Seems heavy on win conditions and maybe not diverse enough. I'd like to see some other wincon out of the board, maybe a Jace Memory adept or two, or something.
Maybe 2 prognostic sphinx / 2 desecration demon instead of all 4 dd's?
Not sure I like herald of torment in there.
Can't think of a lot of reasons not to run more blue and Aetherling.
Seems potentially really good with an aggro deck full of lotleth trolls, pack rats, and maybe bloodrush creatures. Fill up the yard with dudes gaining value (buffing your troll, buffing your dudes, making packrats), then make snakes out of them.
Might be something janky you could do with trading post control too. Discard dudes, gain life, make snakes, cast...volatile rig and recur it by saccing snakes?
Mono white aggro could, with Nykthos "curve out" at 5 on turn 4 pretty reliably.
If you go:
1-Plains, Soldier of the Pantheon
2-Plains, Precinct Captain
3-Plains, Brimaz
4-Nykthos, swing, flash dictate for the lolz.
Admittedly that's a pretty cherry picked hand, and assumes not a lot of removal, but there's not a lot better plays you make on turn 4 there, and if you play spear of heliod on turn 3 you're a lot slower.
The highest price fetchlands can sustain if they reprint them at rare in a normal block (or M15) is about 15 bucks apiece. If it gets any pricier than that, people will just buy more boxes and open them for fetches. I was opening something like 4-6 shocklands per box of RTR at 90 bucks a box. Do the math.
The chase ones, maybe 20? But even then I'd rather open boxes, buylist the rest than pay some assclown 30 bucks a fetchland
Maybe, worst case scenario you get online dealers trying to get 100/box instead of 90, but I doubt it.
I think this guy will make a pretty sweet golgari midrange deck with Lotleth troll, Herald of Torment, Eidolon of Blossoms, and maybe the black constellation dude (since you can trigger it at instant speed with Pharika, very nice).
Lark doesn't really need to flash when you have so many ways to bounce him. Run him out and put swords on him. Bounce him, flicker him, venser him, whatever. Heck, if he's sitting out there and you've got a couple dudes in your yard you can just wrath the board, put swords on whatever janky creatures you get back.
I am not a big fan of enlightened tutor; it's card disadvantage, which is less of a deal with this deck, but I'd prefer to have tutors that do something. Stoneforge, Academy rector, that kinda thing. Something I can throw pants on and send into battle.
From your original deck I'd think about cutting:
Enlightened tutor -> Stoneforge (yeah, they're pricey, but it's amazing in this deck).
Tormod's crypt
Rest in Peace
Scout's Warning
Devastation Tide
Hero of Bladehold
Crystal Shard (Just feels slow; I'd try without it)
Sensei's Divining Top (I just feel like it's slow and durdly; you're going to draw through those cards so fast I'm not sure it's worth it; I'd rather have lightning greaves to haste my dudes)
Maybe swap Talisman of Progress for felwar's stone (when you care about it, early in the game, it's a virtual guarantee someone else plays blue; alternatively, chromatic lantern is good)
Draining Whelk (I just think this guy is too slow; I'd rather have another counter or another flash dude)
Baneslayer Angel (I just don't get what this does; it's a big non-flash fattie that isn't going to finish the game. Linvala would be a much better choice for this slot I think).
I'd think about swapping Solemn for Knight of the white orchid--more devotion, not quite as good but lower curve. Not like you really need the Solemn's card advantage though.
I'd think about swapping Aura of Silence for Grand Abolisher. Not the same thing, but grand arbiter is amazing and a dude.
I like Ethersworn canonist as well, since I usually want to take so much of my turn in other people's turns.
What I invariably find every game with ephara is:
1) Everything's better when she's turned an indestructible fatty with lightning pants.
2) I want more creatures, especially hate like Linvala, Aven Mindcensor, Grand arbiter, and cheap, cheap flash like Whitemane lion.
3) Stoneforge is ridiculous.
A few things about Ephara I've found cool:
* Venser takes your gilded drake back. That's pretty funny.
* Not playing a Reveillark is probably always a mistake with the tiny flash creatures. I had some pretty hilarious turns where someone wrathed. I dropped a reveillark, put lightning pants and a sword of feast and famine on and untapped all my stuff, then during the next player's upkeep flashed in restoration angel, blinked the reveillark, fished whitemane lion and Grand Arbiter out of the yard and lion'd the restoration angel. Then played the restoration angel for 3 next turn to blink the reveillark again, draw another card, pop venser in from the yard, bouncing restoration angel.
Probably a dumb question, but I'm assuming a leyline of sanctity counters this? e.g. you can't target with the lifeloss so it's countered?
Leyline doesn't counter it at all; it actually makes Atheros way better, since you automatically get your creature back without giving your opponent the chance to choose wether he/she wants you to or not.
To explain why this works, Atheros's oracle text on the ability reads "Whenever a creature you control dies, return it to your hand unless target opponent pays 3 life." And since Leyline of Sanctity makes your opponent untargeteable by spells or abilities, you cannot target the opponent with the ability, as it automatically recurs your creature unless your opponent pays the life. Opponent can't be targeted, so he can't pay the 3 life.
I thought it might be something badass like that. Now to combo with Imperial Mask.
Thinking...imperial mask, ornithopter, sac outlet, purphoros? That's probably way too complex
It needs more creature based dredge enabling to work I think; problem with this card in dredgey is it takes up slots you want for mill spells, and messes with you having enough dudes, I think.
Maybe 2 prognostic sphinx / 2 desecration demon instead of all 4 dd's?
Not sure I like herald of torment in there.
Can't think of a lot of reasons not to run more blue and Aetherling.
If there's a ghostly prison style card, it's on.
Might be something janky you could do with trading post control too. Discard dudes, gain life, make snakes, cast...volatile rig and recur it by saccing snakes?
If you go:
1-Plains, Soldier of the Pantheon
2-Plains, Precinct Captain
3-Plains, Brimaz
4-Nykthos, swing, flash dictate for the lolz.
Admittedly that's a pretty cherry picked hand, and assumes not a lot of removal, but there's not a lot better plays you make on turn 4 there, and if you play spear of heliod on turn 3 you're a lot slower.
The chase ones, maybe 20? But even then I'd rather open boxes, buylist the rest than pay some assclown 30 bucks a fetchland
Maybe, worst case scenario you get online dealers trying to get 100/box instead of 90, but I doubt it.
2. Conjured Currency
3. The rest of the gods
Probably my favorite god except Thassa.
I am not a big fan of enlightened tutor; it's card disadvantage, which is less of a deal with this deck, but I'd prefer to have tutors that do something. Stoneforge, Academy rector, that kinda thing. Something I can throw pants on and send into battle.
From your original deck I'd think about cutting:
Enlightened tutor -> Stoneforge (yeah, they're pricey, but it's amazing in this deck).
Tormod's crypt
Rest in Peace
Scout's Warning
Devastation Tide
Hero of Bladehold
Crystal Shard (Just feels slow; I'd try without it)
Sensei's Divining Top (I just feel like it's slow and durdly; you're going to draw through those cards so fast I'm not sure it's worth it; I'd rather have lightning greaves to haste my dudes)
Maybe swap Talisman of Progress for felwar's stone (when you care about it, early in the game, it's a virtual guarantee someone else plays blue; alternatively, chromatic lantern is good)
Draining Whelk (I just think this guy is too slow; I'd rather have another counter or another flash dude)
Baneslayer Angel (I just don't get what this does; it's a big non-flash fattie that isn't going to finish the game. Linvala would be a much better choice for this slot I think).
I'd think about swapping Solemn for Knight of the white orchid--more devotion, not quite as good but lower curve. Not like you really need the Solemn's card advantage though.
I'd think about swapping Aura of Silence for Grand Abolisher. Not the same thing, but grand arbiter is amazing and a dude.
I like Ethersworn canonist as well, since I usually want to take so much of my turn in other people's turns.
What I invariably find every game with ephara is:
1) Everything's better when she's turned an indestructible fatty with lightning pants.
2) I want more creatures, especially hate like Linvala, Aven Mindcensor, Grand arbiter, and cheap, cheap flash like Whitemane lion.
3) Stoneforge is ridiculous.
* Venser takes your gilded drake back. That's pretty funny.
* Not playing a Reveillark is probably always a mistake with the tiny flash creatures. I had some pretty hilarious turns where someone wrathed. I dropped a reveillark, put lightning pants and a sword of feast and famine on and untapped all my stuff, then during the next player's upkeep flashed in restoration angel, blinked the reveillark, fished whitemane lion and Grand Arbiter out of the yard and lion'd the restoration angel. Then played the restoration angel for 3 next turn to blink the reveillark again, draw another card, pop venser in from the yard, bouncing restoration angel.
Anyway reveillark is awesome.
I thought it might be something badass like that. Now to combo with Imperial Mask.
Thinking...imperial mask, ornithopter, sac outlet, purphoros? That's probably way too complex