in this deck. But I'll keep them in mind.
I also see the shortcomings of Urban Evolution, it has been so and so. Force of Will is a card I will definitely add and it will go in over the Evolution probably.
Master Biomancer has been really good to me so far. Either drawing me two more cards with Zegana or creating a recurring Woodfall Primus. These synergies alone make him quite worthwhile. Besides he makes even a lowly Beast token into a 5/5. I will keep him for now and probably even add Glen Elendra Arch Mage to give him another buddy.
For Tezzeret to earn a spot I'd have to add more artifacts, though Birthing Pod alone might warrant the inclusion. I haven't drawn the card since I added it though.
For the time being I'll refrain from adding all the mana rocks, they seem so crutch and sometimes even dangerous since people began to play Creeping Corrosion and Vandalblast. Going for the additional land drops, provides triggers and enough mana so far.
I totally support this view usually, but here the bounce land and Evolving Wilds (I'm not to keen on running the "off-color" fetches for aesthetic reasons - weird I know ;)) provide more landfall triggers and also ensure color stability. The Dryad Arbor might go though, despite its flexibilty and Glacial Chasm has been unnecessary so far, even a hindrance.
Yavimaya Coast has been good color fixing without too much drawback so far.
I haven't missed Krosan Grip so far, since Artifacts and Enchantments can be dealt with quite efficiently in this deck, but I'm aware, that it can be a life saver sometimes.
Holistic Wisdom is just unconventional but effective recursion, which is good to have. So far it has not let me down.
Cloudstone Curio and Equilibrium are both great in their own ways and both worth keeping. Also, Curio can bounce your lands, which makes it quite versatile and probably the better option over Conjurer's Closet.
Palinchron will stay on merits of being an all around good (and free) creature, which happens to be a combo piece. I actually won one game, just beating down with it and bouncing it out of reach of every removal spell aimed at it.
The Sundial I haven't drawn in any game yet, so I can't comment on it, until I have at least once seen it in (un)action.
Chord of Calling, man, I love that card. Just, the playset I own is currently in another deck and with all the draw in Zegana, I'm not sure it's necessary here. But if Birthing Pod doesn't work out, Chord is a serious candidate for that slot.
Thank you! That's why I posted this deck: to strive for it being as perfect as it can be for me. ...and that's why suggestions and insights from others such as you are so valuable.
Also, if you decide to put up your own list again, I'd be happy to give you some feedback.
Ardeyn
Thank you, frenzy776, I'm glad you like the deck and took some inspiration from it! Unfortunately I couldn't find your take under the link you provided.
Infinite Reflection seems a bit unwieldy and sets you up for a negative two for one. Great fun when it works, but very fragile. Progenitor Mimic, however, might earn a spot here. Copying Psychosis Crawler can dish out quite some pain and with the new rules change, it's even fun to copy Zegana.
I'm totally with you on the Leyline, though I wonder where to find the room. Flash for everything is just awesome in this deck, but space is really precious and the enchantment doesn't do anything else. Probably Teferi and Alchemist's Refuge are enough.
I haven't seen the need for Laboratory Maniac yet, but I love the alternate win condition it provides, especially with Enter the Infinite. However, the deck is quite efficient as is, and I don't want to include a ten mana card. If so, I'd rather have Omniscience - and I still think the names of those two cards should be reversed.
Interesting idea! Unfortunately I just recently traded away my only Mana Bond, despite it being a contender for my own Mimeoplasm deck. Nice to hear it works well with that General - which means I might have to trade for a new one.
Still, I think it's too narrow for Zegana. While the potentially massive landfall might be great, I think, it's better in Mimeo, where you can also profit from the discard of whatever creature you might have in hand.
Thank you, for looking in on this deck. I'll try and play it again as soon as possible and will continue working on it.
Always looking for some more ideas!
Ardeyn
In: Sunder
Out: Urban Evolution
While Urban Evolution is nice draw, I have enough of that already. Sunder can flat out win games.
In a couple of games now I was outramped and subsequently outgunned by a Maelstrom Wanderer Deck and the other times by an Intet deck. Both were tough times. Sunder might help here, since I'll be able to replay the lands a lot faster usually.
Also I'm looking for a bit more value. Does anybody have some experience with the new Primeval Bounty? Is it worthwhile?
Ardeyn
But also the printing of Titania, Protector of Argoth lent itself marvelously to a new twist on the land(fall) theme of this deck.
The current list is in the first post and can also be found here: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/zegana-landfall/
Comments very much appreciated.
Ardeyn
Any cards from the most recent set(s), that you think I missed?
Ardeyn