Commander 2017 is (almost here) and...it gave us nothing for this deck. Not that I'm surprised, given the tribal theme and the fact that this is NOT a tribal deck. I could see an argument for running Taigam, Sidisi's Hand in a lower-powered meta, as the effect has the potential to be really powerful. I don't think I'll end up including him though, since he doesn't do anything unless he survives a turn cycle, 5 mana is a bit much, and there are much better reanimation targets in our deck.
Agreed in terms of additions to the Dralnu catalog.
In relateed news, I've seen arguments around for Dralnu being redundant now that Kess, Dissident Mage exists. Personally, I disagree. They're both spellslingers, but Dralnu lends to more control on account of being an activated ability instead of a passive triggered ability. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the comparison.
I'm with you. There's a lot of similarities, obviously, but I see two big differences. 1) having an activated ability allows Dralnu to use Paradox Engine as a wincon and 2) Kess doesn't allow you to flashback spells on your opponents' turn, which seems like a real downside in this kind of deck.
Glad to hear it. I didn't think I was calling that wrong, Dralnu is still a far better control engine. It's funny, after all this time, how quickly people write him off because of the (often irrelevant) negative ability.
Yeah I think the similarities are only surface level. Kess is an obvious replacement for Jeleva storm but I'd still rather have Dralnu in a control deck. The more I think about it, the more the fact that Kess only works on your turn convinces me she's not a good replacement.
Ixalan is here, which means we have a new bunch of cards to look at. Unfortunately, I haven't had a ton of time to play magic recently, but that doesn't stop me from theory-crafting! Also, I'm hoping that will change soon, which is especially good because there are a few cards worth testing in Ixalan:
Fleet Swallower - Big reanimation targets have a high bar to meet in this deck, since they're fighting for slots along side the like of Jin-Gitaxias. The Swallower is probably too slow to warrant inclusion in this deck, but there's one word in that text box that makes me think I'll give it a try. "Player." That's right. This is no Nemesis of Reason. If we get to swing with the Swallower, we can target ourselves and put half of our library into or graveyard, which feels quite potent in this deck. Spell Swindle - Probably too expensive, but a Mana Drain whose mana doesn't have to be used all at once gets my attention even for 5 mana. Dire Fleet Ravager - This card almost makes me think of Kokusho. Yes, the dragon is more potent since he's gaining us life as well, but this ETB ability has enough of an impact that I might test him as another reanimation target. Search for Azcanta - Probably the card I'm most excited for here. It fills our graveyard and draws us cards. I'm not sure what I'd cut, but this flip-land definitely has my attention. Primal Amulet - This is likely too slow but man, having a land that copies our instants and sorceries has a LOT of potential. Another one I'm very excited to test.
And there you have it. Quite a lot of cards to test. Nothing that screams "auto-include," but I'm overall I'm happy with the set, even if I haven't been able to play it yet.
So I recently converted my version of this Dralnu deck to a Kess deck. I figured I would post it here to spark some discussion. I think adding Red actually helps the reanimator strategy a lot, but with Kess, Dissident Mage at the helm the control aspect becomes a bit less threatening.
Keep us posted on how testing goes with Kess. I certainly understand the appeal for making the switch from Dralnu to Kess. For me though, there are a couple reasons why I haven't felt the need to make the switch:
1) three colors can complicate your mana base, and an important part of any control deck is making sure you are as mana-efficient as possible
2) I think Kess will replace Jeleva as the go-to Grixis storm commander and will earn a reputation for being a storm commander
3) The biggest issue for me is the fact that Kess is limited to once per your turn. This prevents both Paradox Engine shenanigans, as well as casting spells from your graveyard on your opponents' turn
That being said, most of those reasons are more personal than everything, so I think Kess can be a totally viable option if you want to add red to this type of deck.
Side note: Weebos, I love the Magi Nation reference. Haven't thought of that game in years...
I switched over to Kess as well and I'm really enjoying her. My style (or intended style) is to simply play Commmander was a Grixis control type of deck until the end game where I can cast Kess with relatively little fear as most removal is used up at that pint and flashback awesome spells like Exsanguinate or Rite of Replication etc. Dralnu still has a special place in my heart though.
Finally, the list gets updated. Thanks to a combination of the list being in a really good spot and me not getting to play as much magic, the list has been pretty static for a while (7 months since the last change!). But finally, Ixalan brings us Search for Azcanta. This card is a serious card advantage powerhouse. On the enchantment side, it provides card filtering and virtual card advantage by filling our graveyard. Then it flips, gives us an extra land, and provides real life card advantage with its activated ability. It didn't take too many tests to see how powerful this card was. I ended up cutting Recurring Insight. I have a soft spot for this card and when it's good, it's really, really good. However, 6 mana at sorcery speed is steep and in the interest of bringing down the deck's curve, this card had to go. So:
EDIT: I just noticed that I never updated the master list when I added Boseiju a while back. Being able to get important spells through counterspells is nice, and there just isn't enough discard in my meta to make the Academy worth it.
I updated the main post a bit to better reflect the dual-strategies of this deck. We are a control deck at heart and, once the we have turned the corner, we have two paths to victory. The more straightforward path is that of a reanimator deck: get a game-changing creature in our graveyard, such as Jin-Gitaxias, Void Winnower, or Tidespout Tyrant, and bring it back.
The other path is the semi-combo of Paradox Engine. This takes a little bit more setup, since you need mana rocks, but once you have a few mana rocks, Dralnu, and Paradox Engine, you start getting insane value with spells that are either free or generating mana, plus the ability to cast all of our spells twice: once from the hand and then again from the grave with Dralnu. The more and more I lean on this as my late game plan, the more I'm considering testing out more mana rocks. Currently, I'm running seven but I think eight or nine might be the better number.
You're about where I like to be on mana development for a control deck with 36 lands, 7 rocks/dork CMC ≤ 3, and 8 cards that help you find a mana source (draw, landcycling, etc) CMC ≤ 3. I've found that having roughly half the deck contribute to early development in some way is a good place to be. That said, I'd probably want to go at least one land heavier and you could probably streamline further. I'm a big fan of cantrips in Dralnu lists, particularly that instant speed ones. They're inexpensive plays that help smooth out the early game and cheap enough to not really hurt your development late. They also help you use Dralnu every turn he's down, even if there's no opportunity to reuse a counter or kill spell. Brainstorm probably works out despite the low count of shuffle effects thanks to the mill, Impulse is decent dig and instant. I'd probably go for a full complement including those two, Ponder, Preordain, and one other a la Visions of Beyond, Opt, or Gitaxian Probe. I've reached the point where all of my blue lists start with half a dozen cantrips because they've worked so well for me and Dralnu makes particularly good use of them. They also keep Paradox chains going much longer than a yard full of kill spells will. Careful Study and Hapless Researcher fill a similar role, albeit with card disadvantage, and play well with your reanimator plan as well.
One note on the Paradox kill is that you have few colored nonland mana sources. Getting choked on mana if you can't find Signet, Talisman, or Ingot kind of puts a crimp in that plan. You might consider adding in Coldsteel Heart, Sky Diamond, Charcoal Diamond, Chromatic Lantern, or Gilded Lotus (too expensive to count for early development, but great later on).
To find space for those cards, I'd be looking at cutting the lowest performing mass removal spell, spot removal spell, and counterspell. Dralnu recursion lets you get away with slightly lower counts on those, especially if you're running cheap card draw in their place. I'd also look at losing one of the colorless rocks, probably Thought Vessel. No max hand size is a downside in reanimator lists on a semi-regular basis and your general already recurs things. You could probably also ditch one of the reanimation targets, especially if you're looking at them as control finishers and not fast reanimation combos. You really don't want to see them in hand before you turn the corner and you'll have no trouble finding them with the milling, digging, and tutoring.
Hope a couple of those suggestions are helpful. They're all aimed at giving you things to do early game that aren't going to be useless later, because no one likes sitting around doing nothing at any point in the game.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
I think you make a lot of good points. In fact, a lot of what you've said is stuff I've been thinking about recently as far as deck changes go so, great minds think alike!
You're definitely right that colored mana rocks are slim. I think Thought Vessel should probably be Chromatic Lantern. I may find room for another too.
There's no good reason for Brainstorm to not be in here. It's a little silly that it's not, tbh. As much as I love Kokusho, it's my weakest reanimation target and not a huge impact in this style of deck, so if I cut a fatty, it'll probably be that.
And as far as boardwipes go, Deadly Tempest is definitely the weakest.
I'll test out some of these changes soon. Thanks for all your input!
The other path is the semi-combo of Paradox Engine. This takes a little bit more setup, since you need mana rocks, but once you have a few mana rocks, Dralnu, and Paradox Engine, you start getting insane value with spells that are either free or generating mana, plus the ability to cast all of our spells twice: once from the hand and then again from the grave with Dralnu. The more and more I lean on this as my late game plan, the more I'm considering testing out more mana rocks. Currently, I'm running seven but I think eight or nine might be the better number.
Have you done any more testing or theorycrafting on this route? I was watching one of MTG Muddstah's EDH videos on YouTube with Dralnu and Paradox Engine and oh baby does it look like a lot of fun. I'd be very interested in reading about your new developments.
I decided to rebrew my old crummy Dralnu list into something more combo-oriented:
I also went ahead and added the Isochron Scepter + Dramatic Reversal combo since it plays nicely with all the mana rocks I'm running, and both cards are useful on their own outside of the combo. AEtherflux Reservoir is also an obvious inclusion as a win condition for both Paradox Engine shenanigans as well as the Scepter/Reversal combo, though it's less useful on its own. While I was at it, I threw in Future Sight + Helm of Awakening + Sensei's Divining Top, because it's something I've always wanted to play. As a back up win con I'm going with Metallurgic Summonings since it plays nicely with the other combos I'm running and is a busted mass-Regrowth if need be.
I haven't done any testing yet but it seems like an okay rough draft. I think I'm running too few lands, but finding a cut is difficult. Maybe a counter? Mind Twist even though it's potentially backbreaking?
Yes, I think a more combo-oriented Dralnu list has a lot of potential. Honestly, the only reason I don't make my list more combo-focused is personal preference. I'd rather play a control game with a combo as a finisher than a deck purely devoted to a combo. That being said, you're right that Paradox Engine is very effective. The only theory crafting I've done to that end is trying to figure out the right number of mana rocks. I know I don't want to go any lower, but there may be room for one more for efficiency's sake.
If you play mostly multiplayer, I'd say [c]Mind Twist[c] can probably go. I don't like targeted discard in a multiplayer format unless you're a deck purely devoted to discard, like Nath.
Definitely find room for more colored artifacts, if you can. That is one issue I often run into: I have enough mana numbers-wise to go off with the engine, but if only one or even two are making colored mana, it's not nearly as effective.
Definitely find room for more colored artifacts, if you can. That is one issue I often run into: I have enough mana numbers-wise to go off with the engine, but if only one or even two are making colored mana, it's not nearly as effective.
Yes, I think a more combo-oriented Dralnu list has a lot of potential. Honestly, the only reason I don't make my list more combo-focused is personal preference. I'd rather play a control game with a combo as a finisher than a deck purely devoted to a combo. That being said, you're right that Paradox Engine is very effective. The only theory crafting I've done to that end is trying to figure out the right number of mana rocks. I know I don't want to go any lower, but there may be room for one more for efficiency's sake.
I totally get where you're coming from with regards to preferring not to make a dedicated combo deck. I'm not a fan of uninteractive decks in general, so a pure balls-to-the-wall combo deck doesn't appeal to me, either. Indeed, I'm shooting for a similar control style deck with a combo finisher as well, I just think it's important to diversify your win conditions so you're not hosed if a vital piece gets removed. Plus, with the exception of Aetherflux Reservoir, each of the combo pieces is very playable individually. I do think the 14 mana rocks I'm running is a tad excessive, though, so removing them for more business cards is probably the right idea. If I had to go with my gut, I'd say ~10 is the sweet spot if you have an unlimited budget. Enough to ramp you into plays early on and hopefully enough to accrue a critical mass of in the mid to late game to fuel Paradox Engine/Scepter + Reversal bomb turns. Since I lack the truly broken mana rocks like Mana Crypt and Chrome Mox I think closer to 12 is better.
Definitely find room for more colored artifacts, if you can. That is one issue I often run into: I have enough mana numbers-wise to go off with the engine, but if only one or even two are making colored mana, it's not nearly as effective.
Yeah, I got some games in against some AI for goldfishing purposes and I found myself running into that problem, too. It's just an issue of trying to find out which rocks to cut and which to add. So...
Yeah, I'm thinking of cutting Everflowing Chalice, Worn Powerstone, and Hedron Archive for Coalition Relic, as I think it's the best among 3cmc mana rocks. That frees up two slots for business. I'm thinking of including Mind's Desire because it's always a card I've wanted to play in EDH but never had the opportunity to until now, but I'm not sure what else to run.
I think Buried Ruin is an auto-include that I forgot. It feels bad to have one of your broken artifacts destroyed.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess. You're right about diversifying wincons, which is why my list still has the big reanimation bombs: Paradox Engine is the most efficient way to win, but sometimes you gotta win with a reanimated Jin-Gitaxis...
I highly recommend giving Mind's Desire a go. I don't play it here, but I've had fun with it in other decks.
Buried Ruin is a good idea. Currently, I have no way to recur artifacts and being a land means it's easy to find room for.
So, as an interesting case, I had the worst happen the other day: Dralnu got accused of blasphemy. I didn't really have anything else out at the time to do other than sac literally every single one of my lands. I had him nuked about 5-6 times during the game, and no one even read his first ability until BA got played and I had to sac.
I still won . I happened to have a stacked yard, Paradox Engine, some rocks, and a couple of really juicy reanimation targets about.
I have been thinking about other win cons though. The problem I'm having at the moment is that my reanimation targets are an immediate red flag, and so are Exsanguinate and Torment of Hailfire. I'm wondering whether Tendrils of Agony would be worth running. I can't see it being broken without building specifically for combo, but it could be a late game home run too. Have you run it before, jenn?
Wanted to chime in as to a Streamlined Dralnu Combo list that I've been running to great success. The List is spoilered below and it's one of the most efficient decks I've played (excepting my Teferi list, list in my sig). The explanation for the deck is somewhat lacking on my thread there, but I'm happy to answer any questions.
If you're going to diversify your win conditions, I think that adding in Tendrils of Agony is a really good way to go in comparison to the Desire. I play a couple of important X spells in my list and I don't want them exiled or cast for 0 when I'm desiring off of a high Storm count. Do note that this is purely my preference, as the Desire is a fantastic card for a dedicated Spellslinger deck. Do note that my Dralnu list is all-in on the Paradox Engine synergies and eschews the Reanimator package that your list plays with, Jenn.
Here's my Devastating Dralnu Destructor Fish-Bowl Laser Deck of Death:
One Reanimation target that seems super strong is the new-ish Nezahal, Primal Tide. I'm not sure how relevant he would be in your meta but in a higher tier meta the Plesiosaur can draw an absurd amount of cards with built-in protection. Usually, there's a higher concentration of non-creature spells being cast for more competitive decks, so the Plesiosaur would get some fantastic mileage while also being a relevant attacker. Pitching cards for his Blink ability (for protection) is never a bad thing to do with Dralnu.
And besides, it's a Dinosaur. You're playing a Reanimator deck. Reanimators bring back extinct things. Dinosaurs are extinct things. You should be Reanimating dinosaurs. The end.
If you're going to diversify your win conditions, I think that adding in Tendrils of Agony is a really good way to go in comparison to the Desire. I play a couple of important X spells in my list and I don't want them exiled or cast for 0 when I'm desiring off of a high Storm count. Do note that this is purely my preference, as the Desire is a fantastic card for a dedicated Spellslinger deck. Do note that my Dralnu list is all-in on the Paradox Engine synergies and eschews the Reanimator package that your list plays with, Jenn.
I mean that was my thought, but I know jenn's list (and mine by extension, because it is a close although somewhat budget simulacrum) is not necessarily a combo build, which makes me question how strong Tendrils of Agony could be. I can definitely see it as a Paradox Engine finisher, just not sure how much other use it would have outside of that context. If it won't pull weight outside of that context, I'd probably leave it. Personally, I'm definitely not interested in Mind's Desire in here - it just leaves too much to chance, and my build works best when I have control over what's happening. There's far too many control and clutch X spells that could fizzle from a poorly timed Desire.
One Reanimation target that seems super strong is the new-ish Nezahal, Primal Tide. I'm not sure how relevant he would be in your meta but in a higher tier meta the Plesiosaur can draw an absurd amount of cards with built-in protection. Usually, there's a higher concentration of non-creature spells being cast for more competitive decks, so the Plesiosaur would get some fantastic mileage while also being a relevant attacker. Pitching cards for his Blink ability (for protection) is never a bad thing to do with Dralnu.
It certainly isn't the worst option here. I can't see the first ability being used all that often, as personally I try to avoid hardcasting any of my creatures. The draw is nice, but it's no Consecrated Sphinx. Where it would be useful is a way to pitch to the graveyard. That being said, there's probably easier engines to get online to fill your yard.
I'm probably happy to leave it out right now - if anything it competes against Sphinx for a slot, and the draw from that bad boy is just undeniably degenerate, especially when you don't have a max hand size modifier. It means you keep what you need right now, AND fill your yard. Plus it has evasion that the dinosaur doesn't have, if necessary. It's a consideration for some metas, I imagine, but I can't see it pulling near as much weight as Sphinxy boi in mine.
It's funny you mention Tendrils of Agony, as I was just talking to a friend of mine about testing the card out. You're right that my list isn't all-in on the combo, but I'm finding myself leaning on it more and more because it's just so powerful. Currently, Exsanguinate is the only win-con with Paradox Engine. Adding Tendrils could be some nice redundancy. I'm not sure what I'd cut for it though.
I think I see Nezahal a little more favorably than you toc, but not by much. Having a reanimation target that is also a discard outlet is really attractive. However, I do agree with you that it would compete for Sphinx's spot and I have an invocation Consecrated Sphinx, so I'm hesitant to cut that haha.
It's funny you mention Tendrils of Agony, as I was just talking to a friend of mine about testing the card out. You're right that my list isn't all-in on the combo, but I'm finding myself leaning on it more and more because it's just so powerful. Currently, Exsanguinate is the only win-con with Paradox Engine. Adding Tendrils could be some nice redundancy. I'm not sure what I'd cut for it though.
I'm in much the same boat. I like the look of the card but I'm not sure what should go in its place. Probably the one thing I see regularly that I don't use often is Dismember. But then again, in the right place it can save your ass.
I get the combo thing, too. Most of my recent wins have come from waiting until I have enough momentum to play a lot of spells in a turn, or land Paradox Engine and go off. I'm almost certain it can't go infinite here, but it damn sure feels like it. Up until that point, a lot of the time I find myself playing permission for the board and keeping heat away from myself. Without a pair of shoes most of my reanimation targets are there to draw attention away from my nefarious plans or to put the pinch on with their abilities.
I'd love to hear more about Nezahal, Primal Tide. The more I think about it the more it could be a Consecrated Sphinx 2.0. It will never rival the Sphinx for sheer draw power, but it could have a place. It's weird, but I almost see the max hand size modifier as a bad thing in the context of Dralnu. Thinking a little deeper, I could see it replacing Tidespout Tyrant or It that Betrays in my list. I really haven't had the chance to playtest Tidespout Tyrant after all this time with it in the list, so I don't know how well it does. It that Betrays I love, and forcing terrible choices for the board with ITB in play and casting Torment of Hailfire is just pure evil. But it is slow, and a bit of an anomaly as far as my reanimation targets go.
Nezahal, Primal Tide, depending on the decks that you're playing against, is sometimes even better than the SPhinx. The ability to protect itself for free is really quite awesome. There used to be a heavier Storm/Spell-slinger presence in my meta, which has tapered off pretty sharply, but there were times when Nezahal drew me 10+ cards in a turn cycle. When an opponent is chaining together Tutor effects, casting enchantments, and recurring the 'yard in one turn, it was easy to draw an overwhelming number of cards and often win on my next turn.
And sometimes the 7 power it boasts is not bad either for going down the beat-down route.
However, it really depends on your meta. If there isn't a high presence of non-creature spells being cast in your meta then the Sphinx is ultimately better. It may not be a bad idea to run both. When I played Tasigur Reanimator, before I switched it to Tasigur Flash Hulk, I found that Jin-Gitaxias drew me too much attention and started affecting my ability to interact. I think that Nezahal might be a more politically palatable Reanimator target that comes with some solid card draw without wiping out your opponents' hands. Otherwise, I think cutting It That Betrays is a good choice.
[Primer] Dralnu Control/Reanimator BU
[Primer] Jolrael, Empress of Beasts GG
Nath Stax BG | Borborygmos Enraged RG | Ladies of Magic UGW | Aminatou Control UWB | Enduring Ideal Zedruu UWR | Momir Vig Combo UG
Modern
Restore Balance RWUG
Kiki Chord RWG
In relateed news, I've seen arguments around for Dralnu being redundant now that Kess, Dissident Mage exists. Personally, I disagree. They're both spellslingers, but Dralnu lends to more control on account of being an activated ability instead of a passive triggered ability. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the comparison.
[Primer] Dralnu Control/Reanimator BU
[Primer] Jolrael, Empress of Beasts GG
Nath Stax BG | Borborygmos Enraged RG | Ladies of Magic UGW | Aminatou Control UWB | Enduring Ideal Zedruu UWR | Momir Vig Combo UG
Modern
Restore Balance RWUG
Kiki Chord RWG
[Primer] Dralnu Control/Reanimator BU
[Primer] Jolrael, Empress of Beasts GG
Nath Stax BG | Borborygmos Enraged RG | Ladies of Magic UGW | Aminatou Control UWB | Enduring Ideal Zedruu UWR | Momir Vig Combo UG
Modern
Restore Balance RWUG
Kiki Chord RWG
Fleet Swallower - Big reanimation targets have a high bar to meet in this deck, since they're fighting for slots along side the like of Jin-Gitaxias. The Swallower is probably too slow to warrant inclusion in this deck, but there's one word in that text box that makes me think I'll give it a try. "Player." That's right. This is no Nemesis of Reason. If we get to swing with the Swallower, we can target ourselves and put half of our library into or graveyard, which feels quite potent in this deck.
Spell Swindle - Probably too expensive, but a Mana Drain whose mana doesn't have to be used all at once gets my attention even for 5 mana.
Dire Fleet Ravager - This card almost makes me think of Kokusho. Yes, the dragon is more potent since he's gaining us life as well, but this ETB ability has enough of an impact that I might test him as another reanimation target.
Search for Azcanta - Probably the card I'm most excited for here. It fills our graveyard and draws us cards. I'm not sure what I'd cut, but this flip-land definitely has my attention.
Primal Amulet - This is likely too slow but man, having a land that copies our instants and sorceries has a LOT of potential. Another one I'm very excited to test.
And there you have it. Quite a lot of cards to test. Nothing that screams "auto-include," but I'm overall I'm happy with the set, even if I haven't been able to play it yet.
[Primer] Dralnu Control/Reanimator BU
[Primer] Jolrael, Empress of Beasts GG
Nath Stax BG | Borborygmos Enraged RG | Ladies of Magic UGW | Aminatou Control UWB | Enduring Ideal Zedruu UWR | Momir Vig Combo UG
Modern
Restore Balance RWUG
Kiki Chord RWG
1x Kess, Dissident Mage
Land (38)
1x Arcane Lighthouse
1x Ash Barrens
1x Blood Crypt
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Canyon Slough
1x Cascade Bluffs
1x Command Tower
1x Crumbling Necropolis
1x Dragonskull Summit
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Exotic Orchard
1x Fetid Pools
1x Graven Cairns
1x High Market
7x Island
1x Maze of Ith
3x Mountain
1x Path of Ancestry
1x Polluted Delta
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Smoldering Marsh
1x Steam Vents
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Sunken Hollow
1x Sunken Ruins
3x Swamp
1x Tainted Isle
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Enchantment (2)
1x Animate Dead
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Dack Fayden
Sorcery (23)
1x All Is Dust
1x Beacon of Unrest
1x Blasphemous Act
1x Breaking // Entering
1x Damnation
1x Dark Petition
1x Deadly Tempest
1x Decree of Pain
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Disrupt Decorum
1x Extract from Darkness
1x Faithless Looting
1x Gamble
1x Gitaxian Probe
1x Grave Upheaval
1x Mind's Desire
1x Ponder
1x Preordain
1x Reanimate
1x Serum Visions
1x Toxic Deluge
1x Vandalblast
1x Windfall
Creature (12)
1x Baral, Chief of Compliance
1x Clever Impersonator
1x Consecrated Sphinx
1x Curious Homunculus
1x Emrakul, the Promised End
1x Goblin Electromancer
1x Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
1x Massacre Wurm
1x Sire Of Insanity
1x Snapcaster Mage
1x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1x Void Winnower
1x Ancient Excavation
1x Brainstorm
1x Chaos Warp
1x Counterspell
1x Cryptic Command
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Dig Through Time
1x Entomb
1x Evacuation
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Forbidden Alchemy
1x Frantic Search
1x Impulse
1x Mystic Confluence
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Terminate
Artifact (7)
1x Darksteel Plate
1x Dimir Signet
1x Fellwar Stone
1x Izzet Signet
1x Rakdos Signet
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Sol Ring
Faithless Looting, Gamble, Grave Upheaval, Breaking // Entering, Dack Fayden, and Sire of Insanity all feel right at home in this style of deck.
1) three colors can complicate your mana base, and an important part of any control deck is making sure you are as mana-efficient as possible
2) I think Kess will replace Jeleva as the go-to Grixis storm commander and will earn a reputation for being a storm commander
3) The biggest issue for me is the fact that Kess is limited to once per your turn. This prevents both Paradox Engine shenanigans, as well as casting spells from your graveyard on your opponents' turn
That being said, most of those reasons are more personal than everything, so I think Kess can be a totally viable option if you want to add red to this type of deck.
Side note: Weebos, I love the Magi Nation reference. Haven't thought of that game in years...
[Primer] Dralnu Control/Reanimator BU
[Primer] Jolrael, Empress of Beasts GG
Nath Stax BG | Borborygmos Enraged RG | Ladies of Magic UGW | Aminatou Control UWB | Enduring Ideal Zedruu UWR | Momir Vig Combo UG
Modern
Restore Balance RWUG
Kiki Chord RWG
Finally, the list gets updated. Thanks to a combination of the list being in a really good spot and me not getting to play as much magic, the list has been pretty static for a while (7 months since the last change!). But finally, Ixalan brings us Search for Azcanta. This card is a serious card advantage powerhouse. On the enchantment side, it provides card filtering and virtual card advantage by filling our graveyard. Then it flips, gives us an extra land, and provides real life card advantage with its activated ability. It didn't take too many tests to see how powerful this card was. I ended up cutting Recurring Insight. I have a soft spot for this card and when it's good, it's really, really good. However, 6 mana at sorcery speed is steep and in the interest of bringing down the deck's curve, this card had to go. So:
IN
+ Search for Azcanta
+ Boseiju, Who Shelters All
OUT
- Recurring Insight
- Nephalia Academy
EDIT: I just noticed that I never updated the master list when I added Boseiju a while back. Being able to get important spells through counterspells is nice, and there just isn't enough discard in my meta to make the Academy worth it.
[Primer] Dralnu Control/Reanimator BU
[Primer] Jolrael, Empress of Beasts GG
Nath Stax BG | Borborygmos Enraged RG | Ladies of Magic UGW | Aminatou Control UWB | Enduring Ideal Zedruu UWR | Momir Vig Combo UG
Modern
Restore Balance RWUG
Kiki Chord RWG
The other path is the semi-combo of Paradox Engine. This takes a little bit more setup, since you need mana rocks, but once you have a few mana rocks, Dralnu, and Paradox Engine, you start getting insane value with spells that are either free or generating mana, plus the ability to cast all of our spells twice: once from the hand and then again from the grave with Dralnu. The more and more I lean on this as my late game plan, the more I'm considering testing out more mana rocks. Currently, I'm running seven but I think eight or nine might be the better number.
[Primer] Dralnu Control/Reanimator BU
[Primer] Jolrael, Empress of Beasts GG
Nath Stax BG | Borborygmos Enraged RG | Ladies of Magic UGW | Aminatou Control UWB | Enduring Ideal Zedruu UWR | Momir Vig Combo UG
Modern
Restore Balance RWUG
Kiki Chord RWG
One note on the Paradox kill is that you have few colored nonland mana sources. Getting choked on mana if you can't find Signet, Talisman, or Ingot kind of puts a crimp in that plan. You might consider adding in Coldsteel Heart, Sky Diamond, Charcoal Diamond, Chromatic Lantern, or Gilded Lotus (too expensive to count for early development, but great later on).
To find space for those cards, I'd be looking at cutting the lowest performing mass removal spell, spot removal spell, and counterspell. Dralnu recursion lets you get away with slightly lower counts on those, especially if you're running cheap card draw in their place. I'd also look at losing one of the colorless rocks, probably Thought Vessel. No max hand size is a downside in reanimator lists on a semi-regular basis and your general already recurs things. You could probably also ditch one of the reanimation targets, especially if you're looking at them as control finishers and not fast reanimation combos. You really don't want to see them in hand before you turn the corner and you'll have no trouble finding them with the milling, digging, and tutoring.
Hope a couple of those suggestions are helpful. They're all aimed at giving you things to do early game that aren't going to be useless later, because no one likes sitting around doing nothing at any point in the game.
You're definitely right that colored mana rocks are slim. I think Thought Vessel should probably be Chromatic Lantern. I may find room for another too.
There's no good reason for Brainstorm to not be in here. It's a little silly that it's not, tbh. As much as I love Kokusho, it's my weakest reanimation target and not a huge impact in this style of deck, so if I cut a fatty, it'll probably be that.
And as far as boardwipes go, Deadly Tempest is definitely the weakest.
I'll test out some of these changes soon. Thanks for all your input!
[Primer] Dralnu Control/Reanimator BU
[Primer] Jolrael, Empress of Beasts GG
Nath Stax BG | Borborygmos Enraged RG | Ladies of Magic UGW | Aminatou Control UWB | Enduring Ideal Zedruu UWR | Momir Vig Combo UG
Modern
Restore Balance RWUG
Kiki Chord RWG
Have you done any more testing or theorycrafting on this route? I was watching one of MTG Muddstah's EDH videos on YouTube with Dralnu and Paradox Engine and oh baby does it look like a lot of fun. I'd be very interested in reading about your new developments.
I decided to rebrew my old crummy Dralnu list into something more combo-oriented:
1 Dralnu, Lich Lord
Instants: 34
1 Ancient Excavation
1 Arcane Denial
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
1 Brainstorm
1 Capsize
1 Condescend
1 Counterspell
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Dig Through Time
1 Dismiss
1 Dissolve
1 Dramatic Reversal
1 Dream Fracture
1 Entomb
1 Evacuation
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Forbid
1 Forbidden Alchemy
1 Go for the Throat
1 Hero's Downfall
1 Impulse
1 Into the Roil
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Negate
1 Pongify
1 Rapid Hybridization
1 Reality Shift
1 Recoil
1 Supreme Will
1 Swan Song
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Aetherflux Reservoir
1 Charcoal Diamond
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Dimir Signet
1 Everflowing Chalice
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Hedron Archive
1 Helm of Awakening
1 Isochron Scepter
1 Mind Stone
1 Paradox Engine
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sky Diamond
1 Sol Ring
1 Star Compass
1 Thought Vessel
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Worn Powerstone
Sorceries: 10
1 All Is Dust
1 Damnation
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Fabricate
1 Mind Twist
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Read the Bones
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Choked Estuary
1 Command Tower
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Drowned Catacomb
14 Island
1 Nephalia Drownyard
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Strip Mine
1 Sunken Hollow
7 Swamp
1 Tainted Isle
1 Temple of Deceit
1 Underground River
1 Watery Grave
Enchantments: 2
1 Future Sight
1 Metallurgic Summonings
I also went ahead and added the Isochron Scepter + Dramatic Reversal combo since it plays nicely with all the mana rocks I'm running, and both cards are useful on their own outside of the combo. AEtherflux Reservoir is also an obvious inclusion as a win condition for both Paradox Engine shenanigans as well as the Scepter/Reversal combo, though it's less useful on its own. While I was at it, I threw in Future Sight + Helm of Awakening + Sensei's Divining Top, because it's something I've always wanted to play. As a back up win con I'm going with Metallurgic Summonings since it plays nicely with the other combos I'm running and is a busted mass-Regrowth if need be.
I haven't done any testing yet but it seems like an okay rough draft. I think I'm running too few lands, but finding a cut is difficult. Maybe a counter? Mind Twist even though it's potentially backbreaking?
Oh dear, I just realized I'm not running Talisman of Dominance. Gotta find room for that one, colored artifact mana seems very important. Maybe include a 3cmc any-color rock like Chromatic Lantern, Coalition Relic, or even Darksteel Ingot.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
If you play mostly multiplayer, I'd say [c]Mind Twist[c] can probably go. I don't like targeted discard in a multiplayer format unless you're a deck purely devoted to discard, like Nath.
Definitely find room for more colored artifacts, if you can. That is one issue I often run into: I have enough mana numbers-wise to go off with the engine, but if only one or even two are making colored mana, it's not nearly as effective.
[Primer] Dralnu Control/Reanimator BU
[Primer] Jolrael, Empress of Beasts GG
Nath Stax BG | Borborygmos Enraged RG | Ladies of Magic UGW | Aminatou Control UWB | Enduring Ideal Zedruu UWR | Momir Vig Combo UG
Modern
Restore Balance RWUG
Kiki Chord RWG
I'll second this, too. Ideally (read=with enough money) I'd look at adding some of the higher priced rocks like Chrome Mox, Gilded Lotus, Doubling Cube, Crystalline Crawler and such, but in a pinch Cultivator's Caravan, Dimir Signet, Darksteel Ingot and the diamonds are probably fine.
I totally get where you're coming from with regards to preferring not to make a dedicated combo deck. I'm not a fan of uninteractive decks in general, so a pure balls-to-the-wall combo deck doesn't appeal to me, either. Indeed, I'm shooting for a similar control style deck with a combo finisher as well, I just think it's important to diversify your win conditions so you're not hosed if a vital piece gets removed. Plus, with the exception of Aetherflux Reservoir, each of the combo pieces is very playable individually. I do think the 14 mana rocks I'm running is a tad excessive, though, so removing them for more business cards is probably the right idea. If I had to go with my gut, I'd say ~10 is the sweet spot if you have an unlimited budget. Enough to ramp you into plays early on and hopefully enough to accrue a critical mass of in the mid to late game to fuel Paradox Engine/Scepter + Reversal bomb turns. Since I lack the truly broken mana rocks like Mana Crypt and Chrome Mox I think closer to 12 is better.
Yeah, I got some games in against some AI for goldfishing purposes and I found myself running into that problem, too. It's just an issue of trying to find out which rocks to cut and which to add. So...
Yeah, I'm thinking of cutting Everflowing Chalice, Worn Powerstone, and Hedron Archive for Coalition Relic, as I think it's the best among 3cmc mana rocks. That frees up two slots for business. I'm thinking of including Mind's Desire because it's always a card I've wanted to play in EDH but never had the opportunity to until now, but I'm not sure what else to run.
I think Buried Ruin is an auto-include that I forgot. It feels bad to have one of your broken artifacts destroyed.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
I highly recommend giving Mind's Desire a go. I don't play it here, but I've had fun with it in other decks.
Buried Ruin is a good idea. Currently, I have no way to recur artifacts and being a land means it's easy to find room for.
[Primer] Dralnu Control/Reanimator BU
[Primer] Jolrael, Empress of Beasts GG
Nath Stax BG | Borborygmos Enraged RG | Ladies of Magic UGW | Aminatou Control UWB | Enduring Ideal Zedruu UWR | Momir Vig Combo UG
Modern
Restore Balance RWUG
Kiki Chord RWG
I still won . I happened to have a stacked yard, Paradox Engine, some rocks, and a couple of really juicy reanimation targets about.
I have been thinking about other win cons though. The problem I'm having at the moment is that my reanimation targets are an immediate red flag, and so are Exsanguinate and Torment of Hailfire. I'm wondering whether Tendrils of Agony would be worth running. I can't see it being broken without building specifically for combo, but it could be a late game home run too. Have you run it before, jenn?
If you're going to diversify your win conditions, I think that adding in Tendrils of Agony is a really good way to go in comparison to the Desire. I play a couple of important X spells in my list and I don't want them exiled or cast for 0 when I'm desiring off of a high Storm count. Do note that this is purely my preference, as the Desire is a fantastic card for a dedicated Spellslinger deck. Do note that my Dralnu list is all-in on the Paradox Engine synergies and eschews the Reanimator package that your list plays with, Jenn.
Here's my Devastating Dralnu Destructor Fish-Bowl Laser Deck of Death:
1x Dralnu, Lich Lord
Mana Sources (17)
1x Everflowing Chalice
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mox Opal
1x Mox Diamond
1x Dark Ritual
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Vault
1x Grim Monolith
1x Dimir Signet
1x Talisman of Dominance
1x Thought Vessel
1x Cabal Ritual
1x Worn Powerstone
1x Coalition Relic
1x Basalt Monolith
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Gilded Lotus
Tutors (11)
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Lim-Dul's Vault
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Transmute Artifact
1x Tainted Pact
1x Whir of Invention
1x Praetor's Grasp
1x Spellseeker
1x Intuition
1x Dark Petition
Combo Pieces/Utility (4)
1x Dramatic Reversal
1x Isochron Scepter
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Paradox Engine
1x Laboratory Maniac
1x Blue Sun's Zenith
1x Aetherflux Reservoir
Card Advantage (13)
1x Preordain
1x Ponder
1x Brainstorm
1x Mystic Remora
1x Impulse
1x Pull from Tomorrow
1x Night's Whisper
1x Necropotence
1x Windfall
1x Whispering Madness
1x Notion Thief
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Ad Nauseam
Counterspells (10)
1x Pact of Negation
1x Swan Song
1x Mental Misstep
1x Counterspell
1x Mana Drain
1x Arcane Denial
1x Trickbind
1x Muddle the Mixture
1x Disallow
1x Force of Will
Removal (10)
1x Chain of Vapor
1x Rapid Hybridization
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Gilded Drake
1x Blink of an Eye
1x Reality Shift
1x Capsize
1x Toxic Deluge
1x Vedalken Shackles
1x Damnation
1x Polluted Delta
1x Flooded Strand
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Marsh Flats
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1x Academy Ruins
1x Inventors’ Fair
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Minamo, School at Water’s Edge
1x Cephalid Coliseum
1x Seat of the Synod
1x Vault of Whispers
1x Command Tower
1x Forbidden Orchard
1x Underground Sea
1x Watery Grave
1x Sunken Hollow
1x Morphic Pool
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Sunken Ruins
1x Underground River
1x Darkslick Shores
1x Snow-Covered Island
1x Snow-Covered Swamp
1x Island
1x Swamp
One Reanimation target that seems super strong is the new-ish Nezahal, Primal Tide. I'm not sure how relevant he would be in your meta but in a higher tier meta the Plesiosaur can draw an absurd amount of cards with built-in protection. Usually, there's a higher concentration of non-creature spells being cast for more competitive decks, so the Plesiosaur would get some fantastic mileage while also being a relevant attacker. Pitching cards for his Blink ability (for protection) is never a bad thing to do with Dralnu.
And besides, it's a Dinosaur. You're playing a Reanimator deck. Reanimators bring back extinct things. Dinosaurs are extinct things. You should be Reanimating dinosaurs. The end.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
I mean that was my thought, but I know jenn's list (and mine by extension, because it is a close although somewhat budget simulacrum) is not necessarily a combo build, which makes me question how strong Tendrils of Agony could be. I can definitely see it as a Paradox Engine finisher, just not sure how much other use it would have outside of that context. If it won't pull weight outside of that context, I'd probably leave it. Personally, I'm definitely not interested in Mind's Desire in here - it just leaves too much to chance, and my build works best when I have control over what's happening. There's far too many control and clutch X spells that could fizzle from a poorly timed Desire.
It certainly isn't the worst option here. I can't see the first ability being used all that often, as personally I try to avoid hardcasting any of my creatures. The draw is nice, but it's no Consecrated Sphinx. Where it would be useful is a way to pitch to the graveyard. That being said, there's probably easier engines to get online to fill your yard.
I'm probably happy to leave it out right now - if anything it competes against Sphinx for a slot, and the draw from that bad boy is just undeniably degenerate, especially when you don't have a max hand size modifier. It means you keep what you need right now, AND fill your yard. Plus it has evasion that the dinosaur doesn't have, if necessary. It's a consideration for some metas, I imagine, but I can't see it pulling near as much weight as Sphinxy boi in mine.
I think I see Nezahal a little more favorably than you toc, but not by much. Having a reanimation target that is also a discard outlet is really attractive. However, I do agree with you that it would compete for Sphinx's spot and I have an invocation Consecrated Sphinx, so I'm hesitant to cut that haha.
[Primer] Dralnu Control/Reanimator BU
[Primer] Jolrael, Empress of Beasts GG
Nath Stax BG | Borborygmos Enraged RG | Ladies of Magic UGW | Aminatou Control UWB | Enduring Ideal Zedruu UWR | Momir Vig Combo UG
Modern
Restore Balance RWUG
Kiki Chord RWG
I'm in much the same boat. I like the look of the card but I'm not sure what should go in its place. Probably the one thing I see regularly that I don't use often is Dismember. But then again, in the right place it can save your ass.
I get the combo thing, too. Most of my recent wins have come from waiting until I have enough momentum to play a lot of spells in a turn, or land Paradox Engine and go off. I'm almost certain it can't go infinite here, but it damn sure feels like it. Up until that point, a lot of the time I find myself playing permission for the board and keeping heat away from myself. Without a pair of shoes most of my reanimation targets are there to draw attention away from my nefarious plans or to put the pinch on with their abilities.
I'd love to hear more about Nezahal, Primal Tide. The more I think about it the more it could be a Consecrated Sphinx 2.0. It will never rival the Sphinx for sheer draw power, but it could have a place. It's weird, but I almost see the max hand size modifier as a bad thing in the context of Dralnu. Thinking a little deeper, I could see it replacing Tidespout Tyrant or It that Betrays in my list. I really haven't had the chance to playtest Tidespout Tyrant after all this time with it in the list, so I don't know how well it does. It that Betrays I love, and forcing terrible choices for the board with ITB in play and casting Torment of Hailfire is just pure evil. But it is slow, and a bit of an anomaly as far as my reanimation targets go.
And sometimes the 7 power it boasts is not bad either for going down the beat-down route.
However, it really depends on your meta. If there isn't a high presence of non-creature spells being cast in your meta then the Sphinx is ultimately better. It may not be a bad idea to run both. When I played Tasigur Reanimator, before I switched it to Tasigur Flash Hulk, I found that Jin-Gitaxias drew me too much attention and started affecting my ability to interact. I think that Nezahal might be a more politically palatable Reanimator target that comes with some solid card draw without wiping out your opponents' hands. Otherwise, I think cutting It That Betrays is a good choice.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager