I didn't vote against Torpor Orb (yet), but I can see a case for it. Some of my decks are stone shut down by it and I specifically plan around it, but others just don't care. At the very least, it's very situational.
We have been playing with the equivalent of the latest mulligan rule for a while now at the LGS. Of all my decks, Lazav (with four colored mana in the casting cost) is the hardest hit, because getting the casting cost together early is a bit of a challenge. I ended up shoring up my mana base with the likes of Reflecting Pool in order to be able to cast my commander on time.
We had a precon tournament at the lgs yesterday. The winner was piloting the Orzhov deck, but 2nd was the simic deck.
I ended up playing the golgari deck. I walked away with a Reset from a $10 entry fee (which was decent), but still felt like things could have gone better. The Golgari deck can do some crazy things, but does sort of rely on you having the right combination of sac outlets, self mill, and value creatures, so a bad starting hand really hurts. Simic felt a little more consistent.
The pod I did win was just nuts. I got a Viridian Emissary and a Blood Bairn out, which made for some quick ramp. The I drew into Dread Summons which allowed me to recur a Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest, which along with a Butcher of Malakir let me take control of the board. I was even able to navigate a Disaster Radius revealing a seven-drop by saccing and forcing enough sacs that all my value creatures survived the blast.
Between rounds, we played a few casual matches. The Boros deck is actually pretty brutal in one on one.
We ran some sample games, and both the green decks were great, but I'd probably give the edge to the golgari deck. Meren is really easy to abuse: quick ramp with steve, repeatable spot removal with Shriekmaw.
In our sample games nobody played the Izzet deck It seems pretty scary to me, but I don't have a notion how good it actually is.
I'm surprised that Bogardan Hellkite is not on the list. So I'll nominate it.
I'm conflicted as to whether I should support Greater Gargadon or not. It's a key player in Marchesa, but it seems a little niche to BRx decks with strong sac themes.
Still use it in Roon after numerous cuts and updates. It's a very flexible little card, letting you snipe cards for graveyard combos, reuse ETB cratures, and save creatures from removal. It's like a charm spell on legs... er, wings.
It's not quite consecrated sphinx, but if your meta is like mine where this card is de facto hate against aggressive ramp strategies, it's pretty decent. But it's not great if it comes down late.
While I am on board with the notion that exiling countered things you don't want to see again is good, I think two blue cards do this better than Dissipate. I'll nominate:
Mindbreak Trap - gets around "uncounterable", can hit multiple spells, can be free.
I do generally prefer Primordial, but any "exploit opponents' graveyard" strategy should probably play both. As for anti-climactic combos with Rite of Replication, the one time I pulled it off it was quite climactic (in Lazav, Lazav was on board copying Prophet of Kruphix, along with a Consuming Aberration. An opponent swings in with nasty flying double strike dragon thing. I flash in Chancellor, the aberration trigger mills an opponents Rite. Block dragon with 50 Chancellors, and swing back at my now library-less opponents with a legion of Chancellors.)
Teferi, Temporal Archmage is my commander of choice for eldrazi (and planeswalker) shenanigans. The untap ability and a few mana rocks help power out fatties early.
I'll second Brago, King Eternal for fun interactions, though he's really a commander you need to protect to take advantage of.
I ended up playing the golgari deck. I walked away with a Reset from a $10 entry fee (which was decent), but still felt like things could have gone better. The Golgari deck can do some crazy things, but does sort of rely on you having the right combination of sac outlets, self mill, and value creatures, so a bad starting hand really hurts. Simic felt a little more consistent.
The pod I did win was just nuts. I got a Viridian Emissary and a Blood Bairn out, which made for some quick ramp. The I drew into Dread Summons which allowed me to recur a Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest, which along with a Butcher of Malakir let me take control of the board. I was even able to navigate a Disaster Radius revealing a seven-drop by saccing and forcing enough sacs that all my value creatures survived the blast.
Between rounds, we played a few casual matches. The Boros deck is actually pretty brutal in one on one.
In our sample games nobody played the Izzet deck It seems pretty scary to me, but I don't have a notion how good it actually is.
I'm conflicted as to whether I should support Greater Gargadon or not. It's a key player in Marchesa, but it seems a little niche to BRx decks with strong sac themes.
Support Dictate of Erebos.
Mindbreak Trap - gets around "uncounterable", can hit multiple spells, can be free.
Reality Shift - exile creature removal in blue.
I'll second Brago, King Eternal for fun interactions, though he's really a commander you need to protect to take advantage of.