In the past, I had built a mono-green deck that ran Kamahl, Fist of Krosa. While beating in with him was always a backup plan, I found the main way that I would generally win would be by resolving large Genesis Waves, Regal Forces, Skullclamps, and Greater Goods into large Gaea's Cradles, Nykthoses, and other large mana sources.
When I saw Freyalise I knew I'd have to test her out. If Freyalise is not properly pressured, this deck will generally win the game on turn 4-6. Freyalise (or Shamanic Revelation, or Collective Unconscious) acts as the initial "Time Spiral" effect that will draw you into "High Tide" effects, like Gaea's Cradle. Then, you will draw your whole deck and have a bevy of mana via Gaea's Cradles, Deserted Temples, Nykthoses, and extra land drops. If you haven't picked up yet, this deck plays out much like Legacy High Tide in how it attempts to draw into mana and use that mana to draw more cards.
Tl;dr - A combo deck that functions like High Tide/Eggs in drawing the entire deck, exiling everyone's permanents, and swinging for infinite. Generally goes off relatively quickly; ~T4-T5 generally, ~T6-T7 by the latest (in the case of an initial whiff).
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth - Primarily, GY recycler w/Survival/Fauna Shaman. Kozilek + Survival allows GY access, Kozilek+Survival+Crop Rotation allows you to "untap" lands with Crop Rotation. Additionally, card draw/Greater Good fodder in a pinch. Combos with Sabertooth/infinite mana, and powers infinite combos if Sabertooth is exiled (infinite draw w/Sabertooth).
Priest of Titania - Mana dork, fast mana, infinite mana with haste+Temur Sabertooth
Realm Seekers - Tutorable Cradle/Nykthos/Temple tutor (will often generate mana despite spending 9-10 mana on the initial investment; also tutors for Eye/Mouth in flooding pinches
I think 40 is a lot of land, if you play with partial Paris rules at least. I run 32 in Omnath, and mulligan pretty aggresively.
Depending on your meta, you might also want some more "fast start" cards: Exploration, Burgeoning, Mana Crypt. Also Nature's Lore and Three Visits. I aim for T4-5 win, and I've found fast starts to be necessary. But you might need more card advantage for that to work.
I run Also Llanowar Elves and friends, but that's largely for a T2 Omnath.
I love tutors, and Natural Order is one of the strongest.
I think Solemn Simulacrum is actually too slow in mono-G, but that's just me. You might want High Market as a sacrifice outlet, especially if you run Simulacrum.
What's the Lonely Island (no pun intended) doing there?
I'm curious to hear how Earthcraft performs, as I don't run it in mono-G.
EDITS:
Also Search for Tomorrow is good ramp, especially since you don't really have many 1 drops.
I think 40 is a lot of land, if you play with partial Paris rules at least. I run 32 in Omnath, and mulligan pretty aggresively.
Depending on your meta, you might also want some more "fast start" cards: Exploration, Burgeoning, Mana Crypt. Also Nature's Lore and Three Visits. I aim for T4-5 win, and I've found fast starts to be necessary. But you might need more card advantage for that to work.
I run Also Llanowar Elves and friends, but that's largely for a T2 Omnath.
I love tutors, and Natural Order is one of the strongest.
I think Solemn Simulacrum is actually too slow in mono-G, but that's just me. You might want High Market as a sacrifice outlet, especially if you run Simulacrum.
What's the Lonely Island (no pun intended) doing there?
I'm curious to hear how Earthcraft performs, as I don't run it in mono-G.
EDITS:
Also Search for Tomorrow is good ramp, especially since you don't really have many 1 drops.
The Island was there as a placeholder for Myriad Landscape, my bad! Exploration and Burgeoning should probably be in there, as they both power out a T3 Freyalise. Same with Mana Crypt, but I may be building a second EDH deck before I shell out $200 for the card. Maybe I'll take your advice and cut Solemn Simulacrum - it's awkward how he doesn't speed up Freyalise coming out.
I've found Nature's Lore effects are actually not great here, because they don't speed up Freyalise significantly and are only card parity. Llanowar Elves and friends aren't great here either for the same reasons.
This deck can go off somewhere between turns 5 and 8 (faster if Freyalise hits ult), but it's really meant to play with a more controlling style. With a consistent land advantage, you can press the asymmetry of board wipes like All Is Dust and Oblivion Stone, while constantly threatening to go off at any point with Regal Force and Genesis Wave effects. It's not's quite as fast as Omnath, but that sacrifice in speed comes at the bonus of being a little more resilient to failing to launch the first or even second time. Your primary goal is to win quickly, but the long game is really in your favor.
I've tried Search for Tomorrow before and just really haven't been thrilled - as I said earlier, I'm not a huge fan of card-parity ramp spells. I've run Terastodon and Woodfall Primus before and haven't been impressed when I'm not focusing on a single player's lands (and that's so detrimental to that single player's experience as to hurt the game). In fact, I'm even considering cutting some artifact/enchantment hate given the possibility of just dealing with them via Freyalise (though more obviously never hurts).
Considering the obvious synergy between Natural Order and Freyalise's +2, that'll probably need to make an appearance as well.
I'm a big fan of 39 lands, which is what I consider that I run (I don't generally consider Dryad Arbor a land mid-game). However, given that this deck was formerly lead by Kamahl, it might be worth cutting a few to reduce the chances of flooding out. Also, the various playgroups I visit vary from strict to generous mulligan rules, so I like to be able to consistently rip good openers w/o mulligans.
Also, I said this deck likes to grind, and you can't grind effectively if you're not hitting your land drops.
I can tell you right now that Earthcraft is EXTREMELY good, to the point of almost-degeneracy. The fact that your creatures don't have summoning sickness makes your token produces net mana when you cast them, especially if you have a couple mana doublers out. Add in Ant Queen for infinite tokens and mana, then with any kind of sink you win the game.
I like Earthcraft generally with token decks and mana ramp, I've had good times with it in Marath.
Earthcraft's in there. I'm not sure I'm such a huge fan of Rings - I can see it in Marath, but Rings unfortunately does not copy the actual addition or subtraction of loyalty on Freyalise. As such, you're really only looking at 2 mana for a Llanowar or Naturalize once per turn at the cost of a card. Not sure how much I like that.
Also, as cute as Rings/Deserted Temple/(Cradle/Nykthos) is, this deck already generates infinite mana via Earthcraft/Ant Queen/2x mana doubler, and I'm not sure if Rings would be worth running as solely a combo piece (you also need a way to use the infinite mana afterwards).
Additionally, I've been considering adding Brutalizer Exarch to deal with a potentially commander-heavy meta. Other cards I've been considering are Deranged Hermit and Wolfbriar Elemental to potentially combo with Freyalise's ult, and Null Rod (only shuts down 5 of our own cards).
Also, should I be running Regrowth? I've always been disappointed with the card in monocolor, but something tells me I should give it another shot anyway. Maybe I should consider running more Fogs a la Constant Mists?
For now, I've made a minor change: I've cut Inkmoth Nexus for Reliquary Tower. While I'm a big fan of Inkmoth Nexus in general, it's not as good w/o Kamahl at the helm; and Reliquary Tower is obviously somewhat of a staple here. I feel pretty confident I don't want to be running many more colorless sources, so I don't know about cutting a Forest (especially considering I'm likely going to want to make a cut for Arcane Lighthouse at some point).
Again, I really appreciate all the feedback guys, and am looking forward to getting some more!
A word about Hall of Gemstone. It obviously can be quite strong, and even shuts down some decks. But honestly, it's kind of a lame move, it's useless against mono-colored decks, has no synergy with, etc. It's like an Iona that you don't have to work for. Anyway, people might not want to play you. Multicolor decks usually have ways around it through artifacts/creatures. I just think there are classier ways to win. And my meta is cutthroat.
I see why you may not want Llanowar Elves and friends. Again, they're mostly for my T2 Omnath. (I'm starting to notice my replies are all biased since I just play Omnath!) I'm also jealous that you get 5 additional card slots for not running them
I still like 2 CMC ramp. Well, just the good ones: Nature's Lore and Three Visits. I'm usually happier to see those than the 4 CMC ones (except Skyshroud Claim of course!)
Yes, 39 lands is good for regular Paris. I run 32, and it's risky, but it does make big draw spells (Garruk, Greater Good, etc.) really potent. And it weakens Exploration and friends, but again I mostly have those for quick ramp. Basically, I try to ramp hard enough to get a big card refill spell. Then I go for the win. Exploration et al are actually not bad top-decks when you draw 5+ cards at a time.
Earthcraft is an interesting choice--thanks for the analysis. I never liked Ant Queen, but I've always liked Earthcraft as a card. Is it effective without mana doublers? In Freyalise, it gives Elves haste, but otherwise? With Zendikar it's also potent. I just don't like relying on effects like, "it's great if you have a mana doubler." But again perhaps that's because I play Omnath. You don't need another piece with a mana doubler. A fresh turn with a mana doubler alone will probably win you the game.
On that note, Doubling Cube is an interesting "mana doubler." It's much more potent in Omnath.
I think Stunted Growth seems like a 1v1 card. If you don't like Terastodon, this card is way dirtier. And kind of a mean card like Gemonstone.
Summoner's Pact is also really good. Play it the turn you win for whatever you need (i.e. Craterhoof :P)
I'd cut Spike Weaver. If you can't win in combat, you're doing it wrong. (Clearly an overgeneralization, but also maybe somewhat true??)
I agree with your listed cuts. I'd make the following replacements:
Solemn Simulacrum --> Hunting Wilds
Bane of Progress --> Wave of Virtriol (New cards--it's insane. Not tutorable but... man it's powerful.)
Wickerbough Elder --> Exploration (or Burgeoning)
Reclamation Sage --> Lotus Cobra (Trust me!! haha)
Farhaven Elf --> Natural Order (I think the elf is too slow, and you should not be short on tutors.)
Forest --> Mana Crypt (Even if it's just for an "ideal" decklist.)
These are more personal choices; I wouldn't necessarily argue they're "just better", but I just prefer these swaps:
Acidic Slime --> Ulamog (go big! Do what green can't do! (sshhhh Desert Twister, shhh...)
Beast Within --> Terastodon (BW is not tutorable so I don't like it.)
Birthing Pod --> Summoner's Pact (Do you have a set Birthing Pod chain? If not I would ditch it. Avenger --> Craterhoof is good, but Tooth and Nail does that trick ;))
Spike Weaver --> Soul of New Phyrexia
Might also want to try Sylvan Offering (new card). It's a free spell with an untapped Gaea's Cradle. It's also free with Earthcraft!
Also, Titania is really strong in general. Entices against Armageddons, differently than Kamahl. Kamahl + 'geddon = bad for opponent. Titania + 'geddon = good for you.
A word about Hall of Gemstone. It obviously can be quite strong, and even shuts down some decks. But honestly, it's kind of a lame move, it's useless against mono-colored decks, has no synergy with, etc. It's like an Iona that you don't have to work for. Anyway, people might not want to play you. Multicolor decks usually have ways around it through artifacts/creatures. I just think there are classier ways to win. And my meta is cutthroat.
I see why you may not want Llanowar Elves and friends. Again, they're mostly for my T2 Omnath. (I'm starting to notice my replies are all biased since I just play Omnath!) I'm also jealous that you get 5 additional card slots for not running them
I still like 2 CMC ramp. Well, just the good ones: Nature's Lore and Three Visits. I'm usually happier to see those than the 4 CMC ones (except Skyshroud Claim of course!)
Yes, 39 lands is good for regular Paris. I run 32, and it's risky, but it does make big draw spells (Garruk, Greater Good, etc.) really potent. And it weakens Exploration and friends, but again I mostly have those for quick ramp. Basically, I try to ramp hard enough to get a big card refill spell. Then I go for the win. Exploration et al are actually not bad top-decks when you draw 5+ cards at a time.
Earthcraft is an interesting choice--thanks for the analysis. I never liked Ant Queen, but I've always liked Earthcraft as a card. Is it effective without mana doublers? In Freyalise, it gives Elves haste, but otherwise? With Zendikar it's also potent. I just don't like relying on effects like, "it's great if you have a mana doubler." But again perhaps that's because I play Omnath. You don't need another piece with a mana doubler. A fresh turn with a mana doubler alone will probably win you the game.
On that note, Doubling Cube is an interesting "mana doubler." It's much more potent in Omnath.
I think Stunted Growth seems like a 1v1 card. If you don't like Terastodon, this card is way dirtier. And kind of a mean card like Gemonstone.
Summoner's Pact is also really good. Play it the turn you win for whatever you need (i.e. Craterhoof :P)
I'd cut Spike Weaver. If you can't win in combat, you're doing it wrong. (Clearly an overgeneralization, but also maybe somewhat true??)
I agree with your listed cuts. I'd make the following replacements:
Solemn Simulacrum --> Hunting Wilds
Bane of Progress --> Wave of Virtriol (New cards--it's insane. Not tutorable but... man it's powerful.)
Wickerbough Elder --> Exploration (or Burgeoning)
Reclamation Sage --> Lotus Cobra (Trust me!! haha)
Farhaven Elf --> Natural Order (I think the elf is too slow, and you should not be short on tutors.)
Forest --> Mana Crypt (Even if it's just for an "ideal" decklist.)
These are more personal choices; I wouldn't necessarily argue they're "just better", but I just prefer these swaps:
Acidic Slime --> Ulamog (go big! Do what green can't do! (sshhhh Desert Twister, shhh...)
Beast Within --> Terastodon (BW is not tutorable so I don't like it.)
Birthing Pod --> Summoner's Pact (Do you have a set Birthing Pod chain? If not I would ditch it. Avenger --> Craterhoof is good, but Tooth and Nail does that trick ;))
Spike Weaver --> Soul of New Phyrexia
Might also want to try Sylvan Offering (new card). It's a free spell with an untapped Gaea's Cradle. It's also free with Earthcraft!
Also, Titania is really strong in general. Entices against Armageddons, differently than Kamahl. Kamahl + 'geddon = bad for opponent. Titania + 'geddon = good for you.
I already run Lotus Cobra and Hunting Wilds. Really not sure about Bane for Vitriol - the biggest point in favor of Bane is you can always grab him when you need him (a lot more than than you can say for the latter).
I used to run Ulamog, but found him always underwhelming when cast. Kozilek can help you keep going once you go off. BW's not tutorable, but the effect's creature removal which the deck desparately needs. Spike Weaver saves me a lot - you can stop Omnath or whoever in his tracks and find a wrath/counter-kill.
I have a few set Birthing Pod chains - it's obviously a weaker card w/o Kamahl at the helm, but it's still good value. Of course, if we gut the 4s between Wickerbough, Solemn, and Weaver it gets a lot worse.
Rampaging Baloths is quite strong with Earthcraft, or just constantly threatening with Skyshroud Claim effects/Boundless Realms.
What I mean by "Earthcraft's great with a mana doubler" is that you will generally win the game on-turn if both hit the field. Without a doubler, Earthcraft's still great - it just doesn't win the game the same turn.
Of these cuts, I feel the ones I'm most confident in are Rec Sage -> Exploration, Farhaven Elf -> Natural Order, and maybe something for Wave of Vitriol or Sylvan Offering. Considering going Kamahl -> Deranged Hermit, but that still leaves me with a needed cut for Mana Vault - considering one of Solemn and Wickerbough, but I don't feel both should go, especially with Pod still in the deck.
The other possibility is to cut Pod completely, which should be fine with NO in the deck. I also feel fine cutting Ant Queen if Deranged Hermit's coming in. So, maybe:
-Solemn
-Pod
-Rec Sage
-Ant Queen
+Natural Order
+Exploration
+Mana Vault
+Deranged Hermit
And then maybe cut Farhaven Elf and/or Kamahl for something? How do these look?
Still kind of like Farhaven because of that T4 Freyalise. But T4 Freyalise shouldn't be hard without Farhaven (hopefully).
Ah sorry about that, it was a different mono-G thread I was having to convince someone of Lotus Cobra!
Good point about Farhaven and T4. Again, I'm used to early ramp so, T4 Freyalise should be almost worst-case scenario. I'd go for T3
Makes sense about Beast Within--it's definitely a great card. Since I go for as fast as possible, I don't run it or even All Is Dust or Oblivion Stone. My removal suite is Terastodon, Woodfall Primus (great in Omnath, since I have lots of sac outlets, like Life's Legacy, Momentous Fall), Duplicant, Ulamog, Krosan Grip (important in my meta to stop infinite combos).
Yea makes sense about mana doubler being effective same-turn. That's a huge downside I've noticed with Omnath. I'm always preoccupied thinking, "Don't blow up my Mana Reflection, don't blow up my Mana Reflection..." I'm a big fan of keeping things going same-turn in EDH. Earthcraft is DEFINITELY an enabler of that. Man, Hermit Druid is good with Earthcraft too. I'll have to test it. Again, thanks!
Ah sorry about that, it was a different mono-G thread I was having to convince someone of Lotus Cobra!
Good point about Farhaven and T4. Again, I'm used to early ramp so, T4 Freyalise should be almost worst-case scenario. I'd go for T3
Makes sense about Beast Within--it's definitely a great card. Since I go for as fast as possible, I don't run it or even All Is Dust or Oblivion Stone. My removal suite is Terastodon, Woodfall Primus (great in Omnath, since I have lots of sac outlets, like Life's Legacy, Momentous Fall), Duplicant, Ulamog, Krosan Grip (important in my meta to stop infinite combos).
Yea makes sense about mana doubler being effective same-turn. That's a huge downside I've noticed with Omnath. I'm always preoccupied thinking, "Don't blow up my Mana Reflection, don't blow up my Mana Reflection..." I'm a big fan of keeping things going same-turn in EDH. Earthcraft is DEFINITELY an enabler of that. Man, Hermit Druid is good with Earthcraft too. I'll have to test it. Again, thanks!
Ant Queen's also amazing with Earthcraft. By itself, it becomes G: Make a 1/1 (that effectively taps for G next turn). With a mana doubler, it makes infinite tapped 1/1s that tap for infinite mana the following turn, and with two it makes infinite mana and infinite untapped 1/1s. But Ant Queen's also really awkward without Kamahl (that's why she was in there in the first place), so I'm not sure if she's still worth it. EoT making tokens into -6 is still good value, though.
Yeah, I like a more controlling mono-green approach. You lose out on some number of really explosive starts, but it's just so much fun to play the control deck on mono-green, and I like longer games.
I like K-Grip, I just find it a lot less flexible than Beast Within and just as hard to draw into.
And I love Lotus Cobra. I went out of my way to get a GP foil. I need to find the enemy fetches sometime as well - Lotus Cobra -> fetch is T3 Freyalise.
All in all, things went pretty well, especially considering the obscene amount of hate Freyalise seemed to receive (I have a reputation with the deck from before her release, and everyone was scared of the new Planeswalker-general). Over the night, she was countered three times in one game, Phyrexian Revoker'd twice, Vampire Nevermored once, Hexmaged twice, and Brutalizer Exarch'd once.
...However, she was pretty great when she landed. Some initial impressions of her abilities. Her +2 is really strong. It's definitely right not to ult some turns and just continuing to build your boardstate, if you don't feel under much pressure. The ability to come up with mana dorks while building loyalty is definitely a lot better than it looks on paper. I really enjoyed it.
The -2 is really clutch. Over the night, it saved me from Whispersilk Cloak beats, killed a Rhystic Study that everyone was giving the controller cards with, and more. However, it's definitely not something there to be relied on. Freyalise hits 1 if you come out and -2, meaning that she can be effectively dead for a while. Also, there's the real cost of potentially increasing your somewhat-hefty general tax by 2 for something really minor.
Her ultimate is as insane as people predicted, but you still need a decent boardstate to back it up. Which brings me back to the +2; it's not uncommon to build her to 9 or so if you feel you need an extra turn to set up.
All in all, I really enjoyed playing her. I'm not sure if she has the same raw late-game power that Kamahl brought to the table (probably doesn't), but she definitely brings utility in spades. Llanowar Elves is an underrated creature when you're getting them for free, and I feel a lot of people don't realize that.
AM NOT SURE OF: Ant Queen - She makes dudes, but she does so at a hefty price. Not sure if she'll make the cut going forward. Possibly considering something along the lines of Wolfbriar Elemental, but even he's on the pricier side (and does nothing if cheated in).
DID NOT LIKE: Burgeoning - Unlike Exploration, really doesn't help past the very early stages of the game, and dropping extra lands on other people's turn is surprisingly irrelevant late-game (unlike Exploration, which can help in "going off," by dropping that critical Gaea's Cradle/Deserted Temple/Nykthos on-turn). Reliquary Tower - Generally you won't have to pass turn after resolving a Freyalise ultimate, and in the rare case you do, you're fine keeping your 7 best cards. You'll be pitching a lot of lands anyway.
WOULD LIKE GOING FORWARD:
More artifact hate. As I alluded to above, Freyalise is more of an "oh *****" button than "I can constantly rely on this." As such, people will use disruption to prevent her from hitting the battlefield, which more artifact hate can alleviate. Wickerbough Elder and/or Reclamation Sage are coming back in.
All in all, I was pretty impressed with her, considering I had to dodge a lot of "new general" hate. Excited to run her more going forward!
Thanks for the updates! Yea, makes sense about Burgeoning. And I don't like Reliquary tower in mono-G either. When you draw lots of cards, you usually 1) win that turn, 2) continue playing until you're back down to almost 7 anyway, or 3) if you can't play down to 7, you don't care about discarding some unneeded stuff. I've never played a huge draw spell (~7+ cards) and thought, "Man, I really wish I had Reliquary Tower."
Considering a potential cut for Song of the Dryads - I haven't been altogether that impressed with Garruk, Primal Hunter lately, would that be a possible cut? The +1 is alright, but in the current build there are only 9 creatures in the whole deck that have 3 or more power (and some of those like Krosan Tusker and Kozilek, Butcher of Truth are rarely cast). I feel like it's considerably worse than Harmonize, which is really only decent in this deck.
The only real time I feel I draw a ton of cards with him is post-Craterhoof, and that really isn't the time when you really need to be drawing cards.
I would cut Kozilek himself, but it's actually really important to have the GY trigger in order to be able to get key pieces out of the GY (the only GY recovery this deck has is Eternal Witness). Therefore, he or Ulamog must stay, and I prefer drawing 4 cards for 1 less than an 11-mana Vindicate (which is generally too late for the latter to be overwhelmingly important). Krosan Tusker is necessary for the Fierce Empath toolbox. This leaves potentially Wolfbriar Elemental as potentially deserving to be cut, but I really like the effect in interaction with Regal Force/Freyalise and Gaea's Cradle effects.
Right now Song and Doubling Season are on the shortlist of cards I can't find room for, and I feel Song's the better card (Doubling Season being winmore) - but is it good enough to deserve a slot in the deck? What are the next cuts?
Also, here's the most recent set of changes in all their glory:
The only real surprise I feel here is the removal of Vorinclex, but the card ended up on my opponents' side of the field more often than it did mine (and half the time, it wouldn't do much on my side of the field). Another card that barely didn't make the cut was Sylvan Scrying, as another way of getting key utility lands.
The list looks solid, but what are your win cons of the deck? Might I suggest Triumph of the Hordes?
Win cons are token swarm into Akroma's Memorial/Kamahl, Fist of Krosa/Craterhoof Behemoth. The deck contains a single infinite combo in the following: Ant Queen + Earthcraft + mana doubler/Doubling Season + mana doubler/Doubling Season/Gaea's Cradle for infinite mana and tokens. From there, Kamahl will untap all your basics, animate them and infinite Overrun, while Memorial will let you swing with everything (and Craterhoof allows you to swing with a small number of arbitrarily large creatures).
Triumph of the Hordes is a good idea, but I feel it's ultimately overkill (for an Overrun not attached to a tutorable creature). I'll toss it in the next time I get in some games to give it a test run.
Got in some more test games tonight, really like the current list. Considering going down to 39 lands to support Doubling Season - the ability to cast Freyalise and ult as many times as you have mana is too powerful to pass up.
Can't wait to pick up the actual cards this weekend (and be able to stop playing with proxies!)
If you're not against using infinite combos, have you considered Squirrel Nest to make that combo a little easier?
Also, Altar of Dementia has been a pretty hilarious win condition in my own Freyalise deck, provided your meta isn't packed full of Eldrazi.
I guess it would be a little better to describe this deck's gameplan. The turn that Freyalise ultimates, or when you have a large Genesis Wave, or when you cast a large Regal Force will generally lead to you hitting Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx/Deserted Temple/Earthcraft/Gaea's Cradle/Crop Rotation. From there you can get more mana which will turn into more cards. Once your mana/card generation is going, you will have access to a situation with your deck in your hand. If this doesn't happen on-turn, it will almost assuredly happen the turn following.
Additionally, you don't have to be aggressive with this engine. If you meet a group that is playing lots of disruption (or you're playing against decks more aggressive than yours), you can also play that game with your own sweepers and spot removal, naturally building yourself into such a position instead of trying to explosively generate it.
My primary goal in running this deck is to play cards that get me into a position where I can assuredly win the game, not to try and go all-in on an easy-to-disrupt combo; the deck's design is to try and get there quickly, but to have the option to grind out if the situation calls for it.
Because the deck's built around reaching this end game, it's better to run more cards that facilitate you getting there rather than trying to run more cards that win once you're there - because once you're there, you win. If Spike Weaver's a problem in your meta, I guess I could see the argument for a mill-based wincon, but I feel an Eldrazi in the deck is much harder to deal with than Fog effects. Of course, in an infinite mill scenario you can exile all graveyards with Scavenging Ooze as well. Goblin Cannon is an option, but again I don't know how much I like running cards that are dead if they won't combo off.
I guess I'd be looking for a card that simultaneously lets me win outside the combo phase, while providing a major ancillary benefit to help me "go off." However, if Fog effects suddenly got drastically popular around me, I'd probably consider Scavenging Ooze/Altar of the Brood as a combo kill as opposed to the above methods. the only way to stop it (assuming you haven't lost your pieces) would be by your opponent running GY replacement effects such as Blightsteel Colossus or Progenitus, and in that case they only buy themselves 1-2 turns, with the large majority of their library in exile.
Any chance I could see your list? Is it similar to the Hua Tuo list in your sig? I've considered running some non-combat wincon before, but mill just seems awkward in a meta where your combo's hosed by a single Eldrazi.
Squirrel Nest can be pretty bad at times, but I've always enjoyed using it just to make some Skullclamp fodder or chump blockers.
Altar of Dementia I'll agree is a pretty bad card, but when throwing down an army of tokens I try to win instantly rather than leaving myself open to sorcery speed removal until my next turn. I know I could run Concordant Crossroads to get around that but in all honesty I see that as just as bad most of the time, and even worse it can actually help opponents.
I'm not at a computer at the moment so I've not got my entire Freyalise list to hand, but the idea of the deck is to get Freyalise out early with ramp and mana dorks (turn 3 is ideal), then drop some Stax cards, and then ramp and draw into a way to create a ton of tokens. It's quite different to my Hua Tuo list, but the main similarity is the attempt to avoid the combat phase.
Yeah, I think our gameplans are mostly similar while being slightly different. I just don't feel the mono-green Stax build has much support (with Titania builds being perhaps the slight exception). So instead I've included a good amount of reactive disruption a la utility creatures (Rec Sage/Slime/Duplicant/Hornet Queen and access via tutors), spot removal (Beast Within/Song), and mass removal (Oblivion Stone/All Is Dust).
I also really like T3 Freyalise, but I feel mana dorks are too disruptable via opposing sweepers. So while in many ways I'm much more likely to get the T4 Freyalise, I've included a number of ways to get a T2/T3 Freyalise via 1 card as opposed to needing to go runner-runner on dork+ramp spell (Joraga Treespeaker, Sol Ring, Mana Vault, Exploration all get you there by themselves). Also, the high number of dorks you need for the T3 Freyalise kind of cuts down your deckbuilding options.
I also have an extreme dislike of Concordant Crossroads' tendency to backfire - that's why my win conditions tend to circumvent it (I flat-out don't run Crossroads), trying to go off via Akroma's Memorial, Kamahl Fist of Krosa, and Craterhoof Behemoth. If I was really trying to avoid the combat phase I'd include Altar of the Brood, but I don't think the relatively high possibility of dead-drawing it is worth the slight edge it gives vs. Fog effects.
I also THINK that there might be a way to repetitively bounce Acidic Slime and Duplicant via clever use of Eldrazi, Greater Good, and the Ant Queen/Earthcraft/Kamahl combo (for infinite mana and 1+3X/1+3X sized tokens), using Scavenging Ooze to sculpt your own graveyard in a fashion to provide you guaranteed removal with each iteration of a Greater Good loop - such a method would clear off all boards and give you the win in an additional turn without having to worry about anyone disrupting you in the meantime. I've pulled it off exactly once by taking a literal 20-30 minutes in a game where I explained what I was doing - but of course being able to just mill everyone and exile would pull this off much more quickly and effectively.
In the end, I just want to make the deck as streamlined as possible. Since most of the times you go off you're rolling the dice as to drawing gas over whiffing on playables (as you're using large draw effects as opposed to tutors), I feel there's a real danger with cluttering the deck with too many cards that are only good after you've won. It's why I excluded Doubling Season until I realized that it's infinite draw for a surprisingly reasonable amount of mana (via recasting Freyalise).
My issues with Squirrel Nest are that it costs a card, stunts your mana development, and screams at everyone to kill the card before you combo off. The other cards are much better on their own and don't inspire that same kind of fear.
I really appreciate the advice though; I'm happy to find someone else was thinking along the same lines.
Out of curiosity, what are people's opinions on Rampaging Baloths? The landfall/Earthcraft interaction is nice, but without Akroma's Memorial they have the negative effect of giving players a full turn to deal with the 4/4s that are generated. Also kind of awkward when you're going off with Freyalise (you want to ideally play your lands after you draw). Was considering perhaps adding some number of the following cards, and was looking for cuts:
Here you go! There's still a lot of room for improvement, and the more I play it the more I'm considering removing some of the Stax pieces (Smokestack, Imi Statue), one or two of the untappers, and Altar of Dementia, which would then leave me with a few slots to play with. Considerations for the slots currently are Staff of Domination, Blasting Station and Thousand-Year Elixir.
Thanks for showing off the list! Yeah, I can definitely see the synergy between the mana dorks and the Stax effects. It looks pretty fun; out of curiosity, though, is there any reason you're not running Fyndhorn Elves or Regal Force? After playing around with your list for a little bit, I feel this is the way I'd run it (though I'm personally likely going to stick to the token-based list in the OP).
The deck was a little too stax+dorks for my taste (if I wanted to go the stax route I'd probably go Titania), but for what it was it seemed pretty good.
As I said earlier, I usually don't have a problem dealing lethal once I have all my tokens out and they don't have summoning sickness. My biggest issue seems to be summoning sickness, which can only be directly circumvented via Akroma's Memorial (or indirectly circumvented via Craterhoof Behemoth or Kamahl, Fist of Krosa).
Right now I'm trying to find room for Null Rod and perhaps Sylvan Scrying in the list. The former because this deck only utilizes a very small amount of artifacts with activated abilities, and can really shut down opponents who are trying to catch up to your ramp (or ramp faster) via artifacts. Sylvan Scrying wants a spot because it's a way to tutor for Gaea's Cradle, which really makes this deck go nuts.
Thanks for all the help, everyone! Keep the advice coming!
Is there any particular reason you are only running 2 fetches, or are they they only green fetches that you own? If its the latter, more fetches could really help consistency. They are great landfall triggers for cobra and baloths, and their shuffle can be game changing with oracle or top in play. You could also consider Titania, protector of argoth if you ran more fetches, though I don't know how powerful she would be in your particular deck. Seems potentially powerful with doubling season, earthcraft, and greater good, but she would obviously be best with crucible + azusa shenanigans. For these reasons I might also consider crucible of worlds. At the very least it serves as backup for your cradle, which probably doesn't last more than one rotation in a developed meta.
I think a hate package could be powerful, but it really depends on your meta. So I would consider including both hall of gemstone and null rod if you want to pursue this route. Certain decks simply lose to either of these spells being resolved, and with Freyalise as your general you can naturalize your own rod if you feel that you can go off with clamp or if you need to emergency O-stone.
Sylvan scrying is strong if you are trying to become more comboey but it otherwise seems pretty weak. If you already have cradle its mostly dead, but I suppose you cant really complain if you already have cradle in play, and it can always still be dumped to greater good.
Also, have you tested Genesis Hydra? I like it in some decks because, even without dumping all of you mana into him, you always have hosers or combo pieces to look for. Digging into any variety of greater good, earthcraft, skullclamp, etc. can be very powerful. You do have a high concentration of non-permanent ramp spells, so there is a possibility that he could whiff, and he can really screw you over if you spend your whole turn casting him just to get garbage/nothing.
I have never had any personal success with Genesis. He is expensive and dead if you can't dump him early. And even then, I usually find myself more interested in casting actual spells than getting moderate advantage off recurring wood elves or something. Would not include.
Mana crypt if not for the obvious monetary restrictions
Is there any particular reason you are only running 2 fetches, or are they they only green fetches that you own? If its the latter, more fetches could really help consistency. They are great landfall triggers for cobra and baloths, and their shuffle can be game changing with oracle or top in play. You could also consider Titania, protector of argoth if you ran more fetches, though I don't know how powerful she would be in your particular deck. Seems potentially powerful with doubling season, earthcraft, and greater good, but she would obviously be best with crucible + azusa shenanigans. For these reasons I might also consider crucible of worlds. At the very least it serves as backup for your cradle, which probably doesn't last more than one rotation in a developed meta.
I think a hate package could be powerful, but it really depends on your meta. So I would consider including both hall of gemstone and null rod if you want to pursue this route. Certain decks simply lose to either of these spells being resolved, and with Freyalise as your general you can naturalize your own rod if you feel that you can go off with clamp or if you need to emergency O-stone.
Sylvan scrying is strong if you are trying to become more comboey but it otherwise seems pretty weak. If you already have cradle its mostly dead, but I suppose you cant really complain if you already have cradle in play, and it can always still be dumped to greater good.
Also, have you tested Genesis Hydra? I like it in some decks because, even without dumping all of you mana into him, you always have hosers or combo pieces to look for. Digging into any variety of greater good, earthcraft, skullclamp, etc. can be very powerful. You do have a high concentration of non-permanent ramp spells, so there is a possibility that he could whiff, and he can really screw you over if you spend your whole turn casting him just to get garbage/nothing.
I have never had any personal success with Genesis. He is expensive and dead if you can't dump him early. And even then, I usually find myself more interested in casting actual spells than getting moderate advantage off recurring wood elves or something. Would not include.
Mana crypt if not for the obvious monetary restrictions
Yeah, I don't feel like investing in enemy fetches or a Mana Crypt at the moment (fetches more for the potential of the eventual reprint; they're well within my budget). I've tested Genesis Hydra in other builds and have never really been impressed. The combo pieces are pretty weak on their own - hitting a Greater Good is nice because it interacts so well with the Hydra itself, but in general it's generally a wash. I like all my creatures to be ones I actively want to tutor for, not ones that are situationally powerful.
Also not a big fan of Titania in mono-green, even with fetches/Crucible. I think she has her place at the helm in a stax-esque build running Smokestack, but otherwise I think she really wants to be paired up with multiple colors for MLD interactions (if you're running her in the 99). May give her a shot sooner or later though.
I think you're spot-on with Genesis; I've had the same success (or lack thereof) with him in the past. I always try to justify him due to how highly people rate him, but I'm pretty sure he's not that great.
has anyone considered using mycosynth lattice to make everything artifacts and using freyalise's -2 to destroy any permanent your opponent controls? it's not game winning, but will slow down your opponent while you set up your win con...
When I saw Freyalise I knew I'd have to test her out. If Freyalise is not properly pressured, this deck will generally win the game on turn 4-6. Freyalise (or Shamanic Revelation, or Collective Unconscious) acts as the initial "Time Spiral" effect that will draw you into "High Tide" effects, like Gaea's Cradle. Then, you will draw your whole deck and have a bevy of mana via Gaea's Cradles, Deserted Temples, Nykthoses, and extra land drops. If you haven't picked up yet, this deck plays out much like Legacy High Tide in how it attempts to draw into mana and use that mana to draw more cards.
Tl;dr - A combo deck that functions like High Tide/Eggs in drawing the entire deck, exiling everyone's permanents, and swinging for infinite. Generally goes off relatively quickly; ~T4-T5 generally, ~T6-T7 by the latest (in the case of an initial whiff).
1x Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
Creature (33)
1x Arbor Elf
1x Avenger of Zendikar
1x Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1x Birds of Paradise
1x Boreal Druid
1x Craterhoof Behemoth
1x Deranged Hermit
1x Devoted Druid
1x Dosan the Falling Leaf
1x Elvish Archdruid
1x Elvish Mystic
1x Eternal Witness
1x Fyndhorn Elves
1x Greenwarden of Murasa
1x Hornet Queen
1x Joraga Treespeaker
1x Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1x Llanowar Elves
1x Lotus Cobra
1x Manglehorn
1x Oracle of Mul Daya
1x Priest of Titania
1x Ramunap Excavator
1x Realm Seekers
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Regal Force
1x Spike Weaver
1x Temur Sabertooth
1x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1x Voyaging Satyr
1x Wall of Roots
1x Wolfbriar Elemental
1x Wood Elves
1x Garruk Wildspeaker
Enchantment (12)
1x Carpet of Flowers
1x Concordant Crossroads
1x Doubling Season
1x Earthcraft
1x Exploration
1x Greater Good
1x Mana Reflection
1x Song of the Dryads
1x Survival of the Fittest
1x Sylvan Library
1x Utopia Sprawl
1x Wild Growth
Land (36)
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Deserted Temple
1x Dryad Arbor
1x Eye of Ugin
25x Forest
1x Gaea's Cradle
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Strip Mine
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Windswept Heath
1x Wooded Foothills
1x Collective Unconscious
1x Genesis Wave
1x Green Sun's Zenith
1x Natural Order
1x Regrowth
1x Shamanic Revelation
1x Sylvan Scrying
1x Tooth and Nail
Instant (3)
1x Beast Within
1x Chord of Calling
1x Crop Rotation
Artifact (6)
1x Expedition Map
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mana Vault
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Skullclamp
1x Sol Ring
Link to deck @ TappedOut.net
Arbor Elf - Mana dork
Avenger of Zendikar - Token generator
Azusa, Lost but Seeking - Fast mana, additional land drops on critical turn
Bane of Progress - Powerful artifact/enchantment hate
Birds of Paradise - Mana dork
Boreal Druid - Mana dork
Craterhoof Behemoth - Win condition, combo piece to draw deck with Greater Good
Deranged Hermit - Token generator
Devoted Druid - Mana dork. Additionally, mana combo w/Craterhoof Behemoth (or Sabertooth+Behemoth)
Dosan the Falling Leaf - Counter/combo protection
Elvish Archdruid - Fast mana, infinite mana with haste+Temur Sabertooth
Elvish Mystic - Mana dork
Eternal Witness - Recursion/value generator
Fauna Shaman - Tutor/GY recycler w/Kozilek
Fyndhorn Elves - Mana dork
Hornet Queen - Token Generator
Joraga Treespeaker - Mana dork
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth - Primarily, GY recycler w/Survival/Fauna Shaman. Kozilek + Survival allows GY access, Kozilek+Survival+Crop Rotation allows you to "untap" lands with Crop Rotation. Additionally, card draw/Greater Good fodder in a pinch. Combos with Sabertooth/infinite mana, and powers infinite combos if Sabertooth is exiled (infinite draw w/Sabertooth).
Llanowar Elves - Mana dork
Lotus Cobra - Mana dork
Oracle of Mul Daya - Fast mana, additional land drops on critical turn
Priest of Titania - Mana dork, fast mana, infinite mana with haste+Temur Sabertooth
Realm Seekers - Tutorable Cradle/Nykthos/Temple tutor (will often generate mana despite spending 9-10 mana on the initial investment; also tutors for Eye/Mouth in flooding pinches
Reclamation Sage - Artifact/enchantment disruption
Regal Force - Draw effect, combo piece
Spike Weaver - Freyalise protection, common combo/Craterhoof protection
Temur Sabertooth - Combo piece w/haste+mana producer, Craterhoof+Devoted, Value piece to draw into combo w/Regal etc
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger - Unconditional removal, combo piece w/Sabertooth
Voyaging Satyr - Mana dork, lots of mana w/Cradle
Wall of Roots - Mana dork
Wolfbriar Elemental - Token generator
Wood Elves - Fast mana/mana dork
Deserted Temple - Untap Cradle/Nykthos for value or combo
Dryad Arbor - GSZ target, fetch target for Unconscious effects
Eye of Ugin - Combats flooding by fetching Kozilek/Ulamog with land tutors (in case of flooding).
Gaea's Cradle - Most important card in deck, primary mana generator, combo piece, etc.
Homeward Path - Bribery/Control Magic silver bullet
Misty Rainforest - Mana generation w/Cobra, card selection w/Top
Mouth of Ronom - Kills problematic creatures, especially Linvala
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - Other important mana generator
Snow-Covered Forest - To enable Mouth of Ronom (also catches common Extraplanar Lens for value)
Strip Mine - Land disruption
Verdant Catacombs - Mana generation w/Cobra, card selection w/Top
Windswept Heath - Mana generation w/Cobra, card selection w/Top
Wooded Foothills - Mana generation w/Cobra, card selection w/Top
Concordant Crossroads - Haste outlet for fast mana generation on turn we go off. Generates several infinites with Temur Sabertooth.
Doubling Season - Doubles token generation for more mana/cards, allows infinite Freyalise casts/ults as mana sink/wincon
Earthcraft - Most important card in deck along with Cradle, combo piece w/Ant Queen, mana generator w/token producers/land auras
Exploration - Fast mana, additional land drop on critical turn
Greater Good - Card draw source, combo piece w/Craterhoof to draw deck
Mana Reflection - Fast mana pre-critical turn, massive mana production even if played for 6 mana on critical turn
Survival of the Fittest - Cornerstone of deck during combo turn, tutors for mana/card draw (whatever you need), recycles deck w/Kozilek
Sylvan Library - One of the best draw engines in green, absolutely fantastic.
Utopia Sprawl - "Mana dork"/combo piece w/Earthcraft
Wild Growth - "Mana dork"/combo piece w/Earthcraft
Genesis Wave - "Draw effect" that also generates mana. Continues chaining off Freyalise ult, can kickstart w/o Freyalise in pinch
Green Sun's Zenith - "Mana dork" w/Arbor, tutor for any number of pieces, "token generator"
Natural Order - Tutor for any number of pieces, "token generator"
Shamanic Revelation - Draw effect that continues chaining off Freyalise ult, can kickstart w/o Freyalise in pinch
Sylvan Scrying - Tutor for Cradle/Nykthos, tutor for Mouth/Eye in flooding pinch
Tooth and Nail - Token generator/draw effect (often both via fetching token generator + Regal); potential recursion chains via EWit effects
Expedition Map - Tutor for Cradle/Nykthos, tutor for Mouth/Eye in flooding pinch
Mana Crypt - Fast mana (guaranteed T2 Freyalise)
Mana Vault - Fast mana
Sensei's Divining Top - Card filtering, often can look through any number of cards during combo turn
Skullclamp - Card draw engine, part of backup infinite combo if Sabertooth dies
Sol Ring - Fast mana
Chord of Calling - Tutor for any number of pieces, "token generator," free with large number of tokens
Crop Rotation - Land tutor that gets around extra land drops
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW
GRWort, Control
UBDralnu, Reanimator
Depending on your meta, you might also want some more "fast start" cards: Exploration, Burgeoning, Mana Crypt. Also Nature's Lore and Three Visits. I aim for T4-5 win, and I've found fast starts to be necessary. But you might need more card advantage for that to work.
I run Also Llanowar Elves and friends, but that's largely for a T2 Omnath.
I love tutors, and Natural Order is one of the strongest.
I think Solemn Simulacrum is actually too slow in mono-G, but that's just me. You might want High Market as a sacrifice outlet, especially if you run Simulacrum.
What's the Lonely Island (no pun intended) doing there?
I'm curious to hear how Earthcraft performs, as I don't run it in mono-G.
EDITS:
Also Search for Tomorrow is good ramp, especially since you don't really have many 1 drops.
Terastodon is great removal, especially if you run Kozilek over Ulamog. Woodfall Primus is good removal too, especially with sac outlets like High Market or Greater Good.
That will allow you to have:
1. Infinite combo with your lands
2. Get more gas out of lady luck
I like Earthcraft generally with token decks and mana ramp, I've had good times with it in Marath.
Modern
Commander
Cube
<a href="http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/the-cube-forum/cube-lists/588020-unpowered-themed-enchantment-an-enchanted-evening">An Enchanted Evening Cube </a>
Not sure how much I like Glacial Chasm - isn't it a little expensive for what it does?
Thanks for the recommendation on Hall of Gemstone - card looks absolutely insane, will definitely be testing it out.
Is Stunted Growth strong in multiplayer? It seems a little anemic at first glance.
I've run it before, and I wasn't a big fan. 4 is a lot of mana when your opponent can just set you back with a targeted LD effect.
The Island was there as a placeholder for Myriad Landscape, my bad! Exploration and Burgeoning should probably be in there, as they both power out a T3 Freyalise. Same with Mana Crypt, but I may be building a second EDH deck before I shell out $200 for the card. Maybe I'll take your advice and cut Solemn Simulacrum - it's awkward how he doesn't speed up Freyalise coming out.
I've found Nature's Lore effects are actually not great here, because they don't speed up Freyalise significantly and are only card parity. Llanowar Elves and friends aren't great here either for the same reasons.
This deck can go off somewhere between turns 5 and 8 (faster if Freyalise hits ult), but it's really meant to play with a more controlling style. With a consistent land advantage, you can press the asymmetry of board wipes like All Is Dust and Oblivion Stone, while constantly threatening to go off at any point with Regal Force and Genesis Wave effects. It's not's quite as fast as Omnath, but that sacrifice in speed comes at the bonus of being a little more resilient to failing to launch the first or even second time. Your primary goal is to win quickly, but the long game is really in your favor.
I've tried Search for Tomorrow before and just really haven't been thrilled - as I said earlier, I'm not a huge fan of card-parity ramp spells. I've run Terastodon and Woodfall Primus before and haven't been impressed when I'm not focusing on a single player's lands (and that's so detrimental to that single player's experience as to hurt the game). In fact, I'm even considering cutting some artifact/enchantment hate given the possibility of just dealing with them via Freyalise (though more obviously never hurts).
Considering the obvious synergy between Natural Order and Freyalise's +2, that'll probably need to make an appearance as well.
I'm a big fan of 39 lands, which is what I consider that I run (I don't generally consider Dryad Arbor a land mid-game). However, given that this deck was formerly lead by Kamahl, it might be worth cutting a few to reduce the chances of flooding out. Also, the various playgroups I visit vary from strict to generous mulligan rules, so I like to be able to consistently rip good openers w/o mulligans.
Also, I said this deck likes to grind, and you can't grind effectively if you're not hitting your land drops.
I can tell you right now that Earthcraft is EXTREMELY good, to the point of almost-degeneracy. The fact that your creatures don't have summoning sickness makes your token produces net mana when you cast them, especially if you have a couple mana doublers out. Add in Ant Queen for infinite tokens and mana, then with any kind of sink you win the game.
Earthcraft's in there. I'm not sure I'm such a huge fan of Rings - I can see it in Marath, but Rings unfortunately does not copy the actual addition or subtraction of loyalty on Freyalise. As such, you're really only looking at 2 mana for a Llanowar or Naturalize once per turn at the cost of a card. Not sure how much I like that.
Also, as cute as Rings/Deserted Temple/(Cradle/Nykthos) is, this deck already generates infinite mana via Earthcraft/Ant Queen/2x mana doubler, and I'm not sure if Rings would be worth running as solely a combo piece (you also need a way to use the infinite mana afterwards).
So, right now I'm looking at adding:
And looking at removing:
Solemn Simulacrum
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
Maybe a couple artifact hate cards (Rec Sage/Wickerbough)?
Maybe 1-2 lands? Awkward if Exploration et al come in though.
What are good cards to cut from here, guys?
Additionally, I've been considering adding Brutalizer Exarch to deal with a potentially commander-heavy meta. Other cards I've been considering are Deranged Hermit and Wolfbriar Elemental to potentially combo with Freyalise's ult, and Null Rod (only shuts down 5 of our own cards).
Also, should I be running Regrowth? I've always been disappointed with the card in monocolor, but something tells me I should give it another shot anyway. Maybe I should consider running more Fogs a la Constant Mists?
For now, I've made a minor change: I've cut Inkmoth Nexus for Reliquary Tower. While I'm a big fan of Inkmoth Nexus in general, it's not as good w/o Kamahl at the helm; and Reliquary Tower is obviously somewhat of a staple here. I feel pretty confident I don't want to be running many more colorless sources, so I don't know about cutting a Forest (especially considering I'm likely going to want to make a cut for Arcane Lighthouse at some point).
Again, I really appreciate all the feedback guys, and am looking forward to getting some more!
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW
A word about Hall of Gemstone. It obviously can be quite strong, and even shuts down some decks. But honestly, it's kind of a lame move, it's useless against mono-colored decks, has no synergy with, etc. It's like an Iona that you don't have to work for. Anyway, people might not want to play you. Multicolor decks usually have ways around it through artifacts/creatures. I just think there are classier ways to win. And my meta is cutthroat.
I see why you may not want Llanowar Elves and friends. Again, they're mostly for my T2 Omnath. (I'm starting to notice my replies are all biased since I just play Omnath!) I'm also jealous that you get 5 additional card slots for not running them
I still like 2 CMC ramp. Well, just the good ones: Nature's Lore and Three Visits. I'm usually happier to see those than the 4 CMC ones (except Skyshroud Claim of course!)
Yes, 39 lands is good for regular Paris. I run 32, and it's risky, but it does make big draw spells (Garruk, Greater Good, etc.) really potent. And it weakens Exploration and friends, but again I mostly have those for quick ramp. Basically, I try to ramp hard enough to get a big card refill spell. Then I go for the win. Exploration et al are actually not bad top-decks when you draw 5+ cards at a time.
Earthcraft is an interesting choice--thanks for the analysis. I never liked Ant Queen, but I've always liked Earthcraft as a card. Is it effective without mana doublers? In Freyalise, it gives Elves haste, but otherwise? With Zendikar it's also potent. I just don't like relying on effects like, "it's great if you have a mana doubler." But again perhaps that's because I play Omnath. You don't need another piece with a mana doubler. A fresh turn with a mana doubler alone will probably win you the game.
On that note, Doubling Cube is an interesting "mana doubler." It's much more potent in Omnath.
I've found Soul of New Phyrexia to be an interesting trick. It's my favorite card to hideaway with Mosswort Bridge
Unless I'm missing something, Rampaging Baloths seems bad. How many cards do you expect to draw with it?
I'd say no on Regrowth. If anything, go big with Praetor's Counsel
I think Stunted Growth seems like a 1v1 card. If you don't like Terastodon, this card is way dirtier. And kind of a mean card like Gemonstone.
Summoner's Pact is also really good. Play it the turn you win for whatever you need (i.e. Craterhoof :P)
I'd cut Spike Weaver. If you can't win in combat, you're doing it wrong. (Clearly an overgeneralization, but also maybe somewhat true??)
I agree with your listed cuts. I'd make the following replacements:
Solemn Simulacrum --> Hunting Wilds
Bane of Progress --> Wave of Virtriol (New cards--it's insane. Not tutorable but... man it's powerful.)
Wickerbough Elder --> Exploration (or Burgeoning)
Reclamation Sage --> Lotus Cobra (Trust me!! haha)
Farhaven Elf --> Natural Order (I think the elf is too slow, and you should not be short on tutors.)
Forest --> Mana Crypt (Even if it's just for an "ideal" decklist.)
These are more personal choices; I wouldn't necessarily argue they're "just better", but I just prefer these swaps:
Acidic Slime --> Ulamog (go big! Do what green can't do! (sshhhh Desert Twister, shhh...)
Beast Within --> Terastodon (BW is not tutorable so I don't like it.)
Birthing Pod --> Summoner's Pact (Do you have a set Birthing Pod chain? If not I would ditch it. Avenger --> Craterhoof is good, but Tooth and Nail does that trick ;))
Spike Weaver --> Soul of New Phyrexia
Might also want to try Sylvan Offering (new card). It's a free spell with an untapped Gaea's Cradle. It's also free with Earthcraft!
Also, Titania is really strong in general. Entices against Armageddons, differently than Kamahl. Kamahl + 'geddon = bad for opponent. Titania + 'geddon = good for you.
Keep the discussion going! I'm making considerations for Omnath here too
I already run Lotus Cobra and Hunting Wilds. Really not sure about Bane for Vitriol - the biggest point in favor of Bane is you can always grab him when you need him (a lot more than than you can say for the latter).
I used to run Ulamog, but found him always underwhelming when cast. Kozilek can help you keep going once you go off. BW's not tutorable, but the effect's creature removal which the deck desparately needs. Spike Weaver saves me a lot - you can stop Omnath or whoever in his tracks and find a wrath/counter-kill.
I have a few set Birthing Pod chains - it's obviously a weaker card w/o Kamahl at the helm, but it's still good value. Of course, if we gut the 4s between Wickerbough, Solemn, and Weaver it gets a lot worse.
Rampaging Baloths is quite strong with Earthcraft, or just constantly threatening with Skyshroud Claim effects/Boundless Realms.
What I mean by "Earthcraft's great with a mana doubler" is that you will generally win the game on-turn if both hit the field. Without a doubler, Earthcraft's still great - it just doesn't win the game the same turn.
Of these cuts, I feel the ones I'm most confident in are Rec Sage -> Exploration, Farhaven Elf -> Natural Order, and maybe something for Wave of Vitriol or Sylvan Offering. Considering going Kamahl -> Deranged Hermit, but that still leaves me with a needed cut for Mana Vault - considering one of Solemn and Wickerbough, but I don't feel both should go, especially with Pod still in the deck.
The other possibility is to cut Pod completely, which should be fine with NO in the deck. I also feel fine cutting Ant Queen if Deranged Hermit's coming in. So, maybe:
-Solemn
-Pod
-Rec Sage
-Ant Queen
+Natural Order
+Exploration
+Mana Vault
+Deranged Hermit
And then maybe cut Farhaven Elf and/or Kamahl for something? How do these look?
Still kind of like Farhaven because of that T4 Freyalise. But T4 Freyalise shouldn't be hard without Farhaven (hopefully).
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW
Good point about Farhaven and T4. Again, I'm used to early ramp so, T4 Freyalise should be almost worst-case scenario. I'd go for T3
Makes sense about Beast Within--it's definitely a great card. Since I go for as fast as possible, I don't run it or even All Is Dust or Oblivion Stone. My removal suite is Terastodon, Woodfall Primus (great in Omnath, since I have lots of sac outlets, like Life's Legacy, Momentous Fall), Duplicant, Ulamog, Krosan Grip (important in my meta to stop infinite combos).
Yea makes sense about mana doubler being effective same-turn. That's a huge downside I've noticed with Omnath. I'm always preoccupied thinking, "Don't blow up my Mana Reflection, don't blow up my Mana Reflection..." I'm a big fan of keeping things going same-turn in EDH. Earthcraft is DEFINITELY an enabler of that. Man, Hermit Druid is good with Earthcraft too. I'll have to test it. Again, thanks!
Ant Queen's also amazing with Earthcraft. By itself, it becomes G: Make a 1/1 (that effectively taps for G next turn). With a mana doubler, it makes infinite tapped 1/1s that tap for infinite mana the following turn, and with two it makes infinite mana and infinite untapped 1/1s. But Ant Queen's also really awkward without Kamahl (that's why she was in there in the first place), so I'm not sure if she's still worth it. EoT making tokens into -6 is still good value, though.
Yeah, I like a more controlling mono-green approach. You lose out on some number of really explosive starts, but it's just so much fun to play the control deck on mono-green, and I like longer games.
I like K-Grip, I just find it a lot less flexible than Beast Within and just as hard to draw into.
And I love Lotus Cobra. I went out of my way to get a GP foil. I need to find the enemy fetches sometime as well - Lotus Cobra -> fetch is T3 Freyalise.
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW
1x Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
Creature (24)
1x Acidic Slime
1x Ant Queen
1x Avenger of Zendikar
1x Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1x Bane of Progress
1x Craterhoof Behemoth
1x Deranged Hermit
1x Duplicant
1x Eternal Witness
1x Fierce Empath
1x Hornet Queen
1x Joraga Treespeaker
1x Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1x Krosan Tusker
1x Lotus Cobra
1x Oracle of Mul Daya
1x Rampaging Baloths
1x Regal Force
1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Spike Weaver
1x Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
1x Wood Elves
1x Yavimaya Dryad
1x Garruk, Primal Hunter
1x Garruk Wildspeaker
1x Nissa, Worldwaker
Land (40)
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Deserted Temple
1x Dryad Arbor
1x Dust Bowl
26x Forest
1x Gaea's Cradle
1x Myriad Landscape
1x Mosswort Bridge
1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Strip Mine
1x Temple of the False God
1x Windswept Heath
1x Wooded Foothills
1x Yavimaya Hollow
Enchantment (8)
1x Burgeoning
1x Doubling Season
1x Earthcraft
1x Exploration
1x Greater Good
1x Mana Reflection
1x Survival of the Fittest
1x Sylvan Library
1x Beast Within
1x Chord of Calling
1x Crop Rotation
Sorcery (13)
1x All Is Dust
1x Boundless Realms
1x Cultivate
1x Genesis Wave
1x Green Sun's Zenith
1x Harmonize
1x Hunting Wilds
1x Kodama's Reach
1x Primal Command
1x Ranger's Path
1x Recross the Paths
1x Skyshroud Claim
1x Tooth and Nail
Artifact (8)
1x Akroma's Memorial
1x Birthing Pod
1x Caged Sun
1x Mana Vault
1x Oblivion Stone
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Skullclamp
1x Sol Ring
All in all, things went pretty well, especially considering the obscene amount of hate Freyalise seemed to receive (I have a reputation with the deck from before her release, and everyone was scared of the new Planeswalker-general). Over the night, she was countered three times in one game, Phyrexian Revoker'd twice, Vampire Nevermored once, Hexmaged twice, and Brutalizer Exarch'd once.
...However, she was pretty great when she landed. Some initial impressions of her abilities. Her +2 is really strong. It's definitely right not to ult some turns and just continuing to build your boardstate, if you don't feel under much pressure. The ability to come up with mana dorks while building loyalty is definitely a lot better than it looks on paper. I really enjoyed it.
The -2 is really clutch. Over the night, it saved me from Whispersilk Cloak beats, killed a Rhystic Study that everyone was giving the controller cards with, and more. However, it's definitely not something there to be relied on. Freyalise hits 1 if you come out and -2, meaning that she can be effectively dead for a while. Also, there's the real cost of potentially increasing your somewhat-hefty general tax by 2 for something really minor.
Her ultimate is as insane as people predicted, but you still need a decent boardstate to back it up. Which brings me back to the +2; it's not uncommon to build her to 9 or so if you feel you need an extra turn to set up.
All in all, I really enjoyed playing her. I'm not sure if she has the same raw late-game power that Kamahl brought to the table (probably doesn't), but she definitely brings utility in spades. Llanowar Elves is an underrated creature when you're getting them for free, and I feel a lot of people don't realize that.
Now, to discuss the changes in the list!
REALLY LIKED PLAYING WITH:
Mana Vault, Exploration, Joraga Treespeaker - All got Freyalise out early and were even decent in the lategame. Definitely staying in the deck.
Deranged Hermit - Card was fun. It's a significantly cheaper Avenger of Zendikar.
Natural Order - Card did work, but still not sure of my thoughts on it. Cheated in an Avenger of Zendikar via a Llanowar Elves, which was fun.
Doubling Season - Pulled one off a Genesis Wave and had the pleasurable experience of repetitively casting Freyalise to draw tons of cards. Definitely staying in.
AM NOT SURE OF:
Ant Queen - She makes dudes, but she does so at a hefty price. Not sure if she'll make the cut going forward. Possibly considering something along the lines of Wolfbriar Elemental, but even he's on the pricier side (and does nothing if cheated in).
DID NOT LIKE:
Burgeoning - Unlike Exploration, really doesn't help past the very early stages of the game, and dropping extra lands on other people's turn is surprisingly irrelevant late-game (unlike Exploration, which can help in "going off," by dropping that critical Gaea's Cradle/Deserted Temple/Nykthos on-turn).
Reliquary Tower - Generally you won't have to pass turn after resolving a Freyalise ultimate, and in the rare case you do, you're fine keeping your 7 best cards. You'll be pitching a lot of lands anyway.
WOULD LIKE GOING FORWARD:
More artifact hate. As I alluded to above, Freyalise is more of an "oh *****" button than "I can constantly rely on this." As such, people will use disruption to prevent her from hitting the battlefield, which more artifact hate can alleviate. Wickerbough Elder and/or Reclamation Sage are coming back in.
All in all, I was pretty impressed with her, considering I had to dodge a lot of "new general" hate. Excited to run her more going forward!
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW
Joraga Treespeaker, Mana Vault, and Exploration are added for getting Freyalise out on turns 2-3 by themselves.
Khalni Garden, Deranged Hermit, and Wolfbriar Elemental are added for token production.
Natural Order is added over Birthing Pod for its positive interactions with Freyalise's +1.
Thanks for the help, everyone!
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW
The only real time I feel I draw a ton of cards with him is post-Craterhoof, and that really isn't the time when you really need to be drawing cards.
I would cut Kozilek himself, but it's actually really important to have the GY trigger in order to be able to get key pieces out of the GY (the only GY recovery this deck has is Eternal Witness). Therefore, he or Ulamog must stay, and I prefer drawing 4 cards for 1 less than an 11-mana Vindicate (which is generally too late for the latter to be overwhelmingly important). Krosan Tusker is necessary for the Fierce Empath toolbox. This leaves potentially Wolfbriar Elemental as potentially deserving to be cut, but I really like the effect in interaction with Regal Force/Freyalise and Gaea's Cradle effects.
Right now Song and Doubling Season are on the shortlist of cards I can't find room for, and I feel Song's the better card (Doubling Season being winmore) - but is it good enough to deserve a slot in the deck? What are the next cuts?
Also, here's the most recent set of changes in all their glory:
-1 Farhaven Elf
-1 Solemn Simulacrum
-1 Wickerbough Elder
-1 Explosive Vegetation
-1 Birthing Pod
-1 Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
+1 Khalni Garden
+1 Exploration
+1 Joraga Treespeaker
+1 Mana Vault
+1 Deranged Hermit
+1 Natural Order
+1 Wolfbriar Elemental
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW
Win cons are token swarm into Akroma's Memorial/Kamahl, Fist of Krosa/Craterhoof Behemoth. The deck contains a single infinite combo in the following: Ant Queen + Earthcraft + mana doubler/Doubling Season + mana doubler/Doubling Season/Gaea's Cradle for infinite mana and tokens. From there, Kamahl will untap all your basics, animate them and infinite Overrun, while Memorial will let you swing with everything (and Craterhoof allows you to swing with a small number of arbitrarily large creatures).
Triumph of the Hordes is a good idea, but I feel it's ultimately overkill (for an Overrun not attached to a tutorable creature). I'll toss it in the next time I get in some games to give it a test run.
Got in some more test games tonight, really like the current list. Considering going down to 39 lands to support Doubling Season - the ability to cast Freyalise and ult as many times as you have mana is too powerful to pass up.
Can't wait to pick up the actual cards this weekend (and be able to stop playing with proxies!)
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW
I guess it would be a little better to describe this deck's gameplan. The turn that Freyalise ultimates, or when you have a large Genesis Wave, or when you cast a large Regal Force will generally lead to you hitting Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx/Deserted Temple/Earthcraft/Gaea's Cradle/Crop Rotation. From there you can get more mana which will turn into more cards. Once your mana/card generation is going, you will have access to a situation with your deck in your hand. If this doesn't happen on-turn, it will almost assuredly happen the turn following.
Additionally, you don't have to be aggressive with this engine. If you meet a group that is playing lots of disruption (or you're playing against decks more aggressive than yours), you can also play that game with your own sweepers and spot removal, naturally building yourself into such a position instead of trying to explosively generate it.
My primary goal in running this deck is to play cards that get me into a position where I can assuredly win the game, not to try and go all-in on an easy-to-disrupt combo; the deck's design is to try and get there quickly, but to have the option to grind out if the situation calls for it.
Because the deck's built around reaching this end game, it's better to run more cards that facilitate you getting there rather than trying to run more cards that win once you're there - because once you're there, you win. If Spike Weaver's a problem in your meta, I guess I could see the argument for a mill-based wincon, but I feel an Eldrazi in the deck is much harder to deal with than Fog effects. Of course, in an infinite mill scenario you can exile all graveyards with Scavenging Ooze as well. Goblin Cannon is an option, but again I don't know how much I like running cards that are dead if they won't combo off.
I guess I'd be looking for a card that simultaneously lets me win outside the combo phase, while providing a major ancillary benefit to help me "go off." However, if Fog effects suddenly got drastically popular around me, I'd probably consider Scavenging Ooze/Altar of the Brood as a combo kill as opposed to the above methods. the only way to stop it (assuming you haven't lost your pieces) would be by your opponent running GY replacement effects such as Blightsteel Colossus or Progenitus, and in that case they only buy themselves 1-2 turns, with the large majority of their library in exile.
Any chance I could see your list? Is it similar to the Hua Tuo list in your sig? I've considered running some non-combat wincon before, but mill just seems awkward in a meta where your combo's hosed by a single Eldrazi.
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW
Yeah, I think our gameplans are mostly similar while being slightly different. I just don't feel the mono-green Stax build has much support (with Titania builds being perhaps the slight exception). So instead I've included a good amount of reactive disruption a la utility creatures (Rec Sage/Slime/Duplicant/Hornet Queen and access via tutors), spot removal (Beast Within/Song), and mass removal (Oblivion Stone/All Is Dust).
I also really like T3 Freyalise, but I feel mana dorks are too disruptable via opposing sweepers. So while in many ways I'm much more likely to get the T4 Freyalise, I've included a number of ways to get a T2/T3 Freyalise via 1 card as opposed to needing to go runner-runner on dork+ramp spell (Joraga Treespeaker, Sol Ring, Mana Vault, Exploration all get you there by themselves). Also, the high number of dorks you need for the T3 Freyalise kind of cuts down your deckbuilding options.
I also have an extreme dislike of Concordant Crossroads' tendency to backfire - that's why my win conditions tend to circumvent it (I flat-out don't run Crossroads), trying to go off via Akroma's Memorial, Kamahl Fist of Krosa, and Craterhoof Behemoth. If I was really trying to avoid the combat phase I'd include Altar of the Brood, but I don't think the relatively high possibility of dead-drawing it is worth the slight edge it gives vs. Fog effects.
I also THINK that there might be a way to repetitively bounce Acidic Slime and Duplicant via clever use of Eldrazi, Greater Good, and the Ant Queen/Earthcraft/Kamahl combo (for infinite mana and 1+3X/1+3X sized tokens), using Scavenging Ooze to sculpt your own graveyard in a fashion to provide you guaranteed removal with each iteration of a Greater Good loop - such a method would clear off all boards and give you the win in an additional turn without having to worry about anyone disrupting you in the meantime. I've pulled it off exactly once by taking a literal 20-30 minutes in a game where I explained what I was doing - but of course being able to just mill everyone and exile would pull this off much more quickly and effectively.
In the end, I just want to make the deck as streamlined as possible. Since most of the times you go off you're rolling the dice as to drawing gas over whiffing on playables (as you're using large draw effects as opposed to tutors), I feel there's a real danger with cluttering the deck with too many cards that are only good after you've won. It's why I excluded Doubling Season until I realized that it's infinite draw for a surprisingly reasonable amount of mana (via recasting Freyalise).
My issues with Squirrel Nest are that it costs a card, stunts your mana development, and screams at everyone to kill the card before you combo off. The other cards are much better on their own and don't inspire that same kind of fear.
I really appreciate the advice though; I'm happy to find someone else was thinking along the same lines.
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW
Thanks for showing off the list! Yeah, I can definitely see the synergy between the mana dorks and the Stax effects. It looks pretty fun; out of curiosity, though, is there any reason you're not running Fyndhorn Elves or Regal Force? After playing around with your list for a little bit, I feel this is the way I'd run it (though I'm personally likely going to stick to the token-based list in the OP).
1x Arbor Elf
1x Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1x Boreal Druid
1x Devoted Druid
1x Elvish Archdruid
1x Elvish Mystic
1x Eternal Witness
1x Farhaven Elf
1x Fyndhorn Elves
1x Gilt-Leaf Archdruid
1x Heart Warden
1x Joraga Treespeaker
1x Juniper Order Druid
1x Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
1x Karametra's Acolyte
1x Krosan Restorer
1x Llanowar Elves
1x Lotus Cobra
1x Magus of the Library
1x Oracle of Mul Daya
1x Priest of Titania
1x Primordial Sage
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Regal Force
1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
1x Soul of the Harvest
1x Voyaging Satyr
1x Wirewood Channeler
1x Wolfbriar Elemental
1x Wood Elves
1x Yavimaya Elder
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Deserted Temple
28x Forest
1x Gaea's Cradle
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Strip Mine
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Windswept Heath
1x Wirewood Lodge
1x Wooded Foothills
1x Yavimaya Hollow
Sorcery (8)
1x Cultivate
1x Genesis Wave
1x Green Sun's Zenith
1x Harmonize
1x Kodama's Reach
1x Natural Order
1x Skyshroud Claim
1x Sylvan Scrying
Instant (3)
1x Beast Within
1x Chord of Calling
1x Crop Rotation
Planeswalker (2)
1x Garruk Wildspeaker
1x Nissa, Worldwaker
1x Crucible of Worlds
1x Mana Vault
1x Null Rod
1x Skullclamp
1x Smokestack
1x Sol Ring
1x Staff of Domination
1x Static Orb
1x Tangle Wire
1x Torpor Orb
1x Winter Orb
Enchantment (5)
1x Doubling Season
1x Exploration
1x Mana Reflection
1x Song of the Dryads
1x Sylvan Library
The deck was a little too stax+dorks for my taste (if I wanted to go the stax route I'd probably go Titania), but for what it was it seemed pretty good.
As I said earlier, I usually don't have a problem dealing lethal once I have all my tokens out and they don't have summoning sickness. My biggest issue seems to be summoning sickness, which can only be directly circumvented via Akroma's Memorial (or indirectly circumvented via Craterhoof Behemoth or Kamahl, Fist of Krosa).
Right now I'm trying to find room for Null Rod and perhaps Sylvan Scrying in the list. The former because this deck only utilizes a very small amount of artifacts with activated abilities, and can really shut down opponents who are trying to catch up to your ramp (or ramp faster) via artifacts. Sylvan Scrying wants a spot because it's a way to tutor for Gaea's Cradle, which really makes this deck go nuts.
Thanks for all the help, everyone! Keep the advice coming!
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW
I think a hate package could be powerful, but it really depends on your meta. So I would consider including both hall of gemstone and null rod if you want to pursue this route. Certain decks simply lose to either of these spells being resolved, and with Freyalise as your general you can naturalize your own rod if you feel that you can go off with clamp or if you need to emergency O-stone.
Sylvan scrying is strong if you are trying to become more comboey but it otherwise seems pretty weak. If you already have cradle its mostly dead, but I suppose you cant really complain if you already have cradle in play, and it can always still be dumped to greater good.
Also, have you tested Genesis Hydra? I like it in some decks because, even without dumping all of you mana into him, you always have hosers or combo pieces to look for. Digging into any variety of greater good, earthcraft, skullclamp, etc. can be very powerful. You do have a high concentration of non-permanent ramp spells, so there is a possibility that he could whiff, and he can really screw you over if you spend your whole turn casting him just to get garbage/nothing.
I have never had any personal success with Genesis. He is expensive and dead if you can't dump him early. And even then, I usually find myself more interested in casting actual spells than getting moderate advantage off recurring wood elves or something. Would not include.
Mana crypt if not for the obvious monetary restrictions
Yeah, I don't feel like investing in enemy fetches or a Mana Crypt at the moment (fetches more for the potential of the eventual reprint; they're well within my budget). I've tested Genesis Hydra in other builds and have never really been impressed. The combo pieces are pretty weak on their own - hitting a Greater Good is nice because it interacts so well with the Hydra itself, but in general it's generally a wash. I like all my creatures to be ones I actively want to tutor for, not ones that are situationally powerful.
Also not a big fan of Titania in mono-green, even with fetches/Crucible. I think she has her place at the helm in a stax-esque build running Smokestack, but otherwise I think she really wants to be paired up with multiple colors for MLD interactions (if you're running her in the 99). May give her a shot sooner or later though.
I think you're spot-on with Genesis; I've had the same success (or lack thereof) with him in the past. I always try to justify him due to how highly people rate him, but I'm pretty sure he's not that great.
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW
My multiplayer powered cube
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=9936757#post9936757
my EDH deckbox:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=6849857#post6849857
elesh norn statue:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=413011
tamiyo figure/bust:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=444503
my etsy dark souls statues page:
www.etsy.com/shop/originalstatues