This is for a new play group that is, well, pretty unexperienced. It's here to make something fun, create ridiculous game states, but still be able to win. The deck is not done yet, as I'm still looking for cards to make the entire thing run a bit better. This deck will go through changes.
Suggestions are welcome and encouraged. But please note the want list for stuff I want to put in before suggesting anything. There's only a few cards. And if you see things that don't match with the way you think the deck is going, please suggest cuts as well.
And hey, eventually I'll even make it look pretty. But as for now, onto the nuts and bolts of the deck. Sorted by CMC and type.
I can probably take out the Mind Over Matter combos. This includes Azami, cause I don't have that many wizards. I might take her out for Proteus Staff, but hey, she's at least draw 1 or 2 a turn. Those are just for when I'm playing with more competitive people and still want a wacky board.
Suggestions are encouraged. There's a few cards I'm not sure if they fit, and I'm still not sure if I have enough to make me win if I go against anyone with a semi-tuned deck. I know it won't stand up to cut-throat combos, but it's not supposed to.
Quicksilver Amulet is a good way to cheat fatties in one sided when you can't get Braids to stick, along with the already mentioned Proteus Staff, which I recommend because it's both good and one of the most fun cards. Paradox Haze also gets you a bit more mileage out of Braids, though it's bad with Mystic Remora or if you run in a meta with a lot of bad upkeep effects.
Steel Hellkite is solid removal for things blue otherwise needs a lot of help with. Pongify and Rapid Hybridization have had some great success in my own Blue Braids, very good at shooting down the fat they drop on the cheap, the 3/3 they get is kind of inconsequential when you just dropped an Eldrazi on them.
I like Sphinx of Uthuun in Blue Braids because you can never get enough Fact or Fiction, and it isn't that light a hitter (except compared to Eldrazi anyway.)
Adding Quicksilver Amulet. I need to find one, and just forgot about adding it to the want list. There are a few stax decks around, and I don't want to add Paradox Haze just to make sure I don't get hit too hard by them.
I might take out Azami for the Proteus Staff. Azami was in due to this deck being converted from a Venser, Shaper Savant deck.
The destroy effects, I need to find a slot for, as well as the other fliers. I'll be testing this tomorrow, but all suggestions on what to take out will be greatly appreciated.
The only card not mentioned or suggested that I can think of is Tidespout Tyrant. He can do some serious work against all the fat that your opponents might drop. Also is Sphinx Ambassador more of a fun call for you or has it earned a spot? If not it could be a cut for previously mentioned cards. Anyways please do share game reports as I love blue braids and am really curious to see how it plays out. Good Luck!
That's fair on Haze, there have been plenty of times I have played it and wish I hadn't.
Thoughts on cuts...
Mind Over Matter: If you're dropping Azami, might as well drop this, the trick feels kind of off in this kind of deck to me anyway, not really conducive to the general gameplan.
Temple Bell and Otherworldly Atlus: I assume these are in here to combo off with Mind Over Matter, so if you cut that these can go too. If you really want to include an infinite, I would go with Palinchron and High Tide, because they both have a lot of use outside of comboing off with each other, unlike the previous combo pieces.
Generic Counterspell: Not bad by any means, but I'm not fond of it in EDH, I like my counters to do more than just send something to the grave once due to how recursion happy the format tends to be.
Omniscience: I don't really like it in Blue Braids unless you are going to play Gate to the Aether and Show and Tell, and even then I don't like it because it's inconsistent, I'd rather be playing stuff that jives more with Braids herself.
The only card not mentioned or suggested that I can think of is Tidespout Tyrant. He can do some serious work against all the fat that your opponents might drop. Also is Sphinx Ambassador more of a fun call for you or has it earned a spot? If not it could be a cut for previously mentioned cards. Anyways please do share game reports as I love blue braids and am really curious to see how it plays out. Good Luck!
I haven't gotten my hands on one yet. Definitely something to look into. As for the Ambassador, it's more of a test. Could be funny, I don't know yet. Again, I'll let you know.
And definitely! I'll have a few game reports up tomorrow.
That's fair on Haze, there have been plenty of times I have played it and wish I hadn't.
Thoughts on cuts...
Mind Over Matter: If you're dropping Azami, might as well drop this, the trick feels kind of off in this kind of deck to me anyway, not really conducive to the general gameplan.
Temple Bell and Otherworldly Atlus: I assume these are in here to combo off with Mind Over Matter, so if you cut that these can go too. If you really want to include an infinite, I would go with Palinchron and High Tide, because they both have a lot of use outside of comboing off with each other, unlike the previous combo pieces.
Generic Counterspell: Not bad by any means, but I'm not fond of it in EDH, I like my counters to do more than just send something to the grave once due to how recursion happy the format tends to be.
Omniscience: I don't really like it in Blue Braids unless you are going to play Gate to the Aether and Show and Tell, and even then I don't like it because it's inconsistent, I'd rather be playing stuff that jives more with Braids herself.
Mind Over Matter will probably be cut once I find a win con outside of "smash dudes in the face". I don't feel completely comfortable without a different way to win other than just swinging.
Temple Bell and the like are there simply to keep my hand (and possibly everyone else's) hands full, and help ping with the crawler. It's only one extra card, but hey, we'll see how it goes. I'll let you know after tomorrow.
Counterspell and Omniscience cut is a good call. But are there any other win cons you guys can think of outside of going infinite? Most of my decks don't as I don't like going infinite. There's something about those combos (including the aforementioned MoM combo) that I don't like.
Alright, made a few changes to the main deck list. Sphinx Ambassador got the cut. I never really cared about cheating it into play. Early game it's good, but so is all the fatties I have. I actually have to connect with this one and it doesn't give me immediate advantage. Cut for Sphinx of Uthuun.
Counterspell, let's face it I have better counters and I'd rather have the ability of the Proteus Staff. Cut.
Omniscience. Oh how I love you but I can't cheat you out and I'd rather have the game wrapped up by the time I can hardcast you. Cut for the much harder to get rid of and easier to recur Inkwell Leviathan that showed just how much work that guy could do.
Now, for [b]Game Reports[b]! I played three games today, one of which I don't have much of a report on. A well tuned Asuza player ended the game on turn 4, and I hadn't drawn into another counter to stop it. Oh well.
[b]Game One[/b] Two Prosh players and an Olororo player. One is pure precon. The game started off good, with a Leyline of Anticipation out first, followed by a by a bit of ramp. Dropped a Sphinx of Magosi early on to draw into more threats, along with a temple bell. Got the sphinx up to 10/10 before drawing into Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur, bouning Braids and controlling the board.
[b]Game Two[/b] Ashling the Pilgrim, Shattergang Brothers and Prosh, this time not a precon, again. I've heard Leyline and Sol ring are good. Turn two Braids. Brought in Inkwell Leviathan and let Braids die when Ashling went off the next turn. They couldn't deal with an Inkwell, and I Cyclonic Rifted once Ashling tapped out after brining in a Hellkite Tyrant, but not before the Shattergang guy lost all his toys. Guy had a lot of artifacts and then tapped out to do more shenanigans. I had nothing to block with, rifted on the end step, untapped, threw out some dudes. Then just kept control of the board. Let the Ashling player drop, then realized the other two had to go in a few minutes. Killed with MoM combo to just hurry up the game, even though I had lethal for one guy this turn, and Venser and Cyclonic Rift for anything the next guy did.
Things I've noticed:
This deck wants to draw cards. Holy crap does it want to draw cards. Things like Temple Bell and Jace Beleren help considerably, as well as keeping people happy. Add to it you can decide to turn it on or off, AND you can trigger the bell or atlas during your upkeep before Braid's trigger goes off, you can go from nothing worth dropping in your hand to something nice and big. It's definitely a good thing to have and I don't see removing it for a little bit.
The Sphinx of Magosi is also like that. If someone removes it, well, yeah kinda sucks but it's a reasonable threat, can draw cards if you have the mana in response, and does have evasion. I like it so far.
Mind over Matter still feels bad. I mean, I had lethal before I used it just to end the game, but still. I'd want another combo though.
Add to it Cloudstone Curio. I don't really have creatures I'd want to bounce. I might actually remove this since a lot of the stuff I cheat into play. Sure, it's a nice way to get rid of Braids but... I'm not convinced. I'll be doing more testing, so any questions or comments are greatly appreciated.
So of the many draw spells blue has access to the first thing that comes to mind would be Myojin of Seeing Winds as he can be cheated in for good times or the always reliable Mulldrifter who can be a free play as well. Also on a random side with all the blue mana symbols on the permanents in this deck maybe consider Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx as a way to get some big mana late? I'll see what else I can find later but keep up the great work!
So of the many draw spells blue has access to the first thing that comes to mind would be Myojin of Seeing Winds as he can be cheated in for good times or the always reliable Mulldrifter who can be a free play as well. Also on a random side with all the blue mana symbols on the permanents in this deck maybe consider Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx as a way to get some big mana late? I'll see what else I can find later but keep up the great work!
Hm. Myojin of Seeing Winds would draw a LOT of cards, but it's not something I'd want without Braids on the field/after Braids has gotten too dangerous to BE on the field. Maybe. I'll see if there's anything that doesn't feel right.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is a BEAUTIFUL idea. Like holy crap. That's easily 6 mana a turn after Braids in my last games. Good addition. I did notice I might want to increase my land count by one or two, as it was difficult getting to 4-5 on those turns without assistance by Wayfarer's Bauble or Expedition Map. Also thinking of looking around for a Winding Canyons as another way to flash Braids in. I had to play politics to even get one trigger in the Ashling game.
Myojin would be amazing, but I don't think it works with cheating it into play because the text calls for CASTING it from your hand. I might consider it in a particularly ramp happy version of Blue Braids, which is actually the version I play, but I think there are cheaper and more reliable draw options, like Rush of Knowledge since you need board presence to utilize Myojin anyway. Flow of Ideas is also pretty good if you play a fair amount of basic land fetching and it jives very well with Vedalken Shackles which I would also highly recommend, my favorite critter stealing behind Gilded Drake. I personally play Burnished Hart in addition to Solemn Simulacrum and Wayfarer's Bauble, so I'm never very sad to see either of them.
Love the Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx suggestion, especially for a list that wants to be able to hard cast some things as a backup plan. Glad to hear Temple Bell and other group huggy friends are doing well, I've been considering for my list as my group does get a little trigger happy if they think I'm keeping all the goods to myself (ridiculous when I run Gate to the Aether, which has cost me as many games as its won me, but I can't take it out as I'm a gambling man and it leads to such fun board states.)
Agree on Cloudstone Curio not being a great option for Braids, unless you are playing an inordinate amount of ETB creatures. Crystal Shard and possibly Erratic Portal are both superior options as they let you dodge removal and give you another way to remove Braids. Have you considered High Market as another sacrifice outlet for Braids and dodging opposing thievery effects?
Myojin would be amazing, but I don't think it works with cheating it into play because the text calls for CASTING it from your hand. I might consider it in a particularly ramp happy version of Blue Braids, which is actually the version I play, but I think there are cheaper and more reliable draw options, like Rush of Knowledge since you need board presence to utilize Myojin anyway. Flow of Ideas is also pretty good if you play a fair amount of basic land fetching and it jives very well with Vedalken Shackles which I would also highly recommend, my favorite critter stealing behind Gilded Drake. I personally play Burnished Hart in addition to Solemn Simulacrum and Wayfarer's Bauble, so I'm never very sad to see either of them.
Love the Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx suggestion, especially for a list that wants to be able to hard cast some things as a backup plan. Glad to hear Temple Bell and other group huggy friends are doing well, I've been considering for my list as my group does get a little trigger happy if they think I'm keeping all the goods to myself (ridiculous when I run Gate to the Aether, which has cost me as many games as its won me, but I can't take it out as I'm a gambling man and it leads to such fun board states.)
Agree on Cloudstone Curio not being a great option for Braids, unless you are playing an inordinate amount of ETB creatures. Crystal Shard and possibly Erratic Portal are both superior options as they let you dodge removal and give you another way to remove Braids. Have you considered High Market as another sacrifice outlet for Braids and dodging opposing thievery effects?
For Myojin, you're right. I didn't read the errata. Putting it into play =/= casting. And for 10 mana, we can do something a lot different. He won't make the cut.
I will need to make this deck a little more ramp friendly. I want to be able to make this thing, dare I say, quite competitive in the future. I mean, I'd love to be able to stop that Azuza player and beat them before they can combo off or delay them enough. Burnished Hart will have to find a slot. Possibly in the spot of Otherwordly Atlas since it's 1 cmc higher than the bell and I have to wait a turn to get anything off of it.
Azami, Lady of Scrolls will probably come out for a land slot. I'd like to up that slot by at least one. I have a Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx lying around so I'll test that tomorrow. Once I can get my hands on a High Market and a Winding Canyons I'll let you guys know how it works in testing, but they should work fantastic. Anything to remove Braids or get her in faster will be great.
I'm hoping someone has a Quicksilver amulet for trade at the shop, I would like the addition of it.
I'll be testing different draw spells. I kind of want to aim more towards instant speed draws, simply because there is a big percentage of combo in the meta. I'd rather have the mana open for a counter until EoT. It might not be necessary, but it's what I'm comfortable with at the moment.
I do want to find another good win condition for the deck so I can safely remove Mind over Matter. Yeah. like my Eldrazi and Leviathan aren't enough... If I can get a Blightsteel Colossus it's going in as well.
Myojin would be amazing, but I don't think it works with cheating it into play because the text calls for CASTING it from your hand.
D'oh my bad it pays to read cards sometimes XP Terrain Generator can also be a good ramp option with the high amount of basics and as sacrifice outlets go Miren, the Moaning Well has done some work getting rid of braids and emergency sac'ing targeted big creatures for me.
Ironic that I'd see a Braids deck pop up (I run Braids myself; compared to yours, more lands and less control elements).
I agree that the deck needs a form of card draw. Cuz you semi overextend or you commit your artifacts to the board and then your Mana doubler + Braids are gone and you gave each opponent a 'free' braids trigger. =p I'm actually inspired to look into more card draw myself after looking at your list. Again, Braids needs the card draw so we can actually dump things into play and then not die to the kickback.
Few cards that I run that differ from your list are:
Hello guys, update time! Man I didn't get to test NEAR as much as I wanted to. I did find out a very big flaw in the deck, however. While it was only an annoyance against the preconstructed decks I was facing, I can only imagine how big of a pain in the neck it will be against more tuned decks.
That is of course, the high curve of the deck. While true, Braids brings it down a bit by cheating, if we don't have ramp, or worse get stuck on four lands, you're in for a terrible time. I've upped the land count to 35 to help combat this, and took out Azami, Lady of Scrolls. She's a holdover from when this used to be a Venser deck, and I don't run near as many wizards anymore. Sorry, but the Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx looks so much nicer.
Cloudstone Curio also bit the dust. Another holdover that served no major purpose except to bounce Braids, but it wasn't that good at it at that. Fabricate took it's place for it's great ability to grab whatever I really needed.
Mind over Matter and Otherworldly Atlas will be getting the cut later, MoM existing only as a combo piece, and the Atlas is far, far too slow to come online. Burnished Hart will be taking one of their slots, while the other will, ideally, be a Blightsteel Colossus. Mnemonic Wall might hit the bench for a bit until I get more instants or sorceries I want back, I can't decide. I'm trying to find more slots for the great cards being mentioned, as well as more card draw.
I do have a Gauntlet of Power lying around I can test but what else to take out...
D'oh my bad it pays to read cards sometimes XP Terrain Generator can also be a good ramp option with the high amount of basics and as sacrifice outlets go Miren, the Moaning Well has done some work getting rid of braids and emergency sac'ing targeted big creatures for me.
Terrain Generator added. Man it should have been in a long time ago. Same with Temple of the False God.
Aquajolt, I love your suggestions. I like the control elements, just as it's what's keeping the deck alive to beat more... competitive decks, for lack of a better word. What would you suggest be removed?
Okay, so I've brought this deck out of a six month retirement with a few changes. I'm still looking to tighten up the list and get a bit more draw out of it, but I need to test it a bit. Off to the changes.
There's a few more utility lands this time around. We never hurt for blue in this deck. We bumped the count up to 36 which may be a mistake with the mana rocks we're playing. I may move that back down to 35 to add in something else. High Market is there for sacrificing in response to stealing or if someone doesn't need a Braids' trigger. Winding Canyon is to flash out Braids or get a fatty out quick.
Back to Basics was removed due to most of my friends are on a budget, and it was much more feel bad than fun. Sure it won me games, but they asked me to stop playing her. So, we're trying to make it a bit more friendly. Yeah. Mono blue friendly.
I think the creatures are getting to where we want them. I don't know if I need mnemonic wall and archeomancer, so I'll be testing that to see if there I'll have a spot open there as well. Redundancy is fun, but this deck wins through smashing face. I could go infinite mana with palichron, but to do that, I really only have Venser bounce to win off of, or a huge blue sun I suppose.
But I'm looking at getting this girl back in the game, and I'm actually really really excited.
So I play tested a bit today. The deck runs okay. Once the draw engine goes, it goes great. But that kicks in later game, where unfair decks have already won or are setting up a little too late. It wins through combat with a few fatties, but it's not quite enough and easy to chump against guys who go infinite. So I will be looking for a combo, I'm just not sure what. I want it to be a creature combo, and I always could go DEN and Venser, but... not sure how I feel about it. I don't have that many ETB triggers to begin with...
Although I did end with drawing the last card in my deck and killed everyone with a huge psychosis crawler and a blightsteel. That was fun.
Suggestions are welcome and encouraged. But please note the want list for stuff I want to put in before suggesting anything. There's only a few cards. And if you see things that don't match with the way you think the deck is going, please suggest cuts as well.
And hey, eventually I'll even make it look pretty. But as for now, onto the nuts and bolts of the deck. Sorted by CMC and type.
4 Braids, Conjurer Adept
Creatures 25
2 Gilded Drake
2 Phantasmal Image
3 Burnished Hart
3 Thada Adel, Acquisitor
4 Archaeomancer
4 Phrexian Metamorph
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Sower of Temptation
4 Venser, Shaper Savant
5 Body Double
5 Ixidron
5 Mnemonic Wall
5 Psychosis Crawler
5 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
5 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
6 Consecrated Sphinx
6 Duplicant
6 Sphinx of Magosi
7 Sphinx of Uthuun
7 Phyrexian Ingester
9 Inkwell Leviathan
10 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
10 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
11 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
12 Blightsteel Colossus
0 Everflowing Chalice
1 Expedition Map
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Sol Ring
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
2 Swiftfoot Boots
3 Crystal Shard
3 Darksteel Ingot
3 Proteus Staff
3 Temple Bell
3 Worn Powerstone
4 Erratic Portal
4 Vedalken Orrery
5 Gilded Lotus
6 Caged Sun
Planeswalkers 2
3 Jace Beleren
5 Tezzeret the Seeker
Enchantments 4
1 Mystic Remora
2 Standstill
3 Rhystic Study
4 Leyline of Anticipation
Instants: 11
1 Mystical Tutor
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Twincast
3 Capsize
3 Hinder
3 Spell Crumple
4 Cryptic Command
4 Fact or Fiction
4 Mindbreak Trap
5 Spin into Myth
3x Blue Sun's Zenith
3 Fabricate
4 Rite of Replication
7 All is Dust
7 Blatant Thievery
7 Knowledge Exploitation
10 Time Stretch
2x Curse of the Swine
Lands 36
1 Academy Ruins
1 High Market
1 Mystifying Maze
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Temple of the False God
1 Terrain Generator
1 Winding Canyon
1 Tolaria West
26 Islands
Want List
Vanishing - Keep people from benefiting from braids for less mana
Strionic Resonator - Double Braids trigger? Okay
Sculpting Steel - Oh hey, a copy of the best artifact on the field
Riptide Shapeshifter Find a big fatty faster
Stolen Identity - Tokens of the best stuff on the field? Yes please.
Quicksilver Amulet - Oh, an Eldrazi for 4 mana? Or an ETB monster that I can bounce back? Yes please...
Blightsteel Colossus - Easy enough to figure out why.
I can probably take out the Mind Over Matter combos. This includes Azami, cause I don't have that many wizards. I might take her out for Proteus Staff, but hey, she's at least draw 1 or 2 a turn. Those are just for when I'm playing with more competitive people and still want a wacky board.
Suggestions are encouraged. There's a few cards I'm not sure if they fit, and I'm still not sure if I have enough to make me win if I go against anyone with a semi-tuned deck. I know it won't stand up to cut-throat combos, but it's not supposed to.
Change Log
21/01/14: Quick Ninja Edit: Added Stolen Identity to the want list. I have a copy but don't know what to remove...
22/01/14: In: Inkwell Leviathan, Sphinx of Uthuun, Proteus Staff. Out: Omniscience, Counterspell, Sphinx Ambassador.
EDH
Braids, Conjurer Adept
Tibor and Lumia
Glissa, the Traitor
Modern
Affinity
Steel Hellkite is solid removal for things blue otherwise needs a lot of help with. Pongify and Rapid Hybridization have had some great success in my own Blue Braids, very good at shooting down the fat they drop on the cheap, the 3/3 they get is kind of inconsequential when you just dropped an Eldrazi on them.
I like Sphinx of Uthuun in Blue Braids because you can never get enough Fact or Fiction, and it isn't that light a hitter (except compared to Eldrazi anyway.)
I might take out Azami for the Proteus Staff. Azami was in due to this deck being converted from a Venser, Shaper Savant deck.
The destroy effects, I need to find a slot for, as well as the other fliers. I'll be testing this tomorrow, but all suggestions on what to take out will be greatly appreciated.
EDH
Braids, Conjurer Adept
Tibor and Lumia
Glissa, the Traitor
Modern
Affinity
Thoughts on cuts...
Mind Over Matter: If you're dropping Azami, might as well drop this, the trick feels kind of off in this kind of deck to me anyway, not really conducive to the general gameplan.
Temple Bell and Otherworldly Atlus: I assume these are in here to combo off with Mind Over Matter, so if you cut that these can go too. If you really want to include an infinite, I would go with Palinchron and High Tide, because they both have a lot of use outside of comboing off with each other, unlike the previous combo pieces.
Generic Counterspell: Not bad by any means, but I'm not fond of it in EDH, I like my counters to do more than just send something to the grave once due to how recursion happy the format tends to be.
Omniscience: I don't really like it in Blue Braids unless you are going to play Gate to the Aether and Show and Tell, and even then I don't like it because it's inconsistent, I'd rather be playing stuff that jives more with Braids herself.
I haven't gotten my hands on one yet. Definitely something to look into. As for the Ambassador, it's more of a test. Could be funny, I don't know yet. Again, I'll let you know.
And definitely! I'll have a few game reports up tomorrow.
Mind Over Matter will probably be cut once I find a win con outside of "smash dudes in the face". I don't feel completely comfortable without a different way to win other than just swinging.
Temple Bell and the like are there simply to keep my hand (and possibly everyone else's) hands full, and help ping with the crawler. It's only one extra card, but hey, we'll see how it goes. I'll let you know after tomorrow.
Gate to Ether Could also be a good backup plan...
Counterspell and Omniscience cut is a good call. But are there any other win cons you guys can think of outside of going infinite? Most of my decks don't as I don't like going infinite. There's something about those combos (including the aforementioned MoM combo) that I don't like.
EDH
Braids, Conjurer Adept
Tibor and Lumia
Glissa, the Traitor
Modern
Affinity
Counterspell, let's face it I have better counters and I'd rather have the ability of the Proteus Staff. Cut.
Omniscience. Oh how I love you but I can't cheat you out and I'd rather have the game wrapped up by the time I can hardcast you. Cut for the much harder to get rid of and easier to recur Inkwell Leviathan that showed just how much work that guy could do.
Now, for [b]Game Reports[b]! I played three games today, one of which I don't have much of a report on. A well tuned Asuza player ended the game on turn 4, and I hadn't drawn into another counter to stop it. Oh well.
[b]Game One[/b] Two Prosh players and an Olororo player. One is pure precon. The game started off good, with a Leyline of Anticipation out first, followed by a by a bit of ramp. Dropped a Sphinx of Magosi early on to draw into more threats, along with a temple bell. Got the sphinx up to 10/10 before drawing into Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur, bouning Braids and controlling the board.
[b]Game Two[/b] Ashling the Pilgrim, Shattergang Brothers and Prosh, this time not a precon, again. I've heard Leyline and Sol ring are good. Turn two Braids. Brought in Inkwell Leviathan and let Braids die when Ashling went off the next turn. They couldn't deal with an Inkwell, and I Cyclonic Rifted once Ashling tapped out after brining in a Hellkite Tyrant, but not before the Shattergang guy lost all his toys. Guy had a lot of artifacts and then tapped out to do more shenanigans. I had nothing to block with, rifted on the end step, untapped, threw out some dudes. Then just kept control of the board. Let the Ashling player drop, then realized the other two had to go in a few minutes. Killed with MoM combo to just hurry up the game, even though I had lethal for one guy this turn, and Venser and Cyclonic Rift for anything the next guy did.
Things I've noticed:
This deck wants to draw cards. Holy crap does it want to draw cards. Things like Temple Bell and Jace Beleren help considerably, as well as keeping people happy. Add to it you can decide to turn it on or off, AND you can trigger the bell or atlas during your upkeep before Braid's trigger goes off, you can go from nothing worth dropping in your hand to something nice and big. It's definitely a good thing to have and I don't see removing it for a little bit.
The Sphinx of Magosi is also like that. If someone removes it, well, yeah kinda sucks but it's a reasonable threat, can draw cards if you have the mana in response, and does have evasion. I like it so far.
Mind over Matter still feels bad. I mean, I had lethal before I used it just to end the game, but still. I'd want another combo though.
Add to it Cloudstone Curio. I don't really have creatures I'd want to bounce. I might actually remove this since a lot of the stuff I cheat into play. Sure, it's a nice way to get rid of Braids but... I'm not convinced. I'll be doing more testing, so any questions or comments are greatly appreciated.
EDH
Braids, Conjurer Adept
Tibor and Lumia
Glissa, the Traitor
Modern
Affinity
Hm. Myojin of Seeing Winds would draw a LOT of cards, but it's not something I'd want without Braids on the field/after Braids has gotten too dangerous to BE on the field. Maybe. I'll see if there's anything that doesn't feel right.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is a BEAUTIFUL idea. Like holy crap. That's easily 6 mana a turn after Braids in my last games. Good addition. I did notice I might want to increase my land count by one or two, as it was difficult getting to 4-5 on those turns without assistance by Wayfarer's Bauble or Expedition Map. Also thinking of looking around for a Winding Canyons as another way to flash Braids in. I had to play politics to even get one trigger in the Ashling game.
EDH
Braids, Conjurer Adept
Tibor and Lumia
Glissa, the Traitor
Modern
Affinity
Love the Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx suggestion, especially for a list that wants to be able to hard cast some things as a backup plan. Glad to hear Temple Bell and other group huggy friends are doing well, I've been considering for my list as my group does get a little trigger happy if they think I'm keeping all the goods to myself (ridiculous when I run Gate to the Aether, which has cost me as many games as its won me, but I can't take it out as I'm a gambling man and it leads to such fun board states.)
Agree on Cloudstone Curio not being a great option for Braids, unless you are playing an inordinate amount of ETB creatures. Crystal Shard and possibly Erratic Portal are both superior options as they let you dodge removal and give you another way to remove Braids. Have you considered High Market as another sacrifice outlet for Braids and dodging opposing thievery effects?
For Myojin, you're right. I didn't read the errata. Putting it into play =/= casting. And for 10 mana, we can do something a lot different. He won't make the cut.
I will need to make this deck a little more ramp friendly. I want to be able to make this thing, dare I say, quite competitive in the future. I mean, I'd love to be able to stop that Azuza player and beat them before they can combo off or delay them enough. Burnished Hart will have to find a slot. Possibly in the spot of Otherwordly Atlas since it's 1 cmc higher than the bell and I have to wait a turn to get anything off of it.
Azami, Lady of Scrolls will probably come out for a land slot. I'd like to up that slot by at least one. I have a Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx lying around so I'll test that tomorrow. Once I can get my hands on a High Market and a Winding Canyons I'll let you guys know how it works in testing, but they should work fantastic. Anything to remove Braids or get her in faster will be great.
I'm hoping someone has a Quicksilver amulet for trade at the shop, I would like the addition of it.
I'll be testing different draw spells. I kind of want to aim more towards instant speed draws, simply because there is a big percentage of combo in the meta. I'd rather have the mana open for a counter until EoT. It might not be necessary, but it's what I'm comfortable with at the moment.
I do want to find another good win condition for the deck so I can safely remove Mind over Matter. Yeah. like my Eldrazi and Leviathan aren't enough... If I can get a Blightsteel Colossus it's going in as well.
EDH
Braids, Conjurer Adept
Tibor and Lumia
Glissa, the Traitor
Modern
Affinity
D'oh my bad it pays to read cards sometimes XP
Terrain Generator can also be a good ramp option with the high amount of basics and as sacrifice outlets go Miren, the Moaning Well has done some work getting rid of braids and emergency sac'ing targeted big creatures for me.
I agree that the deck needs a form of card draw. Cuz you semi overextend or you commit your artifacts to the board and then your Mana doubler + Braids are gone and you gave each opponent a 'free' braids trigger. =p I'm actually inspired to look into more card draw myself after looking at your list. Again, Braids needs the card draw so we can actually dump things into play and then not die to the kickback.
Few cards that I run that differ from your list are:
Kira, Great Glass-Spinner - protects your fatties
Steel Hellkite - Pokes somene and
Tidesprout Tyrant - bounce their threats, also really dumb with Capsize
Blightsteel Colossus - "Deal with this or die!"
Memnarch - 2x mana = steal your ****!
Inudate Bounce stuff. Also check out Wash Out. Untargetable bounce!
All is Dust - keeps your artifacts/eldrazi alive. Their stuff, not so much.
Vedalken Shackles - steal almost anything they put out.
Extraplanar Lens - braids wants more mana!
Gauntlet of Power
Tezzeret the Seeker - Tezz and the below help tutor your fatties, mana doublers and whatever you need (Oblivion Stone for wraths for ex)
Treasure Mage
Fabricate
- Snow-covered Island
- Scrying Sheets
- Helps get more lands in hand, and with snow-covered + Extraplanar lens, only your mana is doubled.Executive Infiltrator of [House Dimir].
My Trade Thread
Current EDH Decks
Braids
Wrexial
Bruna
Marath
Vorel
Tariel WIP
That is of course, the high curve of the deck. While true, Braids brings it down a bit by cheating, if we don't have ramp, or worse get stuck on four lands, you're in for a terrible time. I've upped the land count to 35 to help combat this, and took out Azami, Lady of Scrolls. She's a holdover from when this used to be a Venser deck, and I don't run near as many wizards anymore. Sorry, but the Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx looks so much nicer.
Cloudstone Curio also bit the dust. Another holdover that served no major purpose except to bounce Braids, but it wasn't that good at it at that. Fabricate took it's place for it's great ability to grab whatever I really needed.
Mind over Matter and Otherworldly Atlas will be getting the cut later, MoM existing only as a combo piece, and the Atlas is far, far too slow to come online. Burnished Hart will be taking one of their slots, while the other will, ideally, be a Blightsteel Colossus. Mnemonic Wall might hit the bench for a bit until I get more instants or sorceries I want back, I can't decide. I'm trying to find more slots for the great cards being mentioned, as well as more card draw.
I do have a Gauntlet of Power lying around I can test but what else to take out...
Terrain Generator added. Man it should have been in a long time ago. Same with Temple of the False God.
Aquajolt, I love your suggestions. I like the control elements, just as it's what's keeping the deck alive to beat more... competitive decks, for lack of a better word. What would you suggest be removed?
EDH
Braids, Conjurer Adept
Tibor and Lumia
Glissa, the Traitor
Modern
Affinity
There's a few more utility lands this time around. We never hurt for blue in this deck. We bumped the count up to 36 which may be a mistake with the mana rocks we're playing. I may move that back down to 35 to add in something else. High Market is there for sacrificing in response to stealing or if someone doesn't need a Braids' trigger. Winding Canyon is to flash out Braids or get a fatty out quick.
Back to Basics was removed due to most of my friends are on a budget, and it was much more feel bad than fun. Sure it won me games, but they asked me to stop playing her. So, we're trying to make it a bit more friendly. Yeah. Mono blue friendly.
I think the creatures are getting to where we want them. I don't know if I need mnemonic wall and archeomancer, so I'll be testing that to see if there I'll have a spot open there as well. Redundancy is fun, but this deck wins through smashing face. I could go infinite mana with palichron, but to do that, I really only have Venser bounce to win off of, or a huge blue sun I suppose.
But I'm looking at getting this girl back in the game, and I'm actually really really excited.
EDH
Braids, Conjurer Adept
Tibor and Lumia
Glissa, the Traitor
Modern
Affinity
Although I did end with drawing the last card in my deck and killed everyone with a huge psychosis crawler and a blightsteel. That was fun.
EDH
Braids, Conjurer Adept
Tibor and Lumia
Glissa, the Traitor
Modern
Affinity