Some of you may have seen a deck called "Arcane Remedy" or something similar in the past. As I am returning after not playing for a few months due to university and have always love brews, I have become intrigued with the deck and whether it could be viable and have since picked up a version. To me, playing off-the-beaten-path decks is very rewarding and fun. I'd like to get some feedback on it and see if anyone else is playing anything similar.
What is Arcane Remedy?
Arcane Remedy is a deck that was created sometime around when Magic Origins (and thus Tainted Remedy) dropped. It is a combo-control deck that seeks to land a Tainted Remedy and quickly burn opponents out by splicing Roar of Jukai onto cantrips and other effects. The deck plays as a control deck for the majority of the game, and seeks to begin combo-ing off once the game is under reasonable control or an opportunity arises to close it out.
How is this list different than those of old (~2015)?
All of the lists I have found for a deck like this have mostly been from around 2015, with very little discussion since then. The list presented here differs from other lists I have seen mainly in that it tries to avoid cards that are mediocre besides the fact that they have the subtype arcane. Obviously, the list is not optimized, which is part of why I wanted to see if the community had any ideas to improve it.
Obviously the sideboard is not at ALL optimal, nor a full 15 cards right now, I kind of just threw some cards into my deckbox that might be useful, since I haven't had time to determine what a good board is for my meta(s).
Tricks & benefits of playing Arcane Remedy
The deck has some interesting subtleties that make it perform more efficiently than it appears:
Horobi's Whisper, along with some Thought Scour for fuel, can serve as a very effective removal spell, allowing you to reliably remove multiple threats with only one card.
Any card that may be spliced remains in your hand. This means that when combo-ing out, Roar of Jukai can be spliced again and again, presuming that you have an arcane for it to piggyback with.
Multiple Roar of Jukai (or any other splice card, for that matter) can be stacked onto one arcane. For example, if you have two Roar of Jukai in your hand, you can splice both onto one arcane and cause the opponent to "gain" ten life instead of five.
The core combo of the deck has few inherent weaknesses (aside from the obvious drawback of having cards that don't do much on their own), unlike many other combo decks or strategies. For example, Leyline of Sanctity has no effect on anything we are doing, neither does countering the spell that Roar of Jukai is being spliced onto, as the lifegain is part of the cost and thus can't be interacted with. Cards like Rule of Law or other Storm hate don't ruin us, either.
Because we are playing control, we have more time and resources to answer problematic cards than pure combo decks, which are more focussed on their own game plan than stopping the opponent's strategy.
The lack of creatures in our deck surely poses some weaknesses, however, this also nullifies the usefulness of our opponents removal. Most decks will play a decent number of dedicated cards for creature removal, all of which are essentially blanks against us.
I already have some changes in mind (replacing Hideous Laughter with Damnation, adding Field of Ruin, adding Cryptic Command for example), but would like to hear other suggestions for changes I can make. As of yet, I have played in a few local tournaments and have done decently, given how new I am to this deck. I've played against Storm (2-0), Elves (0-2), Affinity (2-0), Humans (0-2), Amulet Titan (2-1), 4C Control (0-2), Taking Turns (2-0), UWR Control (1-1-1), Cheeri0s (0-2) and Scapeshift (1-2).
I can't believe I hadn't heard of this. Here's my quick take on the archetype. I cut most of the hard counters and removal for tempo effects in the form of Remand and Eye of Nowhere, because the deck really just wants to buy time to assemble the combo. Ideas Unbound, Sift Through Sands, and Eerie Procession help with that. Plus, we get to swap out Rise from the Tides for The Unspeakable, which rebuys our stuff.
That iteration is actually very close to where I started out, but honestly after some testing it was very underwhelming. Personally, Rise from the Tides was exactly what I was looking for in an alternate win condition and it has seriously impressed me every time I have cast it. Also, I disagree, I don't think we want to be rushing to assemble our combo immediately necessarily. However, I'm curious to see if that version can hold its own!
I have a Tainted Remedy deck on mtgo, playing white black as colors.
Winning with Tainted remedy and Beacon of immortality
The rest is a control shell with path to exile, Anguished unmaking and some ramp cards. I draw with Read the bones and a second win condition is Approach of the second Sun.
Maybe there are some ideas you can use for your deck
My friend who I've been testing with a bit suggested Yahenni's Expertise, which I'm definitely considering. Wiping the board and setting up to combo by casting Tainted Remedy for free seems pretty decent.
One issue I've noticed recently is that sometimes I'll be set up to combo out and win, but I'll just be one arcane short and won't draw any more. Usually, I can chain Peer Through Depths into itself and just win, but if I draw more counterspells or something then sometimes I just brick.
Some of you may have seen a deck called "Arcane Remedy" or something similar in the past. As I am returning after not playing for a few months due to university and have always love brews, I have become intrigued with the deck and whether it could be viable and have since picked up a version. To me, playing off-the-beaten-path decks is very rewarding and fun. I'd like to get some feedback on it and see if anyone else is playing anything similar.
What is Arcane Remedy?
Arcane Remedy is a deck that was created sometime around when Magic Origins (and thus Tainted Remedy) dropped. It is a combo-control deck that seeks to land a Tainted Remedy and quickly burn opponents out by splicing Roar of Jukai onto cantrips and other effects. The deck plays as a control deck for the majority of the game, and seeks to begin combo-ing off once the game is under reasonable control or an opportunity arises to close it out.
How is this list different than those of old (~2015)?
All of the lists I have found for a deck like this have mostly been from around 2015, with very little discussion since then. The list presented here differs from other lists I have seen mainly in that it tries to avoid cards that are mediocre besides the fact that they have the subtype arcane. Obviously, the list is not optimized, which is part of why I wanted to see if the community had any ideas to improve it.
Decklist
2x Flooded Strand
2x Bloodstained Mire
2x Polluted Delta
2x Marsh Flats
2x Watery Grave
2x Swamp
9x Island
4x Roar of Jukai
4x Thought Scour
4x Peer Through Depths
4x Reach Through Mists
4x Horobi's Whisper
2x Spell Snare
2x Logic Knot
3x Mana Leak
2x Disrupting Shoal
1x Hideous Laughter
4x Serum Visions
1x Rise from the Tides
Enchantment
4x Tainted Remedy
Sideboard
1x Disrupting Shoal
1x Negate
1x Spreading Seas
1x Darkblast
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Thoughtseize
2x Fatal Push
Obviously the sideboard is not at ALL optimal, nor a full 15 cards right now, I kind of just threw some cards into my deckbox that might be useful, since I haven't had time to determine what a good board is for my meta(s).
Tricks & benefits of playing Arcane Remedy
The deck has some interesting subtleties that make it perform more efficiently than it appears:
I already have some changes in mind (replacing Hideous Laughter with Damnation, adding Field of Ruin, adding Cryptic Command for example), but would like to hear other suggestions for changes I can make. As of yet, I have played in a few local tournaments and have done decently, given how new I am to this deck. I've played against Storm (2-0), Elves (0-2), Affinity (2-0), Humans (0-2), Amulet Titan (2-1), 4C Control (0-2), Taking Turns (2-0), UWR Control (1-1-1), Cheeri0s (0-2) and Scapeshift (1-2).
WUEsper ControlUB
WUCheeri0sRB
BArcane RemedyUBWBW Fateful HourWBBRSuicide ZooWGBRDredge From BelowGU2x Flooded Strand
2x Bloodstained Mire
2x Polluted Delta
2x Marsh Flats
2x Watery Grave
2x Swamp
9x Island
4x Roar of Jukai
4x Peer Through Depths
4x Reach Through Mists
2x Sift Through Sands
4x Remand
2x Disrupting Shoal
4x Serum Visions
4x Eye of Nowhere
4x Ideas Unbound
2x Eerie Procession
Creature
1x The Unspeakable
Enchantment
4x Tainted Remedy
WUEsper ControlUB
WUCheeri0sRB
BArcane RemedyUBWBW Fateful HourWBBRSuicide ZooWGBRDredge From BelowGUWinning with Tainted remedy and Beacon of immortality
The rest is a control shell with path to exile, Anguished unmaking and some ramp cards. I draw with Read the bones and a second win condition is Approach of the second Sun.
Maybe there are some ideas you can use for your deck
"Well, then we will at least fight in the shadow"
"There is no glory to be gained in the kingdom of the dead!"
Post by Narah about unbanning Mind Twist in legacy and that this would be evil:
If you want to play on MTGO add me I'm HeskatetAS, playing Modern and Legacy
WUEsper ControlUB
WUCheeri0sRB
BArcane RemedyUBWBW Fateful HourWBBRSuicide ZooWGBRDredge From BelowGU"Well, then we will at least fight in the shadow"
"There is no glory to be gained in the kingdom of the dead!"
Post by Narah about unbanning Mind Twist in legacy and that this would be evil:
If you want to play on MTGO add me I'm HeskatetAS, playing Modern and Legacy
WUEsper ControlUB
WUCheeri0sRB
BArcane RemedyUBWBW Fateful HourWBBRSuicide ZooWGBRDredge From BelowGU