My favorite Magic card is Saproling Burst.
I used to run it in a mono-green legacy deck that would tear the pants off most other legacy decks, despite those decks being many times more valuable than my own. Creature generation on an enchantment - yes please!
Also, it was my first foil card.
TBH, I really urge you to go in deep on Magma Jet - the draw fixing is really great and it hits a lot of problematic creatures.
Yes you're right, walkers are a problem for me. I think I might go with 3-4 Dreadbore or Hero's Downfall in the sideboard.
And regarding Font of Fortunes, I would be happy to have people use hate on them - less hate for Ashiok or Keranos! I considered Inspiration but I really like having the option of keeping 2 mana up and keep my opponents guessing, as a lot of my answers are at the 2 CMC slot.
Thanks for the feedback!
Here's the list that I tried out - still making adjustments, nothing set in stone right now:
1 Aetherling
Artifacts (1)
1 Elixir of Immortality
Sorceries (10)
4 Thoughtseize
2 Rakdos's Return
4 Anger of the Gods
Instants (11)
3 Syncopate
4 Magma Jet
2 Doom Blade
2 Ultimate Price
Planeswalkers (7)
3 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
2 Keranos, God of Storms
2 Font of Fortunes
Land (26)
4 Temple of Deceit
4 Temple of Malice
4 Temple of Epiphany
2 Blood Crypt
2 Steam Vents
2 Mana Confluence
3 Swamp
3 Mountain
2 Island
2 Slaughter Games
1 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Pithing Needle
2 Brain Maggot
2 Skullcrack
2 Magma Spray
2 Dark Betrayal
1 Ratchet Bomb
2 Devour Flesh
Round 1 vs. G/R Bloodrush
Game 1: Playing against a testing buddy of mine, we were both trying out new brews post-JOU. He landed Fencing Ace, Fabled Hero, then Prophetic Flamespeaker on successive turns. I had answers for the first two, and whiffed on t4 vs. the Flamespeaker. I held up 2 mana and had a Font of Fortunes in play ready to crack, hoping he would play scared. He did not. He swung, Giant Growth, Titan's Strength x2 spelled lethal for me. I boarded in my Magma Spray and Devour Flesh, boarded out Anger of the Gods.
Game 2: He dropped down a t1 Elvish Mystic which I Magma Sprayed t1. He sputtered on land, never hit WW for his 2 Fabled Heros, I cast Thoughtseize t2 and removed his other Elvish Mystic. I hit Keranos, God of Storms t5 and he scooped.
Game 3: He got a fast start, Elvish Mystic into t2 Prophetic Flamespeaker. I Thoughtseized away a Ghor-Clan Rampager, saw he had more juice, and waited. The next turn he tried to suit up the Flamespeaker for lethal, I had an Ultimate Price for it, he scooped when I followed that up with a Jace, Architect of Thought. 1-0
Round 2 vs. UW Control
Game 1: I hit an Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver t3 and he let it resolve. I got a few mills, hitting 5 land and 1 Supreme Verdict. He Detention Sphered my Ashiok, I EoT'd Magma Jet and saw 2 more Ashiok on top, so kept them there. He countered one, had another D-sphere for the 3rd, and then Sphinx's Revelation for 4 resolved. He filled his hand with counters and landed a Mutavault, he countered a giant Rakdos's Return, and finished me off with 2 Mutavaults. Fun note: I killed his Aetherling by making him tap out during his turn with 2 instant-speed removal, and then on my turn I cast 2 Anger of the Gods. Boarded out Anger of the Gods, Ultimate Price, boarded in Slaughter Games, Jace, Memory Adept, Pithing Needle, Brain Maggot.
Game 2: I got a t2 Brain Maggot, saw he kept a top-heavy hand with 2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion and some counter magic. Took a counterspell, baited the other out with Ashiok t3, then hit t5 Keranos. He never saw an answer, I Rakdos's Return'ed him for 4, he scooped.
Game 3: He hit a Jace, Memory Adept t5 that I never saw an answer for. He countered my Pithing Needle that I tried to stick t6, I used a Thoughtseize, saw he had nothing but counter magic protection, and I scooped. 1-1
Round 3 vs. BW Aggro
Game 1: He played t1 Soldier of the Pantheon, I smoked it EoT t2 with Magma Jet, and with the scry I topdecked 2 Syncopate with an Ashiok in hand. He must have missed a 2-drop creature, I stuck Ashiok t3, and I got a Master of the Feast on board the next turn. I had 2 Syncopate in hand so I just rode the Master to victory. Boarded out Doom Blade, boarded in Dark Betrayal.
Game 2: We traded 1 for 1 until t4, he tried to cast Athreos on an empty board, I Syncopated it, and landed Keranos t5. He landed Master of the Feast, which I removed with Ultimate Price after drawing my extra card. He scooped. 2-1
Round 4 vs. GR Monsters (deck I was most worried about)
Game 1: He had an great hand. I used Thoughtseize t1 which revealed 2 land, 2 Sylvan Caryatid, Courser of Kruphix, Xena-walker, and a Stormbreath Dragon. My hand was removal-light, so I took the dragon. He proceeds to drop caryatid, then t3 Domri Rade. I draw into 2 Jace, never find an answer, and he proceeds to smash my face in. Boarded out Magma Jet, Keranos. Boarded in Devour Flesh and Brain Maggot.
Game 2: Thankfully my first 2 plays are Thoughtseize and Brain Maggot, which let me strip away his 2 Caryatids. He was mana screwed, he floundered for a few turns, I landed Ashiok, who gave me a Polukranos, World Eater, and I rode him to victory.
Game 3: He dropped a Caryatid t2, which I followed up with a Devour Flesh. He then dropped another, and I threw down a Font of Fortunes. t4 he landed a Stormbreath Dragon and begins to go to work. I EoT pop the Font, which gave me an Ultimate Price and a Doom Blade. I drop ashiok, mill, hit a Polukranos, World Eater again. He swings with the dragon, I hit it with d-blade, he drops another dragon and hits ashiok to 1 loyalty. Next turn I drop another Font and keep mana up to kill the 2nd dragon. He dropped Xena-god, activates on his dragon, and goes to finish off ashiok, so I ultimate price the dragon. The next turn I keep counter magic back, and he drops a Polukranos, which I syncopate. I'm able to play my own on the next turn, and I keep his board clear and again kill him with his own Polukranos. 3-1
Round 5 vs. Mono-Black Devotion - we agree to split, didn't feel like playing it out, though I suspect this is going to be a tough matchup for me.
Here are a few notes, in no particular order:
Anyway, I'll keep you guys/gals posted on how my version is doing. Constructive criticism always welcome!
1 Aetherling
Artifacts (2)
2 Elixir of Immortality
Sorceries (12)
4 Thoughtseize
2 Rakdos's Return
3 Anger of the Gods
2 Divination
1 Whelming Wave
Instants (11)
2 Quicken
3 Syncopate
3 Lightning Strike
2 Doom Blade
1 Hero's Downfall
3 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
Enchantments (2)
2 Keranos, God of Storms
Land (26)
4 Temple of Deceit
4 Temple of Malice
4 Temple of Epiphany
2 Blood Crypt
2 Steam Vents
2 Mana Confluence
3 Swamp
3 Mountain
2 Island
2 Slaughter Games
1 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Pithing Needle
4 Brain Maggot
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Skullcrack
2 Magma Spray
2 Dark Betrayal
Notes:
I'm still toying around with my removal, both numbers and card selection.
I really want to test Pin to the Earth - I expect Master of the Feast to be everywhere in my meta.
I'm sad that I currently do not have Far // Away nor Turn // Burn in the 75 - I'll see if I'm happy with my removal suite.
I'm testing out Quicken and Whelming Wave for the first time - from people that have used Quicken, should I be running a full 4?
Pros:
What do you guys/gals think?
Edit: Grammar
Gnarled Scarhide - IMO the best new card for this deck, low on the curve, and a bestow cost that makes it useful even late-game, and helps with resilience against board wipes.
Felhide Petrifier - Not sure if deathtouch is something we desperately need, but another option nonetheless. Better than our vanilla beaters.
Flurry of Horns - Not bad, two haste dudes on the field, can be a blowout if you have other lords already in play, shame Ragemonger doesn't affect the cost (that I'm aware of).
Iroas, God of Victory - Worth splashing white for? That and a few of the combat tricks that white is getting (primarily looking at Ajani's Presence) might be worth the splash.
What do you guys/gals think?
Edit: Grammar is hard.
First, Disciple of Deceit - this seems like a great card if you can get the mechanic to work. Options include Phenax, God of Deception and Spring-Leaf Drum. This will turn any of your gas into tutors - if you run drum, you can tutor for an Elixir of Immortality. Far can turn into a 2 or 3 CMC tutor for removal or counter magic. The card looks like, think it has a place in the deck?
Second, if you like the idea of Spring-Leaf Drum, is King Macar, the Gold-Cursed worth trying out too? It would compete with Jace, Architect of Thought at the 4CMC spot, and it's not wonderful to tap out t4 for this guy. Thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
Even though I don't like it much, Anger of the Gods is still a strong sweeper. Our targeted removal is great (Far, Turn, Doom Blade). We have access to countermagic. Our hand disruption is fantastic (Rakdos's Return, Thoughtseize).
The issues I've had so far are lifegain and draw that fits the pace of our deck.
Regarding card draw, I'm excited to at least try out Keranos, God of Storms. It is an indestructible CA engine that fits our deck well. True, I'm not thrilled about tapping out on t5, but with the threat of an extra card or 3 damage the next turn, I'm feeling fairly confident that we will have answers to what they drop.
Regarding lifegain, I started throwing an elixir or 2 in my brews. Anyone else see some solid options for our lifegain?
Edit: The idea I had tumbling around in my head was to combine Battlefield Thurmaturge, Curse of the Swine, and Bile Blight to get a 1-sided exhile all creatures. I guess it's too complicated now that I think about it, but I've not been happy with Anger of the Gods as our sweeper.