This started out as a Braids, Conjurer Adept deck, but that ended up being a bit too inconsistent. I've had better luck after changing it into an Unesh deck, swapping the "tribal nine drops" theme for slightly easier to cast fliers while still keeping the copy/steal theme. Definitely still needs some tuning, any thoughts?
Some assorted notes:
My group plays with no general damage and no French ban list. We play with either 40 starting life (free for all or Star) or 60 starting life (Two Headed Giant, be it 2v2 or 2v2v2).
My group frowns upon infinite combos, land destruction, and locks.
I'm a budget player who plays with other budget players, so I'm not interested in buying expensive cards for this deck. I try to keep most cards under two dollars, with only a few in the five dollar range (or more, if it's something I've opened).
I'm only interested in black-bordered, modern frame cards.
How is Dreamstone Hedron been for you? You can theoretically cast all your other mana rocks before Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign, and at the point you only have about 4 other spells over 6CMC that Unesh doesn't already reduce by 2. I understand it helps recast him if needed, but it's very much been my experience that after I cast him the first time, I don't have trouble recasting him once I've generated a good deal of card advantage with him as I've likely thrown down a handful of smaller mana rocks anyway, and collectively with consistently hitting land drops (also aided by his and other sphinx ETBs) it's enough to recast him a couple times by the end of the game. What do you think about replacing it with something like Commander's Sphere or Darksteel Ingot? Either of those enable you to cast it out before Unesh and thus getting him out on the field faster, plus they tap for U, which I've found super handy when pretty much every sphinx has UU in the mana cost, not to mention all the other blue spells that are in the deck with double or even triple U pips.
Have you consistently had a full hand, or even greater and find yourself discarding down to hand size from time to time? Unesh can generate an insane amount of card advantage, and you're running additional card draw sources (which I think is good), so you may be consistently finding your Reliquary Tower and/or Thought Vessel to protect your hand, but if not, then I would suggest to add more. I know Venser's Journal is out of price point unless you trade for one, but Spellbook is certainly relatively cheap and might be worth the add. I would highly recommend Nezahal, Primal Tide however, which is currently just under your budget as of now. He's not a sphinx, so you're likely paying full mana cost, but he protects your hand and can draw additional cards, not to mention that he's nearly guaranteed to stick as he can't be countered, and he can protect himself if you have expendable cards in hand (and in a deck like this, you likely will). He seems like just the guy Unesh would like to have around once you've taken a handful of cards. I would suggest cutting the Treasure Mage for either the Spellbook or Nezahal, and especially so if you decide to cut Dreamstone Hedron. Treasure Mage only tutors up Caged Sun at that point, which doesn't seem worth it to me unless Caged Sun is an essential part of your strategy.
Speaking of Unesh netting you cards, he's also likely to throw a good portion into your graveyard too, depending on how his triggers go and how your opponent's choose. No matter how games go with my Unesh deck, one thing is for certain: I will get close to decking myself, win or lose. Granted, I run a great deal more sphinx than your list (it's pure tribal and no steal or other control effects, really), but just to have some insurance for trying to get cards from your yard back into your library or hand and against mill may be useful for you. I run Elixir of Immortality, Reminisce, and Psychic Spiral for shuffling my yard back into my library to prevent decking out or against mill strategies, both super cheap. Is Fabricate mainly to pull up Phyrexian Metamorph (other than the aforementioned Caged Sun)? Because other than that, I only see it digging up a mana rock. I'm not a big fan restrictive tutors (i.e. searching for only a single card type or for a certain CMC, etc.) unless it is meant to search up a very specific card that is integral to the deck's strategy, usually used in conjunction with the commander. Metamorph (and to some degree Caged Sun) doesn't seem like that kind of card here, unless I'm missing something, in which case just let me know. Otherwise, I would consider cutting it for the GY insurance I've mentioned above.
Dreamstone Hedron is a holdover from the deck's Braids days, and I've considered cutting it for all the reasons you mentioned. I want to play a few more games with the deck before I cut it, though.
Venser's Journal is something I've considered for the deck, just a matter of playtesting it a bit more before I decide what to cut for it. Nezahal is something I just bought for my Tasigur deck, and I agree, it's another card to considered for this deck.
(By the way, I should probably update the blurb I copy and paste at the beginning of each decklist. I'm a bit more lenient when it comes to price these days, though I still shy away from anything over four, five dollars. My experience when I first started using these forums was that people would immediately suggest $10+ cards, hence the blurb.)
I do think Caged Sun is very very strong for this deck, and I'd put in more mana doublers if money was no object. I agree that Treasure Mage gets the cut if Dreamstone Hedron does too. Fabricate at least has the flexibility of grabbing Metamorph or Mirage Mirror (or Memnarch in the Braids days, though I figured out that having friends is more important than having Memnarch). Speaking of tutoring, I should probably put Expedition Map in here, because it finds Reliquary Tower and more importantly Nykthos.
Decking myself is something I've been keeping an eye on, though I haven't been in danger for the few games I've played so for. I'll consider Elixir of Immortality and maybe Reminisce if it does become an issue. Definitely not Psychic Spiral, though -- there are just too many graveyard-based decks in my meta, and I wouldn't include it unless the deck's main win-con was milling.
This started out as a Braids, Conjurer Adept deck, but that ended up being a bit too inconsistent. I've had better luck after changing it into an Unesh deck, swapping the "tribal nine drops" theme for slightly easier to cast fliers while still keeping the copy/steal theme. Definitely still needs some tuning, any thoughts?
Some assorted notes:
6 Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign
Sphinges:
4 Argent Sphinx
4 Curator of Mysteries
5 Glyph Keeper
5 Guardian of Tazeem
5 Prognostic Sphinx
5 Sphinx of Lost Truths
6 Arbiter of the Ideal
6 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
6 Sphinx of Magosi
7 Sphinx of Uthuun
7 Sphinx of the Final Word
7 Windreader Sphinx
7 Chancellor of the Spires
Copy/Steal:
2 Phantasmal Image
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Gigantoplasm
4 Stunt Double
4 Sakashima the Impostor
4 Vizier of Many Faces
6 Roil Elemental
3 Mirage Mirror
4 Control Magic
4 Rite of Replication
6 Supplant Form
7 Blatant Thievery
9 Clone Legion
4 Fact or Fiction
8 Treasure Cruise
2x Mind Spring
3x Blue Sun's Zenith
Counterspells:
1 Dissipate
1 Hinder
1 Spell Crumple
1 Void Shatter
Removal/Sweepers:
7 Phyrexian Ingester
7 Scourge of Fleets
8 Kederekt Leviathan
2 Reality Shift
4 Engulf the Shore
4 Wash Out
5 Evacuation
6 Inundate
2x Curse of the Swine
Ramp:
3 Burnished Hart
0 Everflowing Chalice
1 Sol Ring
2 Coldsteel Heart
2 Mind Stone
2 Thought Vessel
3 Worn Powerstone
4 Hedron Archive
5 Gilded Lotus
6 Caged Sun
6 Dreamstone Hedron
3 Kefnet the Mindful
3 Thassa, God of the Sea
3 Treasure Mage
3 Warden of Evos Isle
6 Deadeye Navigator
8 Stormtide Leviathan
2 Swiftfoot Boots
3 Fabricate
Lands:
25 Island
1 Faerie Conclave
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 Mage-Ring Network
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Temple of the False God
1 Terrain Generator
1 Blighted Cataract
1 Mystifying Maze
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Endless Sands
1 Scavenger Grounds
Thank you for your comments and criticisms!
BRG Kresh Crush You - UB Wrexial Wrecks Y'all - WUBRG Taste the Rainbow Allies - URW Zedruu Claus - RGW - Wrath of Rith - WU Annoying Dar
GU Mighty Morphin Bluezuri - RWB Alesha, the Revolving Door - R Norin the W- - UR Arjun's Scrambled Eggs - WUB Zur the Cyclist - GW Cara Mia Karametra
UBR Kess's Eccentric Spell Slingers - B Endrek's Thrilling Thrulls - BGU Tasigur, Fly for a Sultai - GWU Tuvaasankin Veri Vapisee - U Can't Thop the Saignal
RW Feather's Heroes of the Storm - G Map of Titania - W Quipping Sram - BR
CharlieGreven Work - BG Old School Vhati - GUR Riku's Little FriendsWBG Abzan All-Stars - WB Kambal's Lifegain Soup - RG Ruric, Ogre Surgeon - B All Them Little Bones - RWB Megan, the Gold-Blooded - G Does This Look Infected?
UR Hellbent Storm - GWU George - RG You Can Be a Big Pig Too - RW Decent Decisions - UBR I Contain Myriads - W My Friend Flicka
WU Eagles on Pogo Sticks - UB Yes Thieves Can - WUB Election Fraud - RGW King of Pain - GU Feel the Earth Move
Retired: WUB Zur the Douchebag - GU Crazy Kraj - U Braids the Borrower - W Wham Bam Enchanting Sram - U Unesh's Flying Circus - WUBRG Oops All Lands
A couple things I noticed:
How is Dreamstone Hedron been for you? You can theoretically cast all your other mana rocks before Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign, and at the point you only have about 4 other spells over 6CMC that Unesh doesn't already reduce by 2. I understand it helps recast him if needed, but it's very much been my experience that after I cast him the first time, I don't have trouble recasting him once I've generated a good deal of card advantage with him as I've likely thrown down a handful of smaller mana rocks anyway, and collectively with consistently hitting land drops (also aided by his and other sphinx ETBs) it's enough to recast him a couple times by the end of the game. What do you think about replacing it with something like Commander's Sphere or Darksteel Ingot? Either of those enable you to cast it out before Unesh and thus getting him out on the field faster, plus they tap for U, which I've found super handy when pretty much every sphinx has UU in the mana cost, not to mention all the other blue spells that are in the deck with double or even triple U pips.
Have you consistently had a full hand, or even greater and find yourself discarding down to hand size from time to time? Unesh can generate an insane amount of card advantage, and you're running additional card draw sources (which I think is good), so you may be consistently finding your Reliquary Tower and/or Thought Vessel to protect your hand, but if not, then I would suggest to add more. I know Venser's Journal is out of price point unless you trade for one, but Spellbook is certainly relatively cheap and might be worth the add. I would highly recommend Nezahal, Primal Tide however, which is currently just under your budget as of now. He's not a sphinx, so you're likely paying full mana cost, but he protects your hand and can draw additional cards, not to mention that he's nearly guaranteed to stick as he can't be countered, and he can protect himself if you have expendable cards in hand (and in a deck like this, you likely will). He seems like just the guy Unesh would like to have around once you've taken a handful of cards. I would suggest cutting the Treasure Mage for either the Spellbook or Nezahal, and especially so if you decide to cut Dreamstone Hedron. Treasure Mage only tutors up Caged Sun at that point, which doesn't seem worth it to me unless Caged Sun is an essential part of your strategy.
Speaking of Unesh netting you cards, he's also likely to throw a good portion into your graveyard too, depending on how his triggers go and how your opponent's choose. No matter how games go with my Unesh deck, one thing is for certain: I will get close to decking myself, win or lose. Granted, I run a great deal more sphinx than your list (it's pure tribal and no steal or other control effects, really), but just to have some insurance for trying to get cards from your yard back into your library or hand and against mill may be useful for you. I run Elixir of Immortality, Reminisce, and Psychic Spiral for shuffling my yard back into my library to prevent decking out or against mill strategies, both super cheap. Is Fabricate mainly to pull up Phyrexian Metamorph (other than the aforementioned Caged Sun)? Because other than that, I only see it digging up a mana rock. I'm not a big fan restrictive tutors (i.e. searching for only a single card type or for a certain CMC, etc.) unless it is meant to search up a very specific card that is integral to the deck's strategy, usually used in conjunction with the commander. Metamorph (and to some degree Caged Sun) doesn't seem like that kind of card here, unless I'm missing something, in which case just let me know. Otherwise, I would consider cutting it for the GY insurance I've mentioned above.
Current EDH
UThassa, God of the Sea devotion control
WRGTana, the Bloodsower & Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa partners weenie tokens
UUnesh, Criosphinx Sovereign Sphinx tribal
WUTaigam, Ojutai Master tokens on the rebound spellslinger
GRhonas the Indomitable green creature beats
UGRashmi, Eternities Crafter ETB tribal
Retired EDH
WURGKynaios and Tiro of Meletis group hug
URThe Locust God draw swarm
UTalrand, Sky Summoner funsies blue spells
WBObzedat, Ghost Council life gain/drain
Dreamstone Hedron is a holdover from the deck's Braids days, and I've considered cutting it for all the reasons you mentioned. I want to play a few more games with the deck before I cut it, though.
Venser's Journal is something I've considered for the deck, just a matter of playtesting it a bit more before I decide what to cut for it. Nezahal is something I just bought for my Tasigur deck, and I agree, it's another card to considered for this deck.
(By the way, I should probably update the blurb I copy and paste at the beginning of each decklist. I'm a bit more lenient when it comes to price these days, though I still shy away from anything over four, five dollars. My experience when I first started using these forums was that people would immediately suggest $10+ cards, hence the blurb.)
I do think Caged Sun is very very strong for this deck, and I'd put in more mana doublers if money was no object. I agree that Treasure Mage gets the cut if Dreamstone Hedron does too. Fabricate at least has the flexibility of grabbing Metamorph or Mirage Mirror (or Memnarch in the Braids days, though I figured out that having friends is more important than having Memnarch). Speaking of tutoring, I should probably put Expedition Map in here, because it finds Reliquary Tower and more importantly Nykthos.
Decking myself is something I've been keeping an eye on, though I haven't been in danger for the few games I've played so for. I'll consider Elixir of Immortality and maybe Reminisce if it does become an issue. Definitely not Psychic Spiral, though -- there are just too many graveyard-based decks in my meta, and I wouldn't include it unless the deck's main win-con was milling.
BRG Kresh Crush You - UB Wrexial Wrecks Y'all - WUBRG Taste the Rainbow Allies - URW Zedruu Claus - RGW - Wrath of Rith - WU Annoying Dar
GU Mighty Morphin Bluezuri - RWB Alesha, the Revolving Door - R Norin the W- - UR Arjun's Scrambled Eggs - WUB Zur the Cyclist - GW Cara Mia Karametra
UBR Kess's Eccentric Spell Slingers - B Endrek's Thrilling Thrulls - BGU Tasigur, Fly for a Sultai - GWU Tuvaasankin Veri Vapisee - U Can't Thop the Saignal
RW Feather's Heroes of the Storm - G Map of Titania - W Quipping Sram - BR
CharlieGreven Work - BG Old School Vhati - GUR Riku's Little FriendsWBG Abzan All-Stars - WB Kambal's Lifegain Soup - RG Ruric, Ogre Surgeon - B All Them Little Bones - RWB Megan, the Gold-Blooded - G Does This Look Infected?
UR Hellbent Storm - GWU George - RG You Can Be a Big Pig Too - RW Decent Decisions - UBR I Contain Myriads - W My Friend Flicka
WU Eagles on Pogo Sticks - UB Yes Thieves Can - WUB Election Fraud - RGW King of Pain - GU Feel the Earth Move
Retired: WUB Zur the Douchebag - GU Crazy Kraj - U Braids the Borrower - W Wham Bam Enchanting Sram - U Unesh's Flying Circus - WUBRG Oops All Lands